Speaker 1: Of the law and order franchises, SVU is considered especially watchable.
Speaker 2: We are the amateur detectives who kind of investigate the
Speaker 2: vicious felonies.
Speaker 3: These episodes are based on.
Speaker 4: These are our stories, done.
Speaker 5: Done, Happy New Year, Thats messed up an SVU podcast.
Speaker 4: I'm one of your hosts, Kara Klank.
Speaker 3: And I'm Leeza Trigger.
Speaker 2: We talk SVU true crime and we don't have guests,
Speaker 2: but we will soon.
Speaker 3: The strike is almost you know, it's over. Whatever.
Speaker 2: Also, if you're checking in, I'm on a flight right
Speaker 2: now back from Mexico City back to La Hopefully I
Speaker 2: had some you know, outer body werele experiences there or
Speaker 2: just ate some good food.
Speaker 4: I think you're gonna eat great foo.
Speaker 1: Everybody says Mexico City is like the new hot spot
Speaker 1: for cuisine, Like, yeah, a lot of bachelor parties go there,
Speaker 1: Like the people go there for I'm going.
Speaker 2: On the later and you know, Mexico City kept ramping up.
Speaker 3: It was the cool place to go.
Speaker 2: And you know, I am now one of the basics
Speaker 2: that are Yeah.
Speaker 1: One of the one of the executive producers of Drag
Speaker 1: Race went when we were working on the show, and
Speaker 1: he's like a cool like gay man that went with
Speaker 1: his husband, and I was like, this seems like a
Speaker 1: really awesome trip. Like when I saw the pictures, and
Speaker 1: that was twenty nineteen, you're not that late.
Speaker 4: I mean three or four years. But it's like, I
Speaker 4: know what you're talking about.
Speaker 1: A few years ago, Prague was like the hot place,
Speaker 1: or not Prague, the Dalmation coast, Croatia, the Dalmatian coast
Speaker 1: of Croatia, like everybody was going there because it was
Speaker 1: like it.
Speaker 2: Was like Game of Thrones was filmed. I said something
Speaker 2: to my sister. I'm like, let's go to Croatia. She goes,
Speaker 2: it's over. We're going to Albania. That's the news place.
Speaker 2: I'm like, I love it, but it's like I never
Speaker 2: want to go.
Speaker 1: Like everybody was going to Tuloom at one point, like
Speaker 1: fifteen years ago, and then like, well then it's it's like,
Speaker 1: you know, there's these little towns like Sayulita in Mexico,
Speaker 1: which everybody goes to, and then too many people go
Speaker 1: and they ruin their fucking sewage system and their shit
Speaker 1: running through the streets because they can't handle that many people.
Speaker 1: So I love that we can just pick different locations
Speaker 1: to ruin every few years, I know.
Speaker 3: But you know what I didn't think about.
Speaker 2: I was hanging out with someone and they were like,
Speaker 2: you know, it is illegal to be gay in like
Speaker 2: seventy five countries, and he was like, that's why all
Speaker 2: the gays always go to mikonos or the same places
Speaker 2: over and over because it's like there's only a few
Speaker 2: safe places where you can actually be like super gay
Speaker 2: and out and about. And I was like, wow, because
Speaker 2: we make jokes about the gays and miconos, but now at.
Speaker 1: Like I was like, oh, yeah, you can't fucking go everywhere.
Speaker 1: And my brother, my brother and his husband had to
Speaker 1: think about that. For their honeymoon. They were literally like,
Speaker 1: we only want to go somewhere that's like gay friendly,
Speaker 1: and they went. They ended up going to Saint Bart's
Speaker 1: and Saint Martin, but they were like there were a
Speaker 1: couple places on their list that they were like, now
Speaker 1: we can't go there because we're gay. And I was like,
Speaker 1: oh fuck, Like that's why Portavarta is like a huge
Speaker 1: destination too, like for for that. So it's interesting, well
Speaker 1: interesting in the worst way.
Speaker 4: For sure, it's.
