October 15
Reply All: The Crime Machine Parts I & II
Podcast Episodes
https://www.gimletmedia.com/reply-all/127-the-crime-machine-part-i
I've been a fan of Reply All for a while, but I have to admit it took me a bit to hit play on the two newest episodes. For one, because they dropped both parts of a two parter in one day, meaning that there was a lot of extra minutes added onto my queue at once and I'm really against that. I have an idea of how long each thing takes to listen to and specific times I like to listen to them, throwing that apart by doubling the length suddenly makes me grumpy.
But this episode was worth every minute they spent on it. The amount of research and effort it must have taken for them to produce it really shows, and it's extremely admirable that they went looking for an answer and actually dug until they found multiple angles on that answer. It's one of the best kinds of stories because while it's very local (specific to New York City in a specific time frame) but the issues that it touches on are ones that are plaguing communities around the United States. Specifically, they're looking at how a computer system and crime statistic reporting is causing police in NYC to engage in procedures that are racist and unethical. I don't want to spoil any part of the story, they unroll the different pieces of it at a really good pace. It's well worth a listen.
