Wait, wait. You're listening...
- Okay? - All right.
- You're listening... - Listening...
...to Radio lab.
- Radio lab. - From...
- WNYC. - C.
- C? - Yup. -
And NPR.
I've learned... How would you describe this on?
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
and who are reducing wildlife to wild talk.
- It's-it's, uh... - Yeah.
There are words in there.
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.
- Right. - Yes.
Or as a dolphin might say...
How would a dolphin say it?
I don't know.
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.
♪ 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. ♪
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?
- I'm good. - That's nice.
...substantially impact racial matters
- in modern day society. - 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.
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.
All right, have a good day at school, sweetie.
The Marvin Gaye versus Robin Thicke...
Hey, Dad?
Yeah.
Can you stay over at Mom's soon?
You know what? I'll talk to her about it.
Don't you think this might actually heighten tensions
between Black and white people?
It feels divisive...
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.
Can you believe this guy?
Now this Tesla exec owes him a ton of money.
He'll be set for life.
This whole thing is crazy.
Do you even care? It's unfair.
Uh, whatever.
I mean, it's not like he's even gonna notice. He's rich.
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.
How soon?
We'll get into that later today.
I've been told that HR will...
This is ridiculous!
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.
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.
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.
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.
You gonna check your background?
Nah. I never signed up for that stuff.
Oh, you don't have to.
One of your relatives could have signed up.
I can show you how to look.
I'm fine.
All... good.
Mm, shout-out to his lawyer.
- This is crazy, right? - It's crazy.
He's got to put his money where his mouth is now.
So what you gonna do
- with your apolo-cheese? - Oh.
No more apologies, just apolo-cheese.
Apolo-cheese! I like that.
I'm gonna hit the mall and sped some of this apolo-cheese!
Yeah. Uh, you better get some Nike stock, though, right?
Okay? I'm about to go hire that same lawyer.
I'm sure somebody owes me about $50 million.
Mm-hmm, this is se...
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.
That's not true, Katie. That's...
Right now, Black people are just...
Don't listen to that kid at school, okay?
You are not racist.
Were we slave owners?
No, we... Do you see any slaves in our backyard?
Mr. Pedro.
Mr. Pe...? No, I pay Mr. Pedro.
You...
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?
Right?
Sweetie, dinner's ready.
Hey.
All right. Let's do it.
Want cheese?
Tell me when to stop.
Mm-hmm.
Ugh.
Dig in.
Eat.
Marshall Johnson?
Yes?
You've been served.
I'm sorry. What is this about?
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...
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!
- 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.
- 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 live streaming 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!
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.
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.
Hey, um, the guy, uh, with the shirt, uh...?
- 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.
Marshall Johnson,
- you owe me money. - 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.
No, no, no, no. No. No. No. No.
Pay up!
Marshall Johnson.
- 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...
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?
That's exactly what my great-great-grandmother said.
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...
Get me a new car, get Sierra a new car.
You gonna get a Cadillac or one of them, uh,
- those Cybertrucks? - 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? - You already...
Hey, Lester?
Could I... could I talk to you for a sec?
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.
I looked her up on Instagram.
All she's talking about is the fact
that you owe her a lot of money.
100% Nordic?!
How is that even fucking possible?
This concerns all of us, Willy.
No, it don't, Ashley.
No, it don't.
What?
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?
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.
Wait. What?
This is not happening.
♪ The way you make me, make me, make me feel ♪
What the...?
♪ Oh... ♪
There he is!
That's the guy right there.
Oh.
Go get him, Jason!
♪ End... ♪
No, no, no, no.
Oh, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.
♪ Your touch... ♪
Oh, my God.
Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.
Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. Oh.
♪ That's what I feel when I'm with you. ♪
Well, sir, you know, my time was wasted, too...
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.
♪ The first time ♪
♪ 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... ♪
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.
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... ♪
As I was saying, I don't know.
♪ 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.
♪ 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.
Excuse me.
♪ Your face. ♪
Come on! Come on, babies! Come on!
You got it!
Yeah!
Ooh, I'm so proud of my babies.
Holy shit.
There's more where that came from.
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.
Okay, you're good. Thank you.
Hey.
Uh, name of payee?
Uh, Sheniqua Johnson.
Okay. And percentage?
- 15%. - 15%?
Ouch.
Well, at least tips aren't garnished.
There's that.
- Uh, you're good. - Cool. Thanks.
And you're doing ten again?
Basura blanca.
Hey, huevón.
Get to work.
Te vi llegar tarde, pendejo.
Ah!
Okay. Keep talking like that, they're gonna make you a busboy.
♪ 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 low ya 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 low ya roses ♪
♪ Mm-hmm. ♪
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH