The courtroom can be a battlefield over money, people’s rights, and even their lives. For some cases, the consequences can affect us long after the verdict is read.

Whether it's Hulk Hogan v. Gawker, the World Trade Center Insurance Case, or the Monkey-selfie copyright debacle, Wondery’s new podcast LEGAL WARS puts you inside the jury box of some of the most famous court cases in American history. Subscribe to Legal Wars today at wondery.fm/aftermath

The City tells true stories of how power works in urban America. Season 1 begins in Chicago, 1990. 

After years of disinvestment, highways are rebuilt, old buildings demolished, new skyscrapers erected. All that rubble has to go somewhere, and its destination isn’t a landfill—it’s a pair of vacant lots in a black, working-class neighborhood called North Lawndale. The man behind this operation is a white guy sporting a Cosby sweater and underworld connections. What follows is a tour de force through Chicago’s underbelly: Aldermen get indicted. An FBI investigation goes awry. A community’s resilience is tested—all unfolding under the spectre of racism in America.

Look for The City on Apple Podcasts and subscribe to USA TODAY's new investigative podcast series: https://apple.co/2Ot21Tu

When a classmate shot Hollan Holm in the head, he handled it with dark humor. But when, more than 20 years later, his daughter described an active shooter drill at her school, Holm couldn’t find it funny anymore. 

Five bullets, including one to the spine, left Will Thomas paralyzed. More than 10 years later, Will is finally taking some control of his life and looking to create a better future.

After attending the funeral of a friend, Ra’Shauna Brown was chatting with other mourners when a gunman opened fire, killing three. Police said the shooting was part of a nine-day rampage that began over a stolen bracelet. 

 At 23 years old, Layla Bush was excited to work her first full-time job after college. Then a politically motivated gunman opened fire at her work, killing one. She remembers that the shooter looked her in the eye, acknowledging what he was doing just before he pulled the trigger.

 Javier Arango can’t remember a time when his life wasn’t immersed in violence. Born in conflict-ravaged Colombia, he moved to Oakland for refuge — only to be paralyzed by a bullet.

Michael Green was just 12 years old when someone opened fire and blasted him in the arm while he played basketball near his house. Police say he still lives down the street from the alleged shooter, who was never tried. 

Neglectful parents, and neighbors who looked the other way, set the stage for Clai Lasher-Sommers’ stepfather to shoot her in the back when she was 13 years old.

Best friends Carmen Alegria and Angelica Soto did everything together — and that includes saving each other from a gunman on a rampage.