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Rating
4.9from
This podcast has
41 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
Columbia Journalism SchoolExplicit
No
Date created
2020/04/23
Latest episode
2025/05/18
Average duration
33 min.
Release period
53 days
Description
Shoe Leather is an investigative podcast that goes behind the scenes of forgotten stories that shaped New York City. Go along with the team as they knock on doors and track down the people who were at the center of the news. This season, we’re taking a deep dive into the life and career of Rudy Giuliani, one of the most influential politicians in New York City’s recent history. Before he was disbarred and bankrupt, before all the trouble, Giuliani rose to prominence as a prosecutor and a politician. As America’s mayor, he had one of the highest approval ratings of all time among New Yorkers. He was even knighted by the Queen of England. So, how does that person end up bankrupt and ridiculed? How did America’s Mayor end up betraying the very values he built his career on?
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Check latest episodes from Shoe Leather podcast
Rudy Gone Wild
2025/05/18
Newly crowned as America's Mayor, Giuliani looks set to cash in on his newfound popularity. He shoots for the White House and misses. After disappearing from the spotlight, he decides to make a comeback working for someone who could very well be his last legal client: President Donald Trump. This episode was reported, written, and produced by Deep Vakil and Hope Talbot.
King Rudolph
2025/05/15
Rudy Giuliani begins his second term as New York City’s mayor riding high — a crime-fighting icon fresh off a re-election win. But as the years unfold, controversies mount, political ambitions clash with personal scandals, and his successes begin to fade. His rise quickly turns into an unraveling — until a national tragedy shifts Giuliani’s fate. Episode 5: King Rudolph, reported and produced by Alice Finno and Peter Shea.
Credit
2025/05/15
In 1993, Giuliani wins the mayoral election in NYC. He runs on the promise to curb one of the biggest issues for New Yorkers: crime. And, when he wins, he hires a police commissioner who flies too close to the sun. And changes the NYPD forever.
The GODFather
2025/05/14
In June 1983, Rudy Giuliani moves back to New York City. He takes a job as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and sets his sights on going after organized crime.
He’ll use his time as prosecutor to go after the mob, which earns him a lot of media attention.
In May 1989, Giuliani has a new goal-to become the next mayor of New York City.
Join us as we try to find out why Giuliani was so obsessed with the mob - and how he used it to run for the city’s top job. By Lauren Gould and Liza Golovtsova.
Ambition is a Beast
2025/05/13
Why did a young Rudy Giuliani have tea with Haiti's dictator in 1982?
To answer that question, we’ll have to go back to 1968 when a 24 year-old Giuliani was just graduating from law school. He was a young, driven lawyer whose sight was set on a political career with the Democratic Party.
But in just 7 years, Giuliani would change cities, change jobs, change political parties and establish what we now call: immigration detention centers.
You're listening to Episode 2: "Ambition is a Beast."
By: Leonardo Bevilacqua and Dante Dallago
The Fight
2025/05/13
Every New Yorker knows Rudy Giuliani. He was America's mayor, one of the heroes of 9/11. He was President Donald Trump's lawyer. He denied the 2020 election. Giuliani has been a big name in New York City politics since the 1980s. But it didn't start that way. The story of Rudolph William Louis Giuliani starts long before then. On May 28th, 1944. In East Flatbush, Brooklyn.
This episode was reported, written, and produced by Eleanor Hildebrandt and Emily Sawaked.
Giuliani: The Unraveling – trailer
2025/05/12
This season on Shoe Leather, a look into the life and career of Rudy Giuliani – one of the most influential politicians in New York City’s recent history.
Boli
2024/05/28
Amadou Diallo’s name became synonymous with “41 shots”.
He was killed in 1999 by four NYPD officers, who fired at him 41 times inside the doorway of his Bronx apartment building. The incident etched his name into public memory through explosive news coverage.
But beyond the headlines, who was Amadou Diallo?
In “Boli”, we dive into Amadou’s life – from his dreams to his time in New York. We hear from neighbors and friends who go down memory lane to tell us his side of the story.
