Original subtitles

MAN [over radio]: Wait, wait. You're listening... [laughs]

- WOMAN [over radio]: Okay? - MAN: All right.

- WOMAN: Okay? - MAN: All right. [clears throa]

- WOMAN: You're listening... - MAN: Listening...

WOMAN [echoing]: ...to Radiolab.

- MAN 2: Radiolab. - WOMAN: From...

- MAN: WNYC. - WOMAN 2 [echoing]: C.

- WOMAN: C? - MAN: Yup. - [woman 2 giggles]

WOMAN: And NPR.

JAD ABUMRAD: I've learned... How would you describe this on?

ROBERT KRULWICH: My sense is that you walk into a wild plac.

Then you hear the wind and the trees,

and you hear these chirps and sounds and calls,

and they're just part of the... they're part of the wild.

They're wildlife, but there's now a group of scientists

- who listen much more closely - [muffled chatter]

and who are reducing wildlife to wild talk.

- It's-it's, uh... - ABUMRAD: Yeah.

KRULWICH: There are words in there.

ABUMRAD: When you find the words, as the people we will meet do

in these stories, you end up not just understanding

but actually entering that wild space in a very cool way.

- KRULWICH: Right. - ABUMRAD: Yes.

KRULWICH: Or as a dolphin might say...

ABUMRAD: How would a dolphin say it?

KRULWICH: I don't know.

ABUMRAD: Well, then, then you know what?

That is exactly kind of the question of this next segment.

I mean, the dream that a human being

can talk to a dolphin or any animal...

- Sorry? - Your order.

Sir, you can get back in line.

Bae, whatever.

It's all right. You could go, or...

Nah, it's whatever.

Go ahead.

Could I get a large coffee, please?

Mm-hmm. Is that all?

Yeah. Thanks.

[sighs]

♪ Say what you want, say what you want to say ♪

♪ I already know you're mine ♪

♪ Take what you want, take a piece of me ♪

♪ It seems to ease your mind ♪

♪ You don't have to explain. ♪

[child shouting in the distance]

- [sighs] - [door opens]

Katie, he's here.

- She's coming. - Great. Thanks.

Are you using the, um,

the standing lamp?

The-the shaker beige one in the guest room?

No, not really.

Uh, any chance I could borrow it?

I-I could use a little bit more light in my place, and...

- Hey, Dad. - Hey, kiddo.

All right. I'll-I'll just grab it later?

- Sure, that's fine. - Okay.

All right, let's do it. How you doing?

- KATIE: I'm good. - That's nice.

HOST [over radio]: ...substantially impact racial matters

- in modern day society. - GUEST: Well, yes.

In the case of the Tesla trial,

you have a Black man suing Josh Beckford,

an early investor at Tesla, due to the fact

that his ancestors were enslavd

by relatives of Mr. Beckford's.

That human capital and profit can be directly linked

to the financials of the company,

so I do think there's merit, and he could win the lawsuit.

HOST: Not could win. Did win.

Mr. Mbaye did win the lawsuit,

a scenario that seemed impossible to many beforehand.

And you have to think this decision will have

very far-reaching consequences all around the world...

- Dad? - especially in America due...

Yeah, sweetie?

Mom sprayed herself with that flower perfume

before you picked me up.

I think she wants you to come home.

Did she say that?

No. I just think so.

Okay. Got it.

[children shouting, laughing]

All right, have a good day at school, sweetie.

[car radio playing]

HOST [over radio]: The Marvin Gaye versus Robin Thicke...

KATIE: Hey, Dad?

Yeah.

Can you stay over at Mom's soon?

You know what? I'll talk to her about it.

[indistinct chatter on radio]

HOST: Don't you think this might actually heighten tensions

between Black and white people?

- It feels divisive... - [phone buzzing]

GUEST: The Tesla investor was the owner

of this Black man's ancestor.

So, also the owner of that man's future.

You're right. It's-it's never gonna be solved easily.

