Stuff You Should Know

The NY Subway Vigilante

June 11, 2026·47 min·6-min readconversationalculture
Podzilla Summary (6 min)
TLDR
In December 1984, Bernhard Goetz shot four Black teenagers on a New York City subway after they approached him and asked for five dollars, igniting a national firestorm over race, crime, self-defense, and urban decay. Though no one died, one of the teens, Darryl Cabey, was paralyzed and s

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Mentions

Books, people, and resources mentioned in this episode.

People

Bernhard GoetzDarryl CabeyTroy CantyJames RamseurAl Sharpton

Books

Five Bulletsby Elliott WilliamsFear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, The Bernhard Goetz Shootings and The Rebirth of White Rageby Heather Ann Thompson

Topics

American HistoryCivil Rights HistoryCriminal JusticeRacial JusticeTrue CrimeUs Politics

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