🚀Wondery and Crooked Media Present Empire City, Chenjerai Kumanyika's New Narrative Series About the NYPD's Untold History.

Empire City, an eight-part narrative series about the complicated and mostly invisible history of the New York Police Department, premiered today by Wondery and Crooked Media. Empire City, hosted by Peabody Award-winning journalist Chenjerai Kumanyika (Uncivil), takes listeners through time and perspective to explore New York City's past and law enforcement in America. Empire City is ad-free on Wondery+ and all podcast streaming platforms starting September 9.

As modern society debates the future of policing, Empire City reveals the often-hidden and suppressed history of where and when it all began. An official selection of the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival,  Empire City begins in the mid-1800s by painting a vivid portrait of New York City at the time: A town overrun with deadly riots and brawls, 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 takes listeners on a journey through the pivotal moments that formed the foundation for present-day policing and politics, such as how the fight over mailing abortion pills today can be traced to an evangelical vice fighter who was determined to shut down New York brothels, all while challenging the misconceptions that fuel the problematic policies of yesterday and today. The series features voices of descendants of key figures in history, of academics and historians, and of New Yorkers who have immersed themselves in the long history of injustice to provide insights.

 Kumanyika is a scholar, journalist and educator who specializes in using narrative non-fiction audio journalism to critique American ideological myths about race, the Civil War and policing. Kumanyika’s ties to the topics at hand in Empire City are deeply personal as the son of Makaza Kumanyika, a prominent civil rights activist who was wrongly arrested and surveilled by the NYPD for leading peaceful protests against police brutality.

 Kumanyika has written in scholarly venues such as Popular Music & Society, Popular Communication and The Routledge Companion to Advertising and Promotional Culture, as well as outlets such as The Intercept, Transom, NPR Code Switch, All Things Considered, Invisibilia and VICE. Kumanyika is also the co-creator, co-executive producer and co-host of Uncivil, Gimlet Media’s podcast on the Civil War, and was a collaborator on Scene on Radio’s influential second and fourth seasons, Seeing White and The Land That Never Has Been Yet.

 Empire City is a Wondery and Crooked Media production. The show is executive produced by Wondery, Crooked Media, and Pushblack.

 About Wondery

Wondery, an Amazon company, is a podcast studio known for character-driven, binge-worthy stories including Dr. Death, British Scandal, Even the Rich, and Business Wars, and distribution of hit partner shows Morbid and How I Built This. Wondery was behind six of the “Top 25 New Shows of 2023”, according to Podtrac, including Ghost Story, Exposed, and Stolen Hearts. Over 55 shows from Wondery have hit No. 1 on Apple Podcasts, including Scamfluencers and Stolen Hearts. Many Wondery podcasts have been adapted for scripted television or streaming series, including Dr. Death and Joe vs Carole on Peacock and The Shrink Next Door and WeCrashed on Apple TV+. Wondery has gained critical acclaim and commercial success for its immersive approach to sonic, emotionally driven storytelling. The Wondery app offers a unique, personalized podcast listening experience, including access to its premium ad-free offering Wondery+. With Wondery+, fans experience early access, exclusive episodes, and ad-free listening.  https://wondery.com/

 About Crooked Media:

Crooked believes that we need a better conversation about politics, culture, and the world around us -- one that doesn’t just focus on what’s broken, but what we can do to fix it. At a time when it’s increasingly easy to feel cynical or hopeless, former Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor have created a place where people can have honest conversations and tell stories that inform, entertain, and inspire action. In 2017 they started Crooked with Pod Save America—a no-bullshit conversation about politics. Since then, they’ve continued to add new shows, voices, and opportunities for activism through our Vote Save America platform, because it’s up to each of us to do our part to engage in our democracy and build a better world.

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