Podcast: Who Killed Harrisburg?

Who killed Harrisburg?

That’s the question award-winning investigative reporter Chris Papst answers in his new book Capital Murder, which chronicles how Harrisburg became the only capital city in American history to file for bankruptcy.

Papst held government accountable as a reporter for CBS21’s Waste Watch, reporting on topics like welfare fraud and abuse, paycheck protection, and exposing Harrisburg’s billion dollar judge.

The book is incredibly timely: Just last week, the home of former Harrisburg mayor Stephen Reed, who Papst calls the “head coach” of the team that presided over the city’s decline, was raided by agents from the state attorney general’s office in connection with a grand jury  investigation into the city’s finances.

Listen to CF President Matt Brouillette’s conversation with Chris:

The dangers of unaccountable government, abuse of power, out of control debt, and blind trust in elected leaders are just a few of the lessons other cities should learn from Harrisburg’s unfortunate example.

The book is available in hardback and as a Kindle e-book at Amazon.com and is published by Sunbury Press.

Chris Papst now reports for WJLA in Washington D.C.

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