New podcast explores untold origin story of New York Police Department

Empire City is a new eight-part narrative series investigating the fascinating and largely invisible history of the New York Police Department.

From Wondery and Crooked Media, the podcast is created and hosted by Peabody Award-winning journalist Chenjerai Kumanyika. It provides a window into New York City’s past and insights into the foundations of law enforcement in America.

An official selection of the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, Empire City begins by painting a vivid portrait of New York City in the mid-1800s.

It was, at the time, a town overrun with labour protests and riots, vice, racial conflict, police constables kidnapping freed black people and sending them into slavery, a burgeoning abolitionist movement and the first true crime stories – peddled by newspapers.

In each episode, Kumanyika talks about pivotal moments that challenge misconceptions about present day policing and politics.

Among topics covered are how the fight over by-mail abortion pills today can be traced back to an evangelical vice fighter who was determined to shut down New York brothels; and how riots on the streets of New York led to officers being armed for the first time.

Empire City features voices of historians, grassroots tour guides, and organisers like Mariame Kaba, Leslie Alexander, Asad Dandia, Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Kamau Ware, and Jonathan Wells, as well as descendants of early police officers and resistance fighters, and former police officers who provide insights into the history of policing in New York.

Kumanyika’s ties to topics in Empire City are deeply personal as the son of Makaza Kumanyika, a prominent civil rights organiser who was wrongly arrested and surveilled by the NYPD for leading peaceful protests against police brutality.

Empire City will be available ad-free on Wondery+ and all other podcast streaming platforms on 9 September.