Author launches YouTube docuseries ahead of September book on subway chokehold case

Political analyst Anand Giridharadas is set to roll out a YouTube investigative series on September 8 that delves into the 2023 New York City subway chokehold case of Jordan Neely and Daniel Penny, whose 2024 manslaughter acquittal sparked national debate. Each episode will open with a distinct piece of evidence, ranging from interrogation recordings to a death certificate, and will be co-hosted by New York a journalist at one outlet.

The series is being developed through Collective Media’s inaugural Next Gen News accelerator, which supports journalists across digital platforms. Giridharadas, author of several bestsellers and a longtime New York one outlet columnist, spent two and a half years researching the incident before shaping it into a narrative for both the series and his forthcoming book. Knopf will publish “Man in the Mirror: Hope, Struggle, and Belonging in an American City” on September 29, just a week after releasing Ari Emanuel’s memoir “Roll the Calls.” This coordinated launch is rare for a top-tier publisher, which typically avoids overlapping a book with a contemporaneous docuseries.