Chicago Justice Podcast
The Chicago Justice Podcast challenges the stories we're told about crime, public safety, and justice. Instead of accepting headlines, political talking points, or conventional wisdom at face value, we dig deeper to uncover what the data, research, and lived experiences actually reveal. Each episode features candid conversations with journalists, researchers, advocates, policymakers, and people working to transform the justice system from within. Together, we examine the policies, institutions, and power structures that shape who is criminalized, who is protected, and who is left behind. From policing and police accountability to gun violence, surveillance, incarceration, public records, government transparency, and criminal justice reform, we explore the complex issues driving today's debates about safety and justice. Some conversations are uncomfortable. Others are infuriating. All of them are necessary. Grounded in evidence, accountability, and a commitment to challenging dominant narratives, The Chicago Justice Podcast goes beyond sound bites to expose how systems really work and whose interests they serve. If you're ready to question assumptions, confront hard truths, and explore what real justice and public safety could look like, this podcast is for you.
Episodes
This week on the Chicago Justice Podcast, we sit down with Injustice Watch Senior Reporter Dan Hinkel to examine the changing role of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) under State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke.
Cook County has recorded more exonerations than any county in the United States, a reflection of decades of police misconduct, coerced confessions, official corruption...
California’s public records law is designed to give residents access to government information, but proposed changes to Assembly Bill 1821 (AB 1821) could significantly reshape how that access works in practice.
In this episode, we sit down with Sean McMorris, Transparency, Ethics & Accountability Program Manager at California Common Cause, to discuss the ongoing debate surrounding AB 1821 and what i...
What happens when a police unit operates outside traditional oversight and is staffed by officers with troubling disciplinary histories?
In this episode, we take a deep dive into the New York Police Department’s Community Response Team (CRT), a controversial unit that has drawn scrutiny for its aggressive tactics, alleged constitutional violations, and lack of accountability. We examine reporting that raises s...
More than 100,000 Automated License Plate Reader cameras are now operating across the United States, feeding data into networks shared by thousands of police departments and federal agencies. But where are these cameras located, and who is most affected by this growing surveillance infrastructure?
In this episode, we speak with Professor Steven Keener of Chri...
In this episode, we begin a special series examining the rapid expansion of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology and the growing privacy and civil liberties concerns surrounding its use.
Flock Security, one of the nation’s largest ALPR providers, reports that more than 100,000 cameras have been deployed across the United States. These camera...
What really happened on New Year’s Day 2019 when North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers shot and killed Brandon Webster?
For years, the official account of the shooting was accepted by law enforcement leaders, government officials, and the media. But behind the scenes, an internal investigation uncovered evidence showing that the trooper’s version of events could not have happene...
In this episode, we sit down with Joanna C. Schwartz, UCLA law professor and author of Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable, to unpack the hidden systems that protect police from consequences.
We go beyond the headlines about qualified immunity to explore what really blocks accountability:
- Why most police misconduct lawsuits fail before trial
- How courts, police departments, and legal rules work tog...
This week, we break down the controversial 2022 raid of Grammy-nominated rapper Afroman’s home by Adams County Sheriff’s deputies and the legal fallout that followed. Acting on claims from a confidential informant alleging kidnapped women, a “sex dungeon,” and large quantities of marijuana, officers executed a warrant that ultimately uncovered none of it. In fact, there wasn’t eve...
Fear has become the dominant framework for how Americans understand crime—and it is often deliberately manufactured.
In this episode of the Chicago Justice Podcast, host Tracy Siska, Executive Director of the Chicago Justice Project, introduces a new national focus for the show. We examine how crime and violenc...
In a first-of-its-kind independent analysis of the effectiveness of ShotSpotter, the science says the technology does not lead to more arrests and convictions for gun crimes and does not reduce these crimes in the areas where it is deployed. The study examined the impact of ShotSpotter in Chicago and Kansas City.
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