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Search Results for: The Thugs, The Wire


What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Seven

Sudhir Venkatesh, Columbia sociologist and author of “Gang Leader for a Day,” is back once again for a seventh report after watching “The Wire” with a group of gangland acquaintances….




What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Six

Sudhir Venkatesh, Columbia sociologist and author of “Gang Leader for a Day,” is back for a sixth report after watching “The Wire” with a group of gangland acquaintances. His past…




What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire?

…a great post from him about watching “The Wire” with some of the kind of guys who are portrayed in it. Ever since I began watching HBO’s The Wire, I…



What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Nine

Sudhir Venkatesh, Columbia sociologist and author of “Gang Leader for a Day,” is back once again with his chronicle of watching “The Wire” with a group of gangland acquaintances. His…




What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Two

“thugs” after the airing of the second episode of The Wire, season five. Once I saw Detective McNulty tamper with a homicide scene — apparently hoping to raise speculation that…



Episode 109

David Simon Is On Strike. Here’s Why.

The creator of The Wire, The Deuce, and other shows is leading the Writers Guild on the picket lines. He and Steve break down the economics of TV writing, how…

Episode 203

Do You Need a Hug?

Do humans need touch to survive? Do any of us get enough touch throughout our lives? And why doesn’t Angela want to hug anyone for eight seconds?…

A Letter From the Thugz

…consiglieres by looking at some of their earlier commentaries. “The Thugs” were kind enough to watch Season Five of The Wire with me, offering their feedback on the David Simon‘s…



Marlo's Monopoly

We are belatedly watching The Wire, nearing the end of Season V. [N.B.: see Sudhir Venkatesh‘s series of blog posts called “What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire?”] By…



Supply and Demand, Nigerian Style

…a machete for self-defense was extremely valuable to farmers before the election because of marauding thugs, in which case prices really might be expected to temporarily rise.) (Hat tip: Doug…




Episode 553

The Suddenly Diplomatic Rahm Emanuel

The famously profane politician and operative is now U.S. ambassador to Japan, where he’s trying to rewrite the rules of diplomacy. But don’t worry: When it comes to China, he’s…

Episode 469

The U.S. Is Just Different — So Let’s Stop Pretending We’re Not (Replay)

We often look to other countries for smart policies on education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc. But can a smart policy be simply transplanted into a country as culturally unusual (and as…

Vegas Rules

…into the gate — we thought it would be scratched — but then it got in and the gates opened and his horse led wire to wire. It was a…



Episode 406

Can You Hear Me Now?

When he became chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai announced that he was going to take a “weed whacker” to Obama-era regulations. So far, he’s kept his promise,…

Episode 311

Why Is the Live-Event Ticket Market So Screwed Up?

The public has almost no chance to buy good tickets to the best events. Ticket brokers, meanwhile, make huge profits on the secondary markets. Here’s the story of how this…

Episode 450

How to Be Better at Death

Caitlin Doughty is a mortician who would like to put herself out of business. Our corporate funeral industry, she argues, has made us forget how to offer our loved ones…

Episode 150

Why Do People Get Scammed?

What makes a con succeed? Does snake oil actually work? And just how gullible is Angela?…


Episode 592

How to Make the Coolest Show on Broadway

Hit by Covid, runaway costs, and a zillion streams of competition, serious theater is in serious trouble. A new hit play called Stereophonic — the most Tony-nominated play in history…

Episode 469

The U.S. Is Just Different — So Let’s Stop Pretending We’re Not

We often look to other countries for smart policies on education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc. But can a smart policy be simply transplanted into a country as culturally unusual (and as…

Episode 160

Why Everybody Who Doesn’t Hate Bitcoin Loves It

Thinking of Bitcoin as just a digital currency is like thinking about the Internet as just email. Its potential is much more exciting than that.

A New Series for the Thugz?

David Simon, creator of The Wire and Homicide, announced plans to shoot an HBO pilot of Treme, about the New Orleans neighborhood of that name. New Orleans is unfortunately rife…



Episode 55

Jared Diamond on the Downfall of Civilizations — and His Optimism for Ours

He’s the award-winning author of hugely popular books like Guns, Germs, and Steel; Collapse; and Upheaval. But Jared actually started his varied career as an expert on gallbladders and birds….

Why Aren’t U.S. Sports Fans More Violent?

…out how to stop them from killing people. Soccer hooliganism is no surprise to anyone who’s followed the sport, or read Among the Thugs, or even How Soccer Explains the