Law Enforcement Issues

On today's ST, we are discussing a new book on race relations and American history that offers a bold, thorough, and eye-opening critique of our nation's criminal justice apparatus, its police operations, and indeed its entire legal system. Our guest is the well-regarded historian Elizabeth Hinton, who is an associate professor of history and African American studies at Yale University as well as a professor of law at Yale Law School.

Fifty years ago, in March of 1971, a group of activists calling itself the "Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI" broke into a small FBI office in Pennsylvania and stole more than 1,000 classified documents. They then anonymously mailed the documents to several U.S. newspapers, thereby exposing numerous illegal FBI operations vis a vis domestic surveillance. On this edition of ST, we revisit our 2014 conversation with Betty Medsger, a former Washington Post journalist who wrote a book detailing this incident. That book is "The Burglary: The Discovery of J.

(Note: This interview first aired in September of 2020.) Our guest is Rachel Louise Snyder, an award-winning journalist and professor of creative writing and journalism at American University. She talks about her latest book, which is "No Visible Bruises: What We Don't Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us." As was noted of this widely-acclaimed study by The Washington Post: "Compulsively readable.... In a writing style that's as gripping as good fiction, as intimate as memoir, and deeply informed, [Snyder] takes us into the lives of the abused, the abusers, and the survivors....

Our guest is Rachel Louise Snyder, an award-winning journalist and professor of creative writing and journalism at American University. She talks about her newest book, which is just out in paperback; the book is "No Visible Bruises: What We Don't Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us." As was noted of this widely-acclaimed study by The Washington Post: "Compulsively readable.... In a writing style that's as gripping as good fiction, as intimate as memoir, and deeply informed, [Snyder] takes us into the lives of the abused, the abusers, and the survivors....

Our guest is the true-crime writer Jax Miller, who joins us to discuss her new book. "Hell in the Heartland" documents a stranger-than-fiction cold case from rural Oklahoma that has stumped authorities for some two decades. The book is called "Hell in the Heartland: Murder, Meth, and the Case of Two Missing Girls." As was noted by Library Journal: "True crime fans who are fascinated by the dark side of rural life and police incompetence, and open to a somewhat ambiguous ending, will find much to savor."

Our guest is the Tulsa-based author Hunter Howe Cates, who tells us about his new book, "Oklahoma's Atticus." It's a work of biography/history that profiles his own grandfather, Tulsa County public defender and Creek tribal member Elliott Howe. Howe, as we learn, was closely involved in the investigation and trial of a Tulsa murder case that made national news back in the early 1950s. On Nov. 7th, Cates will do a free-to-the-public reading and signing in connection with this work at Magic City Books.

(Note: This installment of ST Medical Monday originally aired last summer.) It's taken a while for this particular truth to sink in, but America finally seems to be waking up to it: People with mental illness don't need to be locked up -- they need to be treated. On this edition of our show, we speak with journalist Alisa Roth, whose book, "Insane," is a well-regarded and alarming exposé of the mental health crisis now facing our courts, jails, and prisons. As was noted  of this book by The New York Times Book Review: "Chilling....

Our guest is César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Denver. On Thursday the 14th, beginning at 6pm, he'll deliver the 19th Annual Buck Colbert Franklin Memorial Civil Rights Lecture on the TU campus. He'll speak on "Migrating to Prison: Immigration in the Age of Mass Incarceration," which is also the title of his forthcoming book. His academic interests center on "crimmigration law" -- meaning, the convergence of criminal law and immigration law. His previous book, "Crimmigration Law," was published by the American Bar Association in 2015.

On this edition of StudioTulsa, we're discussing court fees, court fines, collection costs, and other court-related expenses, which, all told, make up somewhere between 80 and 90 percent of the budget for the State of Oklahoma's court system. Therefore, and quite regrettably, our state's jails are by now brimming with people whose only "crime" is being unable to pay such costs.

(Please note: This interview originally aired back in February.) Lots of mythology surrounding the Old West, of course, and lots of rich history, too. On this program, we explore both. Our guest is Tom Clavin, the popular historian whose latest book is "Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and the Wickedest Town in the American West." As was noted of this book by the Houston Press: "Thorough, compelling, and entertaining.... Clavin sprinkles in fascinating tidbits about life and culture in the Old West....

Our guest is Danielle Allen, the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, who joins us to discuss her new book. That well-regarded book, "Cuz: The Life and Times of Michael A.," is an unflinching memoir of Allen's late cousin as well as a detailed and accessible critique of America's criminal justice system. Per Jennifer Senior in The New York Times: "A compassionate retelling of an abjectly tragic story.... Among the most valuable contributions Allen makes is forcing us to ask: To what end are we locking up our children?

Our guest on ST is Issa Kohler-Hausmann, who will tomorrow night (Thursday the 16th) deliver the 2017 Judge Stephanie K. Seymour Distinguished Lecture in Law here at TU.

On this edition of our show, an interesting chat with Ali Noorani, who's the Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum (an advocacy organization promoting the value of immigrants and immigration) as well as the author of "There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration." Mr. Noorani will be giving a free-to-the-public, immigration-focused address tonight (the 28th) on the TU campus; his address, titled "Beyond the Headlines," begins at 7pm in Tyrrell Hall.

Our guest is Prof. Barry Friedman, who is the Fuchsberg Professor of Law at New York University School of Law and the director of the Policing Project. He joins us to discuss his new book, "Unwarranted: Policing Without Permission." As noted of this widely acclaimed study in a starred review in Kirkus: "A law professor diagnoses the ills of American policing and prescribes a healthy dose of sunlight. 'Policing in the United States -- from the overzealous beat cop all the way to the NSA -- is out of control,' writes Friedman, and the fault lies not with the police but with us.