Harper’s Magazine
The Harper’s Podcast
A Firm Hand
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A Firm Hand

What does advice from the world’s most notorious consulting firm look like? Ian MacDougall discusses the McKinsey mystique, its work culture, the inner workings of its project to reduce violence at New York’s Rikers Island jail complex, and how the firm has shaped American capitalism over nine decades. You can read MacDougall’s annotation of one of McKinsey’s PowerPoint slides, created for the Rikers Island project—along with the entire presentation—here: https://harpers.org/archive/2022/01/a-firm-hand-mckinsey-goes-to-rikers-island This episode was produced by Violet Lucca and Andrew Blevins.

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Harper’s Magazine
The Harper’s Podcast
Since 1850, Harper’s Magazine has provided its readers with a unique perspective on the issues that drive our national conversation, featuring writing from some of the most promising to most distinguished names in literature–from Barbara Ehrenreich to Rachel Kushner. Listen as Harper's editors and contributing writers take a deep dive into these topics and the craft of long-form narrative journalism.
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