[whistle blowing]

[doors lock, car beeps]

[elevator bell dings]

[scoffs] Can you believe this guy?

Now this Tesla exec owes him a ton of money.

He'll be set for life.

[sighs]

This whole thing is crazy.

Do you even care? It's unfair.

[chuckles softly] Uh, whatever.

I mean, it's not like he's even gonna notice. He's rich.

[elevator bell dings]

We're meeting.

Uh, what for?

Come on in.

All right, I think that's everybody.

As some of you might have heard,

I did get word from the CEO and head executives

that we'll be having some layoffs.

[group murmuring]

GREG: How soon?

We'll get into that later today.

I've been told that HR will...

WOMAN: This is ridiculous!

[woman clears throat]

Now, I know a lot of you will have many questions,

and we want to be sure and answer all of 'em,

but at this point in time, that's all

the information I have.

[group murmuring]

[inhales deeply]

[pen clicking]

PAULA: There's a rumor they're being sued with the same clause

that got the Tesla guy.

This shit's bonkers, right?

Bonkers.

Well, and it's cleared the way for personal litigation now.

They can just look you up and force you to pay.

[laughing]: What? No.

- Really? - Yeah.

It's scary. I'm looking at my family tree right now

to make sure I'm in the clear.

Everybody else is, too.

- [indistinct chatter] - PAULA: Lucky them.

Not a care in the world.

Aren't you worried?

Nah. I don't yell "fire" unless I see flames.

There's no smoke on my end.

[phone buzzing]

PAULA: You gonna check your background?

Nah. I never signed up for that stuff.

PAULA: Oh, you don't have to.

One of your relatives could have signed up.

I can show you how to look.

[laughs] I'm fine.

All... good.

[woman sobbing]

[sobbing continues]

WOMAN [over radio]: Mm, shout-out to his lawyer.

- This is crazy, right? - MAN: It's crazy.

He's got to put his money where his mouth is now.

- [cash register dings] - So what you gonna do

- with your apolo-cheese? - WOMAN: Oh.

MAN: No more apologies, just apolo-cheese.

WOMAN: Apolo-cheese! I like that.

I'm gonna hit the mall and sped some of this apolo-cheese!

MAN: Yeah. Uh, you better get some Nike stock, though, right?

WOMAN: Okay? I'm about to go hire that same lawyer.

I'm sure somebody owes me about $50 million.

- [laughs] - MAN: Mm-hmm, this is se...

[turns off radio]

[sighs]

You got a lot of homework today?

No, not too much.

Well, that's good.

You tired?

No, not really.

I'm thinking spaghetti for dinner tonight.

Huh? Maybe a little of my famous garlic bread?

Are we racist?

What?

A kid at school said we're racist.

[laughs]

That's not true, Katie. That's...

[sighs]

Right now, Black people are just... [sighs]

Don't listen to that kid at school, okay?

You are not racist.

Were we slave owners?

[laughs]

No, we... Do you see any slaves in our backyard?

Mr. Pedro.

Mr. Pe...? No, I pay Mr. Pedro.

You... [sighs]

Listen, that stuff happened a long, long time ago.

All right? We-We're Austro-Hungarian.

We were enslaved during the Byzantine Empire.

Uh, what? Should I fly to Hungary and demand money now?

That would be ridiculous, right?

[laughing]: Right?

[soft rock music playing quietly]

Sweetie, dinner's ready.

Hey.

All right. Let's do it.

Want cheese?

Tell me when to stop.

[chuckles]

Mm-hmm.

[phone buzzing]

Ugh.

Dig in.

[knocking]

♪

Eat.

[lock clicks]

Marshall Johnson?

Yes?

You've been served.

- I'm sorry. What is this about? - [phone camera dings]

My name is Sheniqua Johnson of the St. Louis Johnsons.

Your family owned my great-great-grandmother

and father for 12 years.

You owe me money.

Uh... I... [chuckles]

There... there-there must be some kind of mistake.

Uh, you know, can we just talk about this outside?

