Scott talks to Jessica Katzenstein from the Costs of War Project about her recent paper on the effects of America’s foreign wars on police militarization. She and Scott trace police militarization to the escalation of the war on drugs in the 1990s, when SWAT raids became especially prevalent. Today that trend has reached all-time highs, with Katzenstein estimating 60,000 raids per year. With so much military equipment being funneled to police departments from the military and Homeland Security, Scott describes the situation as hardly any different than a foreign army patrolling—and subjugating—an occupied country.

Discussed on the show:

• “The Wars Are Here: How the United States’ Post-9/11 Wars Helped Militarize U.S. Police” (Costs of War)
• Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic
  
• Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces
• “War Comes Home” (ACLU)
• “The Wire (TV Series 2002–2008)” (IMDb)

Jessica Katzenstein is a PhD candidate at Brown University, whose research interests include the militarization of U.S. policing, whiteness and racism and police reform. Follow her work at the Costs of War Project.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; Listen and Think Audio; TheBumperSticker.com; and LibertyStickers.com.

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