Join us as we go beyond “41 shots” to learn more about Amadou Diallo.
By Serena Balani and Neha Sati
The Fall Guy
2024/05/10
Police said they approached Amadou Diallo because they suspected he was a serial rapist who had been terrorizing the Bronx and Harlem for six years. A judge later blamed the real rapist, Isaac Jones, for Diallo's death. Was Jones really responsible?
This Is A F****n' Business
2024/05/08
In 1999, when Yasiin Bey (then-known as Mos Def) and Talib Kweli hear about the killing of Amadou Diallo, they know they have to respond.
A year later, they release Hip Hop for Respect. The EP features 41 rappers, and it gets released when much of New York City is enraged after the four cops who shot Amadou are acquitted.
24 years later, Khadija Alam and Rachel Kahn ask: Why has no one heard Hip Hop for Respect? And does it still matter?
NYPD's Dirty Little Secret
2024/05/08
After Amadou Diallo was killed by four white police officers, Yvette Walton decided to speak out. She used to be the only Black woman patrolling the streets in the Street Crime Unit - the team responsible for shooting 41 bullets at the unarmed Black man.
After 25 years, she looks back at her story and helps us understand: Why did she decide to blow the whistle?
The Mural
2024/05/08
Two years after Amadou was killed, a local artist named Hulbert Waldroup was commissioned to create a mural honoring him on the street where he lived in the Bronx. But that’s not the mural you’ll see if you drive by today.
In this episode, Sara Braun and Dani Morera Trettin uncover the story behind the original mural, its controversial unveiling, and why eventually, a new mural replaced it 16 years later.
The Verdict
2024/05/08
In 1999, four white police officers killed Amadou Diallo and were charged with murder. A year later, a jury found them not guilty. The trial took place in Albany — even though the killing happened in the Bronx. 24 years later, we wanted to know why the jury voted not guilty. Does justice mean something different depending on where you are?
Who’s Afraid Of Antonio Pagan?
2023/05/12
In the 1980s and 90s, controversial City Councilperson Antonio Pagan was loved and hated by the Lower East Side. And while his political career was short-lived, his complicated legacy lives on. 35 years later, we want to know: was Antonio Pagan to blame for one of the worst police riots in New York City's history?
THE BUTCHER OF TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK
2023/05/12
Daniel Rakowitz would often wander around Tompkins Square park holding a Bible and carrying a live rooster. Everyone in the neighborhood knew him, or knew of him. In 1989 - Daniel would go on trial for the brutal and complicated murder of Monika Beerle. Turns out, he'd told people he was going to kill her. So, why didn't anyone listen? This episode is “The Butcher of Tompkins Square Park.”
Podcast reviews
Read Shoe Leather podcast reviews
beeftastik 2024/05/08
Been waiting!
Summer nears, pod drops - joy
someone entirely 2022/05/13
The Party episode
A great episode with an interesting cast of characters. The narration and insightful interviews provide a vivid context for a story that unexpectedly ...
joy aye 2021/07/16
Guy Fisher Episode
The story tellers—Alexandra and Monica— of the Guy Fisher Episode were incredible. What a fascinating story!
Rdhibsho 2021/05/31
Fascinating untold story about the Bronx
Thanks for telling it and telling it so well !
d90ah 2021/05/31
Great reporting on the Bronx is burning!
Nicely done will be subscribing and look forward to further episodes
Paowow 2021/05/31
Journalism at it’s finest
I love historical non-fiction. This story explains the rising from the ashes of the Bronx that we know and love. Added bonus, the authors voice is s...
navyflyer777 2021/05/25
Interesting
Interesting mini history lesson on 1970s New York. Very well done.
caligula24 2021/05/19
Awesome!
Really well produced and the topics are fascinating.
paul l-b 2021/05/18
The City in the 70’s matters today
Great stories. Great reporting. Great insights into the City in the 70’s that are instructive to coming back from covid in the 2020s.
careyspence 2021/05/18
Amazing!
Amazing storytelling from the Columbia journalism students!
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