Speaker 1: Horrible, but like it's like you we don't think about
Speaker 1: that that like you know, well.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's like yeah, we like make jokes about like ah,
Speaker 2: you're going here without like thinking about what.
Speaker 1: The Yeah, Like I definitely thought, oh wow, they're going
Speaker 1: to Portoviarta again, and then I'm like, oh wait, like yeah,
Speaker 1: you can't just like go wherever, and why not go
Speaker 1: to a place where like you're you're celebrated and like
Speaker 1: everybody love, like you're.
Speaker 4: Not just well, they're not that bad to gay people there.
Speaker 4: Like I guess we could go and just like not
Speaker 4: kiss each other ever in public, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: Like, no, you're gonna want to go to the places
Speaker 1: where they're like super welcoming, so there should be fucking more.
Speaker 4: It's kind of crazy that there's not.
Speaker 2: No, it's like straight up illegal in so many places. Yeah,
Speaker 2: where like you know, people could go perform certain places,
Speaker 2: and my friends were like absolutely not.
Speaker 1: My cousin who's gay, has gone to Russia for like
Speaker 1: fun trips while and I'm like why and he's like whatever,
Speaker 1: Like he just like is very loves history, loves international stuff.
Speaker 4: You know, I don't know, I wouldn't go there.
Speaker 2: I know, I know I could speak the language, I
Speaker 2: would not step foot there in ars.
Speaker 1: I mean this is pre this was like pre Ukraine
Speaker 1: and stuff that he went. It was, you know, years ago,
Speaker 1: but like, yeah.
Speaker 2: I'd never gone back either, there's no way. Yeah, I
Speaker 2: don't know. But outside of travel, well, so this is
Speaker 2: a little outdated. Maybe I've posted some photos by now,
Speaker 2: but I did get a VIP back lot tour of
Speaker 2: the San Diego Zoo and I did pet a zebra.
Speaker 1: If you, if you know Liza or you've been to
Speaker 1: our live shows, we've done a lot of talking about
Speaker 1: zoo's I had. I didn't really know this until about
Speaker 1: you until like a few months ago that you're like.
Speaker 4: Think it was a zoo person.
Speaker 3: I know, but I didn't think it was.
Speaker 2: I don't know if I'm I enjoy animals, but I
Speaker 2: guess I've had more opportunities lately to go to zoos
Speaker 2: than I haven't, but I'm you.
Speaker 3: Know, I like animals.
Speaker 1: I know, I know you like animals, but like this,
Speaker 1: like this, getting this tour, I feel like, was it
Speaker 1: was a top moment in your life?
Speaker 4: Like it was really it sounds amazing.
Speaker 2: Cool, and it's just it's really awesome to be around
Speaker 2: anyone that's really educated and smart and something they're really
Speaker 2: passionate about. And so like to be with these young
Speaker 2: people that are working at the zoo. And if you're
Speaker 2: at the San Diego Zoo, you're not a schlub. You
Speaker 2: are the best in the country. You were the best
Speaker 2: one of the best zoos.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And so to learn about the conservation and how
Speaker 2: much they've done for animals and how much thought goes
Speaker 2: into animals and like we just kind of are like, oh,
Speaker 2: how sad they're in this thing, and just like the
Speaker 2: amount of thought goes into the space the animals in
Speaker 2: and the diet and the friends, like they were bringing
Speaker 2: a donkey to hang out with the zebra and like
Speaker 2: you know how different cheetahs have different personality traits and
Speaker 2: so one likes to run for fun, but most don't
Speaker 2: want to run for fun, and like they're happy to
Speaker 2: chill and get food. And just the passion and love
Speaker 2: that these people had and just being able to like
Speaker 2: someone open a key and then everyone's looking at us
Speaker 2: and we're like, yeah, we're going behind.
Speaker 4: Yeah, we're going to feed these camels. Sorry for the IP.
Speaker 1: Experience, It doesn't matter. You just love a VIP experience, And.
Speaker 2: Who does love passing a line for sure and being
Speaker 2: on a list. But and then three out of the
Speaker 2: four of us did go to the did buy stuff
Speaker 2: at the store, which I love.
