The first phrase of the podcast title “Black and White” is intended as an ironic double entendre. The first and obvious reference is to race. In the phrase, Serge is the “black” and Clarke is the “white.” But the phrase “black and white” often refers to a choice where one decision is obviously correct and one decision is obviously wrong. The irony intended by Serge and Clarke is that very little about the work of justice is simply black and white; the world is full of “gray.”

       The second phrase modifies the idea that police are the “thin blue line” of civilization. Serge and Clarke refer to the phrase in plural as “thin blue lines.” This acknowledges that even within law enforcement there are emerging, ever-changing, and even contradictory ideas, tactics, police practices and rules of operation reflecting strong differences of opinion.