- Uh-uh. There ain't been no mistake. - Excuse me.

- Ooh, look what we got here. - Excuse me!

- KATIE: Who is it, Dad? - Uh, ma'am? - Now, we got

- one, two, three bedrooms. - Uh...

- Look at this bathroom. - Uh, ma'am, could you... could you

- please get out of my house? - They got that good stuff in here.

- [laughs] Oh. - Excuse me!

You know what? You owe me about $3 million.

Ma'am, hey, hey, hey, hey, stop it!

Get out of my house!

Uh-uh. This is my house,

and I'm livestreaming the entire thing.

I want what's owed to me, Marshall.

You know what?

- If you don't get out right now, I'm calling the police. - Hmm.

- I'm calling the police right now! - You know what?

Your family's got blood on its hands.

And don't bother calling the police

because I already been there.

Ooh! Now, Jamal's gonna love this spot.

And don't slam my door!

MARSHALL: Uh-oh.

Maybe...

don't tell your mother about this.

Okay, let's do it.

Here we go. Hold on. W-Wait...

Just wait for me.

Okay.

Okay. All right, come on.

Let's do it.

Let's go.

[phones ringing]

Hey.

- Where's...? - All the Black people?

Besides Willy and Lester, they didn't come in today.

Did... did you get your results back?

69% Ashkenazi Jew, baby.

You're Jew...? Uh, you're Jewish?

The world can finally know.

We were slaves, too.

Austro-Hungarians were slaves as well.

Come on, Marshall.

That was like a million years ago.

[phones ringing]

[toilet flushing]

[indistinct chatter]

[quietly]: Hey, um, the guy, uh, with the shirt, uh...?

- [quietly]: Oh, Tim in Accounting? - He... yeah.

Yeah, the, um, Black family suing him decided

that they just wanted him to acknowledge it,

so he's got to wear that shirt twice a week.

One of them has to be Sunday.

I don't know. Personally,

I-I think he got off kind of easy.

- [mutters] - [feedback squeaks]

SHENIQUA [over megaphone]: Marshall Johnson,

- you owe me money. - No.

- No. - $3 million, and you have to pay up.

What do we want? Compensation.

- No. - When do we want it? Now.

Marshall Johnson's great-great-granddaddy enslaved

my great-great-granddaddy, and he owes me a lifetime of pay!

- No. - [Sheniqua speaking indistinctly]

No, no, no, no. No. No. No. No.

Pay up!

- Marshall Johnson. - [door opens]

- Hey, excuse me. - Paging Marshall Johnson.

- Hey, excuse me. Excuse me. - Marshall.

All right, all right, listen, I work here.

All right? You can't come to my place of work.

Marshall Johnson, you owe me money.

I-I'm not the Tesla guy.

Okay? I don't have that kind of money.

How much money do you make a year?

What? Uh...

- [feedback squeaks] - How much money

do you people in there make a year?

- I bet you it's more than I do. - Could you please--

I'm begging you-- could you please just leave me alone?

[chuckles] That's exactly what my great-great-grandmother said.

- [feedback squeaks] - Marshall Johnson's great-great-granddaddy

- was a slave owner. - No, no, no. Not true.

He owned my great-great-granddaddy.

- Not true. - You need to pay up!

$3 million. $3 million.

What do we want? Compensation!

When do we want it? Now!

Marshall Johnson's great-great-granddaddy

enslaved my great-great-granddaddy...

[laughs] Get me a new car, get Sierra a new car.

You gonna get a Cadillac or one of them, uh,

- those Cybertrucks? - [mutters]: I don't know.

You know, Jamal can get a new phone.

Get Tangy and Sierra's mom a new place,

'cause Lord knows I can't be dealing with that anymore.

- Her mama? - [laughing]: You already...

- Hey, Lester? - [laughing]

Could I... could I talk to you for a sec?

- [laughing] - Yeah. What's up?

Hey, man. How you doing?

- Pretty good. - Ain't no such thing

as free labor, Marshall.