Speaker 3: But it was just cool.
Speaker 2: And the one thing I really learned was, you know,
Speaker 2: at the Pittsburgh's who I was really sad for this
Speaker 2: red panda because he was so alone. And then I
Speaker 2: brought it up and our tour guide she was like, oh, well,
Speaker 2: we're putting human emotions on animals. These are solitary animals.
Speaker 2: They are alone in the wilds. They don't want friends.
Speaker 2: It's more food for them. And I went, whoa, and
Speaker 2: she goes, yeah, the only time they're together is mom
Speaker 2: and baby, and the dad is gone.
Speaker 3: The dad's in a different place, the mom. Yeah.
Speaker 4: Nothing to do with.
Speaker 1: Hack animals, I guess like wolves or something, but yeah,
Speaker 1: and they don't have wolves.
Speaker 2: Well they have wolves in behind the scenes and like
Speaker 2: in the hospitals, but wolves don't want to be seen
Speaker 2: and so they're not put out it to be seen.
Speaker 4: Did you ask about pandas at all?
Speaker 1: What's going like about like the implications of like the
Speaker 1: pandas all leaving?
Speaker 2: I did, Yeah, so you know, it was like a
Speaker 2: fifty year lease, but she said that China's gonna like
Speaker 2: bring them back. It was just part of the lease,
Speaker 2: and it actually in twenty nineteen, but the pandemic made
Speaker 2: it difficult, so they knew it was happening. The pandas
Speaker 2: are back, and she said they're probably like broke her
Speaker 2: a new deal and get the pandas back, Like she's
Speaker 2: not really worried about it.
Speaker 3: It seems like they'll come back.
Speaker 2: That it wasn't like a geopolitical like well, because that's
Speaker 2: what people say that like the pandas are a symbol
Speaker 2: of how relations are going between the US and China.
Speaker 4: So who knows, because it.
Speaker 2: Was worldwide, it was I or maybe it wasn't, but
Speaker 2: she didn't see. She said like that they're probably coming back,
Speaker 2: Like it didn't seem like she was that we about it.
Speaker 2: But I also did ask someone about SeaWorld and because
Speaker 2: they in their animal hospital, they help SeaWorld, and I
Speaker 2: tried to get dirt and they were not.
Speaker 3: I don't think they were allowed to or they really
Speaker 3: believe in what they were saying. I don't know, but
Speaker 3: that they're for them, because I think.
Speaker 2: That's the one animal that makes me sad is like
Speaker 2: Orca's Like, I don't think orcas should be and I.
Speaker 4: Never saw that, doc. Did you see Blackfish?
Speaker 3: Of course of course you did.
Speaker 1: Yeah, like my octopus teacher, like you, you are into
Speaker 1: animals a lot more than I thought I've been discovering.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they're cool, they're cool and cute.
Speaker 4: Yeah, no, I.
Speaker 3: Want to put a thing.
Speaker 2: So anyways, once you put a zebra, it's really hard
Speaker 2: to go back into the regular world and act like
Speaker 2: you're not better than people.
Speaker 1: But Oscar just got a zimber sticker at the doctor
Speaker 1: today and I go, you know, Lisa got to pet one.
Speaker 4: He goes, can I do that one day?
Speaker 1: Like he was?
Speaker 4: He's My kids just want to do what you're doing
Speaker 4: all the time.
Speaker 3: I want to go to Mexico.
Speaker 2: This zebra is special because I learned that zebras are
Speaker 2: actually like pretty aggressive and defensive because they're prey for
Speaker 2: so many animals.
Speaker 3: This zebra is special and she's the fame whore.
Speaker 2: She's a little fluted, she loves hang oh my god.
Speaker 2: So it's also like we got lucky with this one,
Speaker 2: like cutie zebra who likes attention, which is rare, I guess.
Speaker 2: And then the giraffes was five girl giraffes and they
Speaker 2: were like eating off one bush and I was like,
Speaker 2: it is it's just so cute.
Speaker 3: Are they gossiping?
Speaker 2: You know?
