In this week's show we wrap up our exploration of fear by turning to the relationship between fear and crime in America. As researchers at Chapman University found in their Survey of American Fears, our belief about crime are deeply out of step with reality. Many Americans believe crime is on the rise and our country is more dangerous now than in the past, yet both violent crimes and property crimes crime have seen a steady decline for nearly 30 years. How do we explain this disconnect? In trying to answer that question we'll explore how and why views on crime are deeply racialized, and the ways in which white fears and anti-immigrant politics have distorted criminal justice policies and fueled the mass incarceration of people of color soon after the "War on Drugs" and "Law and Order" rhetoric of the 1970s and 80s. We'll dive into the data behind crime in America and look at how everything from political affiliation to belief in the devil and demons shape views on crime and punishment and criminality in America.

I'm producing these episodes in parallel with a course of the same name which I am teaching at California State University, Chico where I am currently teaching.  Each week I will look at a different topic related to the end of the world, from doomsday preppers and our deepest fears to the role of religion, media, and politics in thinking about the end of the world.

There are several short video segments included which you can watch by following the links below:

Clip 1: Mass Incarceration Why Does The U.S. Jail So Many People - Al Jazeera 

Clip 2: From Trump to Nixon GOP's  law and order strategy remains as context changes - Global News

Clip 3: The fractured politics of a browning America - Vox

For additional show notes and materials references in this episode be sure to visit my End of the World page:

https://www.chriscrews.com/end-of-the-world-podcast/

Thanks for listening.

Dr. Crews