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100:1 The Crack Legacy

By: Audible Originals, Christopher Johnson
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  • Summary

  • 100:1 The Crack Legacy investigates the war on crack in the mid-1980s and the devastation left in its wake. Host Christopher Johnson shares the experiences of the men and women who were on the frontlines - narcotics cops, ex- dealers, artists, community activists - to help explain the rise in incarceration, hyper-aggressive policing, and police shootings of unarmed people of color that we are experiencing now.

    When you add 100:1 The Crack Legacy to your library you will receive all 6 episodes, each with a runtime of approximately 40 minutes.
    ©2016 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2016 Audible Originals, LLC
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Social Sciences True Crime United States
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Episodes
  • Ep. 1: Autopsy No. 86-999

    Ep. 1: Autopsy No. 86-999
    Oct 26 2017
    [Contains explicit content] The series begins with the deaths of two young black men. First, Freddie Gray, who died after police arrested him and threw him into the back of a police van in Baltimore. Then, Len Bias: the rising college basketball player. His cocaine overdose in 1986 helped ignite a new, more aggressive phase of the War On Drugs, one that zeroed in on crack cocaine and black communities. This episode looks at the ties between the two deaths, and how the draconian, anti-crack drug laws of the mid-80s, set policing in America on the course of lethal aggression against black Americans we’re still witnessing today.
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    23 mins
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  • Ep. 2: 100:1

    Ep. 2: 100:1
    Oct 26 2017

    [Contains explicit content] It is the mid-1980s, and America is alarmed by the dawn of crack cocaine. We go to Capitol Hill for the little-known story of behind the “tough-on-crime” era, when lawmakers played fast and loose with mandatory minimum sentencing, literally “ picking numbers out of [their] asses” according to one insider. The harsh anti-drug legislation - cobbled together in weeks - included the now notorious 100 to 1 sentencing ratio for crack vs. powder cocaine, which disproportionately affected black communities and led to mass incarceration.
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    28 mins
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  • Ep. 3: The 202

    Ep. 3: The 202
    Oct 26 2017
    [Contains explicit content] Welcome to Washington, DC - the nation’s capital. By the late 1980s, the crack cocaine trade had transformed DC into the "murder capital" of America. In this episode, Christopher Johnson takes a trip back home, to the DC area, to remember just how devastating crack cocaine was for the city. A former narcotics cop takes him across the Anacostia River, and through what was once a notorious open-air crack market. We talk to a local musician, a former homicide cop, and Christopher's big cousin Cooki, who all remember the days when DC “went sideways.”
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    24 mins
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What listeners say about 100:1 The Crack Legacy

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excellent and moving. so important

great podcast looking into the origins of police brutality against black communities and it's connection with the so-calldd war on drugs.
so important to hear, and brilliantly executed.

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Profile Image for michaeroyale

interesting

Very interesting topic, a lot wrong with the American justice system and treatment of black Americans,another very well made audible documentary.

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Profile Image for Miss S.

Interesting

Interesting to hear the different sides to the "war on drugs". Pretty sad story all round and good to get background stories.

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Profile Image for Milo99

Smart, interesting podcast

fascinating insight into how the war on drugs has shaped modern American and led to many contemporary issues with race and policing.

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Profile Image for Toby

very thought provoking police in the USA are nuts

each time I've gone to the USA I am more worried about the police than anyone else and I'm British!

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4 people found this helpful

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Profile Image for Simon

An Uncomfortable Mirror to Gaze Into!

Drug dealing is something I feel strongly about, the damage drugs are doing to our society and the way that they are ruining lives is something I have always believed can't be under-estimated. So along comes Christopher Johnson with a powerful series that asks us to see another side, another dreadful legacy of the war on drugs.

For me he makes a compelling case, indeed an interesting case and I found all of the people whose testimony he used to be credible and engaging. His interviewees all have relevant stories to tell and Johnson himself presents very well. It is however persuasive rather than what I would term investigative journalism. As good as the case he makes is, and we hear from everyone from drug dealers to lawyers and even a judge, it is a series designed to make a point rather than examine something from all angles.

As such single witness testimonies are presented to describe events. There is no attempt to present the other side and I felt quite strongly that the impact of crack cocaine usage was played down. Statistics were presented in a very ones-sided manner and none of the witnesses are ever challenged about their views or facts. Don't get me wrong I can fully understand this given the weight of biased propaganda that has existed about the war on drugs for a long time now! And Johnson makes a very eloquent and compelling case about real injustices that have also occurred and how modern politics and serious institutional failings have largely made things worse.

In summary while I'm worried about the way that the consequences of crack usage are largely downplayed Johnson has opened my eyes to this equally damaging and important legacy so I'm very glad that I listened to his series. No matter how strongly we feel about drugs society has to remain humane and balanced in its responses. This series holds up an uncomfortable mirror to how well this has been achieved, and I always think that looking in such mirrors has to be a good thing.

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Profile Image for Cee Jay

belief based policy fail

the war on drugs spectacularly failed. instead of addiction care, USA spends billions militarising the police. instead of charging white drug offenders equally, the USA targeted Black people. instead of interventions, they built more prisons.
instead of providing decent social housing, they allow private landlords to charge high rents, so people sell drugs to survive.
it's good to hear the judge admit it

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very informative.He did a awesome job.

I would really like if you did more on the back man and womans struggle.And a system that is designed to keep us down.Maybe more about the prison system

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Profile Image for j

Insightful and thoughtful

Good information and well put together. It was great to know about various different sides to this issue and how it's journey has come to today's outcome.

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Profile Image for Irish Guy

Great series. Sadly, timeless...

Going by yet more recent events, it seems as though not a whole lot has changed... :(

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