The Staten Island Problem - Part 1: The Mayor vs. the Borough President

There's a sentence in the Declaration of Independence that almost no one talks about. It's the last grievance: “He has excited the merciless Indian Savages”, it reads, "whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions." We’ve all been told the American Revolution was fought over taxation and representation. But that's not what the Declaration of Independence says. According to our founders, what they were most upset about was Native Americans. How did we miss that? That's the question at the heart of a new Pushkin podcast called First America. It’s hosted by Rebecca Nagle, an Indigenous author and the host of Crooked’s This Land podcast. First America reveals the true story of how the United States came to be, and how our current political moment is 250 years in the making. It unveils how the founders’ treatment of Indigenous nations—and their resistance—shaped US democracy.  Here's episode 1. Rebecca sits down with historian Ned Blackhawk (Western Shoshone) to talk about how hunger for Indigenous land drove the Revolution. Find more episodes of First America wherever you get podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Afro is one of the most iconic hairstyles of the last century. And one of its main ingredients was a product: Afro Sheen. But Afro Sheen did so much more than make Black afros shine. It was the money behind the television show Soul Train and it helped fuel the civil rights movement, all because of an entrepreneur named George Johnson. This week we're bringing you an episode from our friends at NPR's Planet Money. For decades, Joan and George Johnson ran Johnson Products Company, a Black hair care company out of Chicago. They helped turn the Black haircare industry into what is now a multi-billion-dollar industry. But although they helped create this industry, they no longer have a part in it. If you enjoy this episode, hear Planet Money wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Election night 1993 meets election night 2016. The fate of the island and the country converge in the figure of one man: Rudy Giuliani.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the height of the secession movement, the Wu-Tang Clan forms on Staten Island. We take a tour of early 1990s hip-hop and reveal the hidden history of the group.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group on Staten Island tries to stop secession, squaring off against the secessionists in a heated set of debates and meetings recorded on never-before-seen archival tapes. A set of debates best understood via a detour into the history of a remote Polynesian island.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After the Supreme Court takes a close look at New York City government, Staten Island comes out the loser. A local artist begins organizing for secession. We take a deep dive into the psychology of the island, which has a lot to do with the largest garbage dump in the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A riot, a voyage at sea, and a movement to break up the greatest city in the country. The first Black mayor of New York City faces off with the borough president of Staten Island and tries to hold his city together.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ten years ago, Malcolm inveighed against the exclusive country clubs of Los Angeles in an episode of Revisionist History called "A Good Walk Spoiled." This November, thanks to a Los Angeles City Council member who heard the episode, Los Angeles voters will have the opportunity to take up Malcolm's cause. Today, Malcolm revisits "A Good Walk Spoiled," and speaks with Councilmember Adrin Nazarian about his proposed ballot measure. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the 250th anniversary of the United States, Revisionist History investigates the overlooked story of New York City almost breaking apart as Staten Island threatened to secede.  Over the course of five episodes, The Staten Island Problem reconstructs the battle for New York City amidst the turbulent early 1990s — the rise of Rudy Giuliani, the peak of the homicide rate, the Wu-Tang Clan, a young Donald Trump, and the first Black mayor of New York — all through the prism of the city’s Forgotten Borough. And ultimately asks: What do you do when a democracy looks like it’s falling apart?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Would a tomato by any other name taste as sweet? What about a steak? Malcolm sends Ben on a mission to investigate the cutting edge of food technology and two mistakes: one from the 1990s and one that’s unfolding as we speak.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.