EconTech

Ed Burns and David Simon are writing a mini series for HBO “Generation Kill” about the first wave of the invasion of the 2003 Iraq War (trailer here). They were, of course, the writers for that other show you may have heard about, “The Wire.” Lots of other good stuff is in there. Ziggy Sobotka [...]

Obviously, I am no Hollywood exec (though even if I were, there wouldn’t be a whole lot of evidence that I know how to pick winners and losers). However, I just do not see how such a show could be created and be interesting. It is like a show about academia. You could put it [...]

READ! (who would’ve thought) Tyler Cowen points us to a book:
Cop in the Hood

Motivated primarily by a desire for court overtime pay, police officers want arrests on their own terms, ideally without victims, complaints, or unnecessary paperwork. Young officers make more arrests than veteran officers. These officers believe that making arrests is police [...]

Well, besides putting Season 1 to the top of your NetFlix queue. You will probably call me crazy for suggesting this, and it does depend on why you like”The Wire.” If you like it because of the raw violence and that it is a crime drama, then this suggestion will apply to you less than [...]

What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Nine

I should have seen it coming. But I didn’t.
The Thugs informed me that they were not interested in watching the last 2 episodes of season 5 of The Wire. I’ve been pleading with them to reconsider.
“We’ve seen this s–t already,” Shine told me. “This is fun [...]

I still haven’t seen last week’s episode!!
What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Eight
Where is Flavor?Readers of this blog may have noticed the absence of Flavor, the youngest member of “the Thugs,” from last week’s discussion. Shine wouldn’t tell me what happened to Flavor until he failed to appear for this week’s viewing [...]

I STILL haven’t seen the latest episode. However, after reading the first sentence (how could I not?), I know my co-Wire-istas felt the same way:
What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Seven
The Thugs were bored. Episode 7 failed to move them.
“Too slow,” griped Shine.
“They’re making us wait,” said Orlando. “See, that’s when this [...]

I haven’t watched the 6th episode yet; so, I haven’t read.
What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Six

I had been waiting for the self-described “Thugs” to analyze the workings of City Hall and the fictional Baltimore Sun more consistently. This week, I got what I wished for, but not in the way I [...]

You know the drill:
What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Five

Sudhir Venkatesh, Columbia sociologist and author of “Gang Leader for a Day,” is back with another report after watching “The Wire” with a group of gangland acquaintances. Past posts can be found here.
Dear Freakonomics.com readers: Your comments in the last discussion regarding the [...]

I’ve seen the last episode, but haven’t gone through the first episodes of the season yet. I’m trying to complete a couple of things before I put the time in on those. But there are two things I’ve learned: 1) Don’t bet against Omar 2) Don’t bet against Marlo. Which of course makes this an [...]

I’m almost there!! I’ve finished season 4 and the teaser mini-episodes to season 5. Just need to get 1,2, and 3 under my belt, and I can actually read these.
What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire? Part Three
By Sudhir Venkatesh
Sudhir Venkatesh, our good friend and author of the new book “Gang Leader for a [...]

I’ve become one (a Wire-addict) in recent weeks. I knew it was a good show, but my friends watched so much of it so fast, I couldn’t keep up, and once I was behind, I was lost. But I’ve finally gotten around to watching it, and wow. Anyway, here is Sudhir Venkatesh on the second [...]

Since I know so many people who watch “The Wire” thought I’d help Mark over at Language Log out:

OK, you wireistas, listen up
Cosma Shalizi says “I’m pretty sure that some of the dialogue in The Wire uses ‘yo’ as, precisely, a gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun. Of course I’d have to re-watch the previous seasons to [...]