Main content

21. The Woman Who Brought Down the Mob

Matthew Syed explores the experience of being 鈥渁 first鈥, as he tells the story of the trailblazing black woman lawyer who brought down the most notorious New York city mobster.

On a January night in Manhattan, a team of lawyers is working to crack open an organised crime case. And at the centre of it all, is Eunice Carter - the first black woman to graduate from Fordham Law and the first African-American woman to pass the New York state bar.

Matthew Syed tells the story of how Carter鈥檚 brilliance and meticulous attention to detail blew open a case that would bring down the most notorious mobster - Lucky Luciano - and he explores the experience, the pressure and the role of being "a first".

With Yun Li and Marilyn Greenwald, authors of the biography Eunice Hunton Carter: A Lifelong Fight for Social Justice;
Dr. Tsedale M Melaku, sociologist and author of You Don't Look Like a Lawyer: Black Women and Systemic Gendered Racism;
and Claude M Steele Professor of Psychology at Stanford University.

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Sandra Labady
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Researcher: Nadia Mehdi
Music, sound design and mix: Rob Speight
Additional mixing: Alex Portfelix
A Novel production for 大象传媒 Radio 4

Available now

29 minutes

Last on

Mon 6 Dec 2021 00:15

Broadcasts

  • Wed 1 Dec 2021 16:00
  • Mon 6 Dec 2021 00:15

Sideways - Articles

Sideways - Articles

Features on some of the fascinating topics from Sideways with Matthew Syed.

My last 5p: How one homeless man鈥檚 generosity led to him marrying the love of his life

My last 5p: How one homeless man鈥檚 generosity led to him marrying the love of his life

How one act of generosity can have profound consequences.

Why we all need an alter ego

Why we all need an alter ego

Matthew Syed looks at how adopting an alter ego can help us all to access confidence.

What's the secret of making a smash hit pop song?

What's the secret of making a smash hit pop song?

Exploring the success of Max Martin, the behind-the-scenes genius behind 22 No.1 hits.

Podcast