Pay up!

Uh... look,

I know this is a crazy time and everything,

and, uh, I-I really don't know what to do.

Uh, no, thanks. Thank you.

Um, I'm just a guy,

you know, trying to get by.

And I feel like this woman is harassing me, you know?

She's kind of ruining my life.

Uh, so...

I-I just don't know what to do.

You honestly want my advice?

Uh, yes.

Look, man, I grew up with Black women.

Right. I figured.

The only thing you can do is say you were wrong

and give her as much money as you can.

She'll probably want to meet with you one-on-one,

cut you down a bit...

I just don't know what to do.

- Hmm. - Honestly, my advice?

You got to fight that shit, man.

Come in as hard as her.

- It's the principle. - [shouting over megaphone]

PAULA: I looked her up on Instagram.

All she's talking about is the fact

- that you owe her a lot of money. - [woman gasps]

100% Nordic?!

How is that even fucking possible?

[Willy laughs]

This concerns all of us, Willy.

No, it don't, Ashley.

[laughing]

WILLY: No, it don't.

[phone buzzes, chimes]

What?

[car door sensor dings]

Uh, I was supposed to pick her up.

What's going on?

Is it true?

Is wh...?

Oh, my God. Was Sheniqua here?

Did, did she talk to you?

- Marshall, I can't believe you. - Okay.

Let's just go inside and discuss this.

Look, you can't come in here.

Seriously, Natalie?

[scoffs, mutters]

Have you checked your background?

This could have easily happened to you.

- I'm Peruvian. This would never happen to me. - Per...

You were white yesterday!

Okay, look, Natalie,

please, can we just... c-can we just go inside

and just sit down and-and just talk about...?

Can I... can I say good night to Katie?

Marshall...

I can't have my finances take a hit.

We have to make the divorce official.

[stammers]

Wait. What?

[door closes]

This is not happening.

[muttering quietly]

♪ The way you make me, make me, make me feel ♪

What the...?

♪ Oh... ♪

- [Marshall gasps] - There he is!

That's the guy right there.

Oh.

Go get him, Jason!

♪ End... ♪

[back-up sensor beeping]

No, no, no, no.

Oh, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

♪ Your touch... ♪

[tires squeal]

Oh, my God.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. Oh.

♪ That's what I feel when I'm with you. ♪

[tires squeak]

WOMAN: Well, sir, you know, my time was wasted, too...

[door opening]

[woman continues speaking indistinctly]

[fan rattling]

[TV playing quietly]

We didn't do it, but we can help you get your money.

Don't know if you owe restitution taxes?

We can help you with that.

[commercial music plays]

- [changes channel] - [sighs]

[music playing]

[music continues]

[crying]

[indistinct chatter]

[laughter, chatter]

♪ The first time ♪

[sighs heavily]

♪ Ever I saw your face... ♪

Hi. Would you like something to drink?

Uh, uh, I'll just have what he's having.

Okay.

♪ Rose in your eyes... ♪

[Marshall sighs]

How long are you here for?

Honestly, I am not quite even sure.

Just checked in today.

Yeah, I flew in a few days ago.

Looking for a new place.

They can't find my bag, though, so I look like hell.

[laughs]

Name's Earnest. Friends call me "E."

Marshall.

I have a feeling we're in the same boat, Marshall.

You owe a lot?

This woman-- she...

follows me everywhere,

won't leave me alone.

- Thanks. - You're welcome.

♪ I felt the earth... ♪

Just... can't believe this is actually happening.

Two days ago, I had a good life,

and now I'm being fucked by some shit that I didn't even do.

I'm losing my wife, my house,

my daughter.

I don't know.

Didn't fucking do anything.

♪ Ever I kissed ♪

♪ Your mouth... ♪

[quietly]: As I was saying, I don't know.

[Earnest sniffles]

♪ Move in my hand... ♪

What?

I don't know.

