The Photo of the Year; plus, whose RICO is it anyway?

It's Been a Minute

NPR

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 8.8K Ratings

🗓️ 8 September 2023

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When former President Donald Trump's mugshot was released, pundits immediately searched for meaning. Was it defiant? Was it embarrassing? Turns out what we see in that image could change over time. Brittany Luse is joined by Vanessa Friedman, senior fashion critic for the New York Times, to talk about the cultural meaning of infamous mugshots and their resounding impact on us.

Then, we welcome Emory law professor emeritus Morgan Cloud to talk about the legal tool that's taking pop culture by storm: the RICO charge. We explore what the act was originally intended to do, and the role of the RICO reboot in several big pop culture cases today, from rapper Young Thug to fashion retailer SHEIN.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, hey, you're listening to it's been a minute from NPR.
0:07.4	I'm Brittany Luce.
0:09.4	Something in the culture shifted a couple weeks ago.
0:12.2	It was August 24th around 8.45 pm.
0:15.5	My husband was at his computer and he kept hitting refresh on the social media platform
0:20.1	formerly known as Twitter.
0:22.4	He, like millions of you and me, wanted to see the photo of the year.
0:27.3	And when the pick finally dropped, I heard him scream from the other room.
0:31.1	Breaking news, this is an image that will be in the history books.
0:34.7	Looks like we are just getting the mug shot for former President Donald Trump.
0:40.9	And there it is.
0:42.5	Yeah.
0:43.5	Let's just take that in for a second.
0:46.4	When former President Trump's mug shot from Fulton County jail across the wires, I dissected
0:51.5	every part of that little square.
0:54.0	From his scowl to his blue blazer and red tie, to how his head was slanted and how his
0:58.8	hair seemed wilder than ever.
1:01.3	It's been a little over two weeks since that picture was released, but it hasn't left
1:05.2	my mind.
1:06.2	That tiny photo has come to represent so much.
1:09.9	I'm not talking politically.
1:11.2	There are plenty of other NPR shows that have covered that already.
	...

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