Growing up in poverty with an absent father, a boy finds family in a gang, but after his best friend is murdered, he unravels into a spiral of rage, violence, prison, and ultimately, an unexpected forgiveness.

Today’s episode featured Chris Diep. If you’d like to reach out to him, you can email him at chrisdiep2023@gmail.com, or you can find him on LinkedIn as Christopher Diep.

Special thanks to Yoana Tchoukleva for bringing us Chris's story.

Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Wait, Aviva Lipkowitz

Content/Trigger Warnings: Vietnam war, graphic violence, gang violence, familial separation, drug use, robbery, prison, death of a parent, death of a child, racism, suicide, explicit language

Social Media:

Instagram: @actuallyhappening

Twitter: @TIAHPodcast

Website: thisisactuallyhappening.com

Website for Andrew Waits: andrdewwaits.com

Website for Aviva Lipkowitz: avivalipkowitz.com

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Intro Music: "Illabye" – Tipper

Music Bed: “Cylinder Four” - Chris Zabriskie

Services

If you or someone you know is struggling with the effects of trauma or mental illness, please refer to the following resources:

National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Text or Call 988

National Alliance on Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264

National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At a time when we’re debating where policing is going, we’re going to tell you where the police came from. Guided by Peabody award-winning host Chenjerai Kumanyika, Empire City will provide the first accessible narrative history of the American police and its place in popular culture. Who are the police? And why were police departments created in the first place? To find answers, we’re going to tell the origin story of the largest police force in the world: The NYPD. We begin in the late 1800’s at a moment when the entire police force was on trial. It’s the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the NYPD, and it all plays out like a high stakes courtroom drama. What follows is the action-packed account of how the NYPD got to this point and what happened next. It involves Black abolitionists fighting slave patrols in the courts of Gotham; two rival police forces duking it out for power at City Hall; the origins of the true crime genre; and how the NYPD spread their tactics worldwide.

Listen to Empire City wherever you get your podcasts: Wondery.fm/Empire_City.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.