♪ Like the trembling heart... ♪

My grandfather used to tell me

how his father built everything we had from the ground up,

pulled himself up by his own bootstraps, you know?

Turns out, he didn't.

Turns out he had a lot of help.

And a lot of kids. [laughs softly]

♪ My command... ♪

Maybe it's only right.

E, we don't deserve this.

Well, what do they deserve?

We were treating slavery

as if it were a mystery buried in the past,

something to investigate if we chose to.

And now that history has a monetary value.

Confession is not absolution.

And in the case of this person... What's her name?

Sheniqua.

To Sheniqua, to them...

slavery is not past.

I mean, it's not a mystery.

It is not an historical curiosity.

It is a cruel,

unavoidable ghost that haunts in a way we can't see.

None of us are perfect.

So now you're what? You're separated from your wife?

She's taking your kid?

Now she has to be raised without a father?

She has to build wealth

and success from the ground up, right?

It's similar to the position we put them in.

♪ The first time ♪

But we're gonna be okay.

♪ Ever I saw... ♪

Your daughter's gonna be okay.

The curse has been lifted from her.

All of us--

we were running from it, but now we're free.

[taps Marshall's leg]

Excuse me.

♪ Your face. ♪

[door opens]

["It Never Entered My Mind" by Miles Davis playing]

Come on! Come on, babies! Come on!

[laughs] You got it!

[laughs] Yeah!

Ooh, I'm so proud of my babies.

[gunshot]

[quiet gasping]

[screaming]

Holy shit.

There's more where that came from.

♪

♪

MAN: All right, guys, uh,

I got a decent-sized reservation in the main dining hall,

so I'm gonna need all hands on deck for that,

full hands in, full hands out. You know the routine.

Uh, make sure to push the daily specials, okay?

I don't want to ask about that again.

And if anyone has a portion of their paycheck going

to restitution taxes, stay after.

Everyone else, hit the floor.

Simon, ten percent?

- One second, please. - [writing on paper]

Okay, you're good. Thank you.

- [clears throat] - Hey.

Uh, name of payee?

Uh, Sheniqua Johnson.

- [writing on paper] - Okay. And percentage?

- 15%. - 15%?

Ouch.

Well, at least tips aren't garnished.

[laughs] There's that.

- Uh, you're good. - Cool. Thanks.

And you're doing ten again?

[indistinct chatter]

[sighs]

Basura blanca.

Hey, huevón.

Get to work.

Te vi llegar tarde, pendejo.

Ah! [laughs]

Okay. Keep talking like that, they're gonna make you a busboy.

["Les Fleurs" by Minnie Riperton playing]

♪ Will somebody wear me to the fair? ♪

♪ To the morning, sing a lovely flower ♪

♪ Will a lady pin me in her hair? ♪

♪ Will a child find me by a stream? ♪

- ♪ In the lovely, in the sunny shower ♪ - ♪ Ooh ♪

♪ Kiss my petals, weave me through a dream... ♪

All right, good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

- All right. - ♪ A flower was born ♪

- Hey. - ♪ It blooms to spread love and joy ♪

♪ Faith and hope to people forlorn ♪

♪ Inside every man ♪

Okay.

♪ Lives the seed of a flower ♪

Ooh.

♪ If he looks within ♪

♪ He finds beauty and power ♪

♪ Oh... ♪

♪ Ring all the bells, sing and tell the people everywhere ♪

♪ That the flower has come ♪

♪ Light up the sky with your prayers of gladness ♪

♪ And rejoice for the darkness is gone ♪

♪ Throw off your fears, let your heart beat freely ♪

♪ At the sign that a new time is born ♪

♪ May mosaydee kaylie lowya roses ♪

♪ May mosaydee kaylie lowya roses ♪

♪ Say money ain't na na no oh na ♪

♪ Mm-hmm, mmm ♪

♪ Looking for vayda tay breeze ♪

♪ Looking for the vayda tay breeze ♪

♪ May mosaydee kaylie lowya roses ♪

♪ Mm-hmm. ♪

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH