• [ network ]
  • goatmatrix.net
  • gvid.tv
  • img.gvid.tv
  • games.gvid.tv
  • apps.gvid.tv
HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

David Simon on Treme, New Orleans, the Drug War, Obama, The Wire - And Disappointing Libertarians

Views:971
@ReasonVids

UPDATED 9/21/2012: On his personal website, David Simon has accused Reason TV of producing a "shanked" interview with him. For links to his criticism, our response, and full audio of our hour-and-20-minute-long conversation with him that formed the basis of this video go to http://reason.com/blog/2012/09/21/david-simon-accuses-reason-of-producing


"At some point during the run of The Wire, I became a fellow traveler of the libertarians," says the acclaimed writer and television producer David Simon. "And then a great disappointment to them."

A self-proclaimed "lefty," Simon is the creator of the The Wire, which ran on HBO from 2002 to 2008 and depicted with tragic realism the impact of the drug war on inner-city Baltimore. Over five seasons, The Wire told a series of complex, interwoven stories built around major themes of the modern American city, including the decline of the working waterfront, failing schools, faltering newspapers, the unseemly side of local politics, and, more generally, how bureaucratic institutions thwart reform-minded individuals.

In writing The Wire, Simon drew on his 13-years as a reporter at The Baltimore Sun and his 1991 book, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, which is derived from Simon's stint as an embed with the Baltimore Police Department's homicide division. Producer Barry Levinson later turned the book into an Emmy-award-winning series that ran on NBC from 1993 to 1998.

Simon co-wrote (with David Mills) The Corner (2000), an HBO miniseries that depicts inner-city Baltimore ravaged by the drug trade, and he co-wrote HBO's Generation Kill, a miniseries based on a book by Evan Wright about a Marine Corps unit during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Simon's blistering indictment of the drug war frames Eugene Jarecki's new documentary on the subject, The House I Live In, and he's an outspoken critic of the state of the newspaper industry. In 2009, Simon testified before the Senate Commerce Committee that shrinking newsrooms imperil our democracy.

HBO's Treme is Simon's latest project, which offers a multi-faceted look at post-Katrina New Orleans and the music scene that makes the city so unique. Treme's third season starts this Sunday on HBO.

Simon was last interviewed in Reason in 2004, and retired Baltimore homicide and narcotics detective Ed Burns, who was Simon's collaborator on The Wire and other projects, was interviewed in Reason in 2008.

Reason.com Editor in Chief Nick Gillespie sat down with Simon last week to discuss Treme, the state of New Orleans, the drug war, President Obama, school choice, private prisons, the newspaper industry, and Simon's antipathy towards libertarians.

Go to http://Reason.com
for a print version of that edited discussion.

About 21 minutes.

Produced by Jim Epstein; shot by Epstein and Meredith Bragg.

Go to http://Reason.com for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube Channel to receive automatic updates when new material is live.


UPDATED 9/21/2012: On his personal website, David Simon has accused Reason TV of producing a "shanked" interview with him. For links to his criticism, our response, and full audio of our hour-and-20-minute-long conversation with him that formed the basis of this video go to http://reason.com/blog/2012/09/21/david-simon-accuses-reason-of-producing