Speaker 3: But it's just too much human emotion. Whatever.
Speaker 1: There's like a new giraffe at the La Zoo and
Speaker 1: they're gonna they haven't named it yet. It's like two
Speaker 1: or three months old and they still haven't named it,
Speaker 1: and I was like, oh, they have to like wait
Speaker 1: till some like rich Donor pays the most amount of
Speaker 1: money to name it. But apparently there is like a
Speaker 1: name contest happening and they're figuring out what the name
Speaker 1: is going to be. But our friend who listens to
Speaker 1: the podcast, who's dating a zoo keeper at that zoo,
Speaker 1: told us that she submitted one of our friend's kids
Speaker 1: like little names that they had, which is super cute,
Speaker 1: and we'll see if it gets picked.
Speaker 4: That is cube.
Speaker 2: Well, So I went to Shane Tours and I go,
Speaker 2: guess what, I went to the zoo, you know, and
Speaker 2: he goes, I was at a zoo too, and I
Speaker 2: pet a rhinoceros and I.
Speaker 3: Go, are you fucking kidding me?
Speaker 4: Rhyo?
Speaker 2: Yeah, he was. I forgot what state he was in.
Speaker 2: So I was like, I can't. I guess that's like
Speaker 2: a cool thing comics can do when they're in town,
Speaker 2: like add it to the list of things that we
Speaker 2: can do. Well.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, because.
Speaker 1: Like you guys are posting and getting people, getting the
Speaker 1: zoo in people's brains and stuff. It's good like marketing.
Speaker 1: Let a couple comics pet your zebra and then they'll
Speaker 1: post about it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, being with like famous people that get special privileges
Speaker 2: is fun.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was thrilling.
Speaker 2: But also so at the show, someone heckled, did I
Speaker 2: tell you this? No, So someone was heckling, going, I
Speaker 2: work at the you know, yelling about the zoo.
Speaker 4: And then the next day we go to the zoo.
Speaker 2: We're talking to one of the trainers or and I
Speaker 2: don't know if they're called trainers, one of the workers,
Speaker 2: and she then shyly goes my sister in law screamed, yesterday,
Speaker 2: I'm so embarrassed, And it was oh so it.
Speaker 4: Was her going, my sister works at this, Oh my god.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah yeah, so people are well, I'm glad she
Speaker 2: got I'm glad she got to sort of like share
Speaker 2: her apology with you.
Speaker 1: So that you were like these fucking wild and out
Speaker 1: zoo keepers.
Speaker 3: Well, no, it's all really thrilling.
Speaker 4: I I don't know.
Speaker 2: I'm trying to think if like I have a like
Speaker 2: my sixteenth birthday, I got, you know, membership to the aquarium.
Speaker 2: I went to the aquarium in Lincoln Park Zoo all
Speaker 2: the time. I didn't realize it was rare. But I
Speaker 2: like art museums. I guess I just like things. I
Speaker 2: guess when you're traveling alone, you need other things. Enter
Speaker 2: ta Yeah, yeah, that's for sure. On art, an animal,
Speaker 2: a movie, you need something. I wonder what Taylor day
Speaker 2: for New Year's Oh yeah, baseball game. I wonder it
Speaker 2: was like things.
Speaker 4: Oh my god, this is like becoming a Taylor Swift podcast.
Speaker 4: What do you think?
Speaker 3: But one of the time things was a fun article.
Speaker 2: She goes, Yeah, people think the first date was me
Speaker 2: going to his game, Like that would be psychotic to
Speaker 2: hard launch on a first date.
Speaker 3: And I was like, yeah, Taylor, you're like normal and
Speaker 3: when whatever.
Speaker 1: Well to also be right next to his mom on
Speaker 1: a first day like that would be that's crazy.
Speaker 4: Like no, she said.
Speaker 2: They started talking immediately after the podcast in July.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'm sure, like yesh, like they had him
Speaker 1: like slipped in under the cover of night to some
Speaker 1: her house or wherever she wanted to.
Speaker 3: I like her being more free, I like her being
Speaker 3: out and about.
