Episodes

  • Trailer
    Jul 27 2023

    In 1984, as a New York City subway train made its way downtown, a white man named Bernhard Goetz shot four unarmed Black teenagers he believed were going to rob him. The shooting and its aftermath came to embody the widespread fear of crime that reigned supreme around the country during the 1980s.

    The twist: Goetz became a cause célèbre, a folk hero to many who declared they were sick and tired of crime. His vigilantism was applauded, while his victims - Darrell Cabey, Troy Canty, Barry Allen, and James Ramseur - were marginalized and attacked in the press. This six-part series offers a panoramic but intimate view of how this era-defining story unfolded, giving voice for the first time to key players, and immersing listeners in the gritty, paranoid world of ‘80s New York City.

    From the co-creators of Slow Burn, Fiasco is a narrative podcast that transports listeners back to the day-to-day reality of America’s most pivotal historical events. Using original interviews and archival footage, host Leon Neyfakh brings to life the forgotten twists and turns of the past while shedding light on the present day. This propulsive examination of history urges us all to re-think not only the events that change us, but how we are changed by these moments.

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    1 min
  • Episode 1: Fear City
    Jul 27 2023
    After a shooting on the subway, a gunman is on the loose - but even as police conduct a manhunt, some New Yorkers defend the perpetrator as a hero.
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    43 mins
  • Episode 2: If It Bleeds
    Jul 27 2023
    The New York tabloids scramble to find out everything they can about the subway shooter. Then, America meets Bernhard Goetz.
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    44 mins
  • Episode 3: Four Teenagers
    Jul 27 2023
    The victims of the subway shooting and their families struggle with the aftermath, while prosecutors weigh bringing charges against Goetz.
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    46 mins
  • Episode 4: Anti-Hero
    Jul 27 2023
    Goetz emerges as a public figure under the banner of law-and-order, but the release of a shocking videotape complicates the picture.
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    44 mins
  • Episode 5: Reasonable People
    Jul 27 2023
    Goetz faces a jury of his fellow New Yorkers, while his attorneys put his victims on trial.
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    42 mins
  • Episode 6: Damages
    Jul 27 2023
    Goetz's fate is decided, and the outcome reverberates beyond the courtroom for decades to come.
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    44 mins