David Simon, Creator of The Wire, Named 2010 MacArthur Fellow

The 2010 MacArthur Fellows were named today. The latest “genius” grants go to 23 recipients, including David Simon, the creator of The Wire, the long running HBO show that was really (Simon once said) “a political tract masquerading as a cop show.” Above, Simon talks more about the thread running through his work. The Wire, Treme and Generation Kill – they’re all ultimately about the end of the American Empire, and the citizens that get left behind. Like the other grant winners, Simon will receive $500,000 over the next five years to spend however he sees fit …