Born in Flames (S7E3)

Today, we're joined by historian Bench Ansfield to talk about their breathtaking book, Born in Flames. It's about the arson wave of the 1970s, during which hundreds--yes, hundreds--of landlords in the Bronx set fire to their property to collect insurance. These crimes displaced thousands of Bronxites and killed a few, too. The crisis gae rise to a genre of sensationalist films Bench calls Bronxploitation that foreground poverty and vice in the borough.

Above: Movie poster for Fort Apache, the Bronx, a work of what author Bench Ansfield calls "Bronxploitation" starring Paul Newman.