Crime Reads » James Polchin

Robert Fieseler On Florida's Hidden Cold War Against Black and Queer People

Robert Fieseler On Florida's Hidden Cold War Against Black and Queer People

"[C]entral aspects of the American past in the 20th century have been censored, sealed, not made available to the public."

By James Polchin | July 11, 2025

Elon Green on the 1980s Police Brutality Case That Brought New York's Art Scene Together In Protest

Elon Green on the 1980s Police Brutality Case That Brought New York's Art Scene Together In Protest

In 1983, 25-year-old graffiti artist Michael Stewart died after a brutal police beating. Artists, musicians, and East Village denizens soon united in outrage.

By James Polchin | March 19, 2025

The Con Artists Who Preyed on Gay Men In the Early 1900s

The Con Artists Who Preyed on Gay Men In the Early 1900s

James Polchin on the "real-life conmen...whose cons often profited from the prohibition and criminalization of homosexuals."

By James Polchin | June 27, 2024

Hugh Ryan on the Queer History of a Forgotten New York City Prison

Hugh Ryan on the Queer History of a Forgotten New York City Prison

"Some of the incarcerated folks could see the Stonewall Inn, and could see the uprising...there was a riot in the prison that night."

By James Polchin | June 15, 2022

Wayne Hoffman on Racing Against Time To Solve A Cold Case Murder

Wayne Hoffman on Racing Against Time To Solve A Cold Case Murder

James Polchin interviews Hoffman about a 1913 crime that traumatized Winnipeg's Jewish community, and the family connections that led him to investigate the case.

By James Polchin | February 16, 2022

Queer True Crime: <br>A Reading List

Queer True Crime:
A Reading List

"Queer people have always had a relationship to crime—often by force rather than choice. Our very existence has been outlawed, criminalized, medicalized."

By James Polchin | June 18, 2020

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

The History of Queer True Crime and the Legacy of Tom Ripley

By James Polchin | June 5, 2019