5 chapters across the catalog
The 25th anniversary of the death of Tyron Lewis, an unarmed Black teenager killed by police in 1996, serves as a backdrop for the Uhuru movement's long-standing presence in St. Petersburg. The original shooting sparked days of rioting and fires in the city. The hosts reflect on how these historical cycles of unrest are amplified by modern social media compared to the early internet era of the 1990s.
A news report covers the arrest of a suspect in Washington D.C. linked to a series of shootings targeting homeless men in D.C. and New York City. Mayor Muriel Bowser and police officials describe the suspect as "depraved." The hosts question the effectiveness of telling homeless people to "seek shelter" and note the suspect's history of mental health issues and prior unprosecuted assaults.
Jacob Blake describes his experience of being shot seven times by police in an interview with Michael Strahan on ABC News. The hosts analyze the media's focus on the "seven shots" headline as a powerful mind-control tool and criticize public figures like LeBron James for perpetuating a narrative of fear. They examine the tactical reality of police encounters when a suspect resists commands and moves toward a vehicle.
News coverage from July 2016 details the ambush of police officers in Dallas during a protest. Initial reports from the Dallas Police Chief claimed multiple snipers were triangulating positions from parking garages. The hosts highlight the early confusion regarding the number of suspects and the report of a suspect dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Conservative pundit Larry Elder argues that police are statistically more hesitant to shoot black suspects than white suspects due to fears of racial profiling accusations. Mo pushes back against these statistics, arguing that such talking points are ineffective and alienating to the average Black American. The hosts discuss the difficulty of quantifying these encounters given varying circumstances like location and crime type.