hbo
,
treme
,
david simon
,
the wire
,
generation kill
,
nick gillespie
,
jim epstein
,
libertarian
,
libertarianism
,
drug war
,
war on drugs
,
president obama
,
new orleans
,
hurricane katrina
,
school choice
,
private prisons
,
reason tv
,
reason magazine
,
reason foundation
    Thumbnail for Boob Over Bottle: Mike Bloomberg's Latest Nanny State Dictate3:10
    Boob Over Bottle: Mike Bloomberg's Latest Nanny State Dictate
    ReasonVids
    1095 views
    Thumbnail for Tired of both political parties?  Try Reason!0:34
    Tired of both political parties? Try Reason!
    ReasonVids
    977 views
    Thumbnail for Brain Games' Jason Silva Talks Techno Optimism7:23
    Brain Games' Jason Silva Talks Techno Optimism
    ReasonVids
    1032 views
    Thumbnail for Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper on Ending the Drug War9:52
    Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper on Ending the Drug War
    ReasonVids
    1169 views
    Thumbnail for "Addiction Rewires Your Brain Like Falling in Love Does"6:46
    "Addiction Rewires Your Brain Like Falling in Love Does"
    ReasonVids
    883 views
    Thumbnail for Liberty Fund's Chris Talley on Freedom, Dialogue, and Ama-gi Tattoos3:37
    Liberty Fund's Chris Talley on Freedom, Dialogue, and Ama-gi Tattoos
    ReasonVids
    848 views
    Thumbnail for The State of Jefferson Moves One Step Closer to Reality2:14
    The State of Jefferson Moves One Step Closer to Reality
    ReasonVids
    1085 views
    Thumbnail for Hospital Technicians Ignore Copyright Law to Fight COVID-196:58
    Hospital Technicians Ignore Copyright Law to Fight COVID-19
    ReasonVids
    1126 views
    Thumbnail for How Eva Moskowitz Outmuscled the Teachers Union16:52
    How Eva Moskowitz Outmuscled the Teachers Union
    ReasonVids
    1053 views
    Thumbnail for Why it's good to be ethnic | Simon Taylor1:00
    Why it's good to be ethnic | Simon Taylor
    invidious
    393 views
    Thumbnail for "Wadjda": Q&A with Saudi Arabia's First Female Director5:36
    "Wadjda": Q&A with Saudi Arabia's First Female Director
    ReasonVids
    1046 views
    Thumbnail for Glenn Greenwald's Plan to Poke, Prod, and Piss Off the Powerful42:02
    Glenn Greenwald's Plan to Poke, Prod, and Piss Off the Powerful
    ReasonVids
    961 views
    Thumbnail for Journalist Andrew Malcolm on Embracing New Media6:10
    Journalist Andrew Malcolm on Embracing New Media
    ReasonVids
    1029 views
    Thumbnail for Garlic Bread Knots That Will Leave You Tongue-Tied!🧄🍞 #shorts #garlic #bread #baking | cookingWITHfred0:26
    Garlic Bread Knots That Will Leave You Tongue-Tied!🧄🍞 #shorts #garlic #bread #baking | cookingWITHfred
    invidious
    163 views
    Thumbnail for Virginia Postrel on Oscar Glamour, Chris Christie, and Whether J.Lo Could be Obama's Mentor10:43
    Virginia Postrel on Oscar Glamour, Chris Christie, and Whether J.Lo Could be Obama's Mentor
    ReasonVids
    956 views
    Thumbnail for Puerto Rico's Infrastructure Reniassance  - David Álvarez on Public-Private Investment42:56
    Puerto Rico's Infrastructure Reniassance - David Álvarez on Public-Private Investment
    ReasonVids
    937 views
    Thumbnail for What Vaping Did12:40
    What Vaping Did
    ReasonVids
    815 views
    Thumbnail for What's Wrong with American Politics? "Of By For" Director Christopher Kay9:51
    What's Wrong with American Politics? "Of By For" Director Christopher Kay
    ReasonVids
    1167 views
    Thumbnail for Jeremy Scahill: Dems are "Nowhere" on Civil Liberties0:52
    Jeremy Scahill: Dems are "Nowhere" on Civil Liberties
    ReasonVids
    1015 views
    Thumbnail for +50 Riddles With Twists For Natural Born Investigators 🔍 | BRIGHT SIDE37:08
    +50 Riddles With Twists For Natural Born Investigators 🔍 | BRIGHT SIDE
    invidious
    329 views
    Thumbnail for Coding Boot Camps Can Get Students Jobs, CA is Busting Them (Nanny of the Month, February 2014)1:39
    Coding Boot Camps Can Get Students Jobs, CA is Busting Them (Nanny of the Month, February 2014)
    ReasonVids
    891 views
    Thumbnail for Craig Shirley: How Pearl Harbor - and December 1941 - Made America a Global Power8:09
    Craig Shirley: How Pearl Harbor - and December 1941 - Made America a Global Power
    ReasonVids
    1019 views
    Thumbnail for Capitalism vs. Slavery...and The New York Times' 1619 Project1:18:51
    Capitalism vs. Slavery...and The New York Times' 1619 Project
    ReasonVids
    829 views
    Thumbnail for Sex Offender Brunch!6:12
    Sex Offender Brunch!
    ReasonVids
    989 views
    Thumbnail for Ray Tracing Performance On An Intel GPU Is Weird... | Dawid Does Tech Stuff14:03
    Ray Tracing Performance On An Intel GPU Is Weird... | Dawid Does Tech Stuff
    invidious
    360 views

points

Permalink
Reply
hbo
,
treme
,
david simon
,
the wire
,
generation kill
,
nick gillespie
,
jim epstein
,
libertarian
,
libertarianism
,
drug war
,
war on drugs
,
president obama
,
new orleans
,
hurricane katrina
,
school choice
,
private prisons
,
reason tv
,
reason magazine
,
reason foundation
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle