Crime

Eliot Higgins is the founder of an online collective that picks apart conspiracy theories and investigates war crimes and hate crimes using clues from the Internet. His new book is We Are Bellingcat.

Law professor and human rights activist Rosa Brooks wanted to better understand police violence and the racial disparities in America's criminal justice system, so she decided to join the police force as a volunteer.

Deidre Fishel's new PBS documentary Women in Blue, on the Independent Lens series, focuses on four women who worked for the Minneapolis Police Department. It begins 3 years ago and ends with the death of George Floyd at the hands of police.

Historian Russell Shorto, delved into his own family and his grandfather who was a mob boss in the industrial town of Johnstown, Pa. Shorto says his grandfather's involvement with the Johnstown mob initially began as an offshoot of Prohibition, which opened doors for Italian Americans facing employment discrimination.

Journalist Jon Fasman says local police are frequently able to access very powerful surveillance tools — including publicly accessible CCTV cameras, automatic license plate readers and cell phone tracking devices — with little oversight. Fasman embedded with different police departments across the country to see how officers integrate technology into their day-to-day job.

Film critic Justin Chang shares reviews of two new movies to watch at home. The thriller "Promising Young Woman," starring Carey Mulligan, can be found on various on-demand platforms. And the drama "Pieces Of A Woman," starring Vanessa Kirby, is on Netflix.

Richard Nixon's first vice president resigned amid charges of bribery and tax evasion. Maddow and Mike Yarvitz revisit Agnew's story in the podcast (and now book) Bag Man. Originally broadcast in '19.

Brittany Barnett works on behalf of people serving harsh sentences as a result of the war on drugs. Nine of her clients have been granted clemency. Her new memoir is A Knock at Midnight.

The Miami Herald columnist's new novel is a mystery featuring wealthy widows, the president and first lady, a scrappy wildlife removal specialist, and some gigantic Burmese pythons.

Michaela Coel says she initially wanted to create a series about sexual assault because of her own experiences. But as she heard from other people who had similar stories, she began to think more broadly. "I realized that many people had some sort of experience that was connected to mine," she says. "There were so many different ways to explore consent and how it affects us today. What better place for a story than one that I felt many people could find an identification in?"

"I saw firsthand how police and prosecutors manipulate evidence, coerce witnesses into giving false testimony," says Jim McCloskey of Centurion Ministries. His memoir is When Truth is All You Have.

Radley Balko, author of Rise Of The Warrior Cop, says police departments across America are increasingly using equipment designed for use on a battlefield, including tanks, bayonets and grenades.

Jamiles Lartey discusses policing in America. He is a staff writer for The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization that covers the U.S. criminal justice system. He previously reported on criminal justice, race and policing for The Guardian, where he was part of a team that created an online database tracking police violence in 2015 and 2016.

Washington Post reporter Matt Zapotosky talks about the attorney general's role in the Trump administration's forceful response to the largely peaceful George Floyd protests in Washington, DC.

Author Doug Swanson chronicles centuries of abuse within the famed Texas law enforcement agency, including burning villages, hunting runaway slaves and murdering Mexicans and Mexican-Americans.

Chesa Boudin's radical leftist parents were imprisoned when he was a toddler. Now he's working to reduce the inmate population in San Francisco — and worrying about his dad, who remains in prison.

Four and a half million Americans are on probation or parole — more than twice the nation's jail population. Parolees and probationers are required to check in regularly with officials, who are charged with helping them rebuild their lives.

New York Times financial editor David Enrich has been covering the German Deutsche bank for years. In his new book he chronicles why the 150 year old institution began shadowy practices - like laundering money, tax evasion, violating international sanctions, and lending money to Donald Trump after no other Wall Street bank would.