Speaker 1: I like enjoy it more well, because the last guy
Speaker 1: she dated didn't like the attention, right, So now this
Speaker 1: guy's like, let's get out there.
Speaker 4: Let's fucking go.
Speaker 2: This is so, this is so dated. I bet they're
Speaker 2: like married already or something, and it's wow, what if.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, Well, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna say it right now. If they somehow get engaged
Speaker 1: like this holiday, we're gonna have to do some kind
Speaker 1: of emergency episode on our cell phones or something. There's
Speaker 1: just like no way that you're gonna have like keep
Speaker 1: this in the time machine and all that shit.
Speaker 4: Like, there's no way.
Speaker 2: I do get super obsessed about things. I think the
Speaker 2: tailor might be a permanent fixture.
Speaker 3: You don't know.
Speaker 2: I apologize, I'm sorry, I'm a broken record. I'll try
Speaker 2: to get a new personality soon. It's a new year,
Speaker 2: new year, knew me, new year, knew me, So.
Speaker 1: New year new So with that, I'd say happy New
Speaker 1: Year everyone. I hope you're giving yourself kind achievable resolutions,
Speaker 1: let's not get too crazy, and that you're ready to
Speaker 1: start twenty twenty four off right. I mean, I am
Speaker 1: terrified for this year because of the presidential election, but
Speaker 1: I'm trying to put a good spin on it and
Speaker 1: say that we're going to have the best year ever.
Speaker 1: It's going to be the year that Trump lost a
Speaker 1: second time.
Speaker 2: So I can't believe it's I can't believe you're bringing
Speaker 2: this up on January.
Speaker 1: I know, I'm so sorry. I'm so Sorryry.
Speaker 2: I truly wasn't mentally at all. I am still in
Speaker 2: the days of full I know.
Speaker 1: I can't believe, you know, but we have to stay
Speaker 1: we have to stay woke. We have to stay on this.
Speaker 1: We have to postcard, we have to do everything we can.
Speaker 1: This cannot happen. But listen, we are starting in our episode.
Speaker 1: We've got a good one for you guys.
Speaker 4: Today.
Speaker 1: There was something going on with my recording equipment or
Speaker 1: something on this day where my recording sounded weird. So
Speaker 1: they're using a recording from my zoom and it's going
Speaker 1: to sound a little bit different. Just in case you're like,
Speaker 1: why does Karra sound weird. You don't have to send
Speaker 1: us the DM we're telling you now. Okay, So now
Speaker 1: let's get to this week's episode. Okay, we are finally
Speaker 1: getting around to doing an episode from the most recent season,
Speaker 1: season twenty four. We are doing Breakwater episode five, which
Speaker 1: came out in October of last year. And of course,
Speaker 1: you know, if we're going to hit the most recent season,
Speaker 1: we're going to do the one about.
Speaker 4: The most powerful lifeguard in New York.
Speaker 1: So we open on an indoor pool. A girl is
Speaker 1: swimming through that water. Lisa, you could probably comment on
Speaker 1: her stroke and her speed, because I'm not a big swimmer.
Speaker 2: She seems like she's going fast. To me, I don't
Speaker 2: remember the stroke. I'm sorry you really put me on
Speaker 2: this spot.
Speaker 4: And no, you're just like a swim team gal.
Speaker 2: But like, yeah, no, the pool looks great. I could
Speaker 2: smell the chlorine in my room, like you know, I was.
Speaker 2: I was brought back there, but I could. I did
Speaker 2: not judge her stroke, unfortunately, Well, you already disappoint the masses.
Speaker 4: Were you a lifeguard?
Speaker 3: No, that's too much work. I was a slide attendant
Speaker 3: and so I would.
Speaker 2: Grab people in an inner tube and like throw them
Speaker 2: down the slide or in the tube slide. I'd be
Speaker 2: like next, and then I taught swim lessons and you
Speaker 2: got paid more. So these like lifeguards are lifeguards in
Speaker 2: the Skokie Park District take it very seriously and they
Speaker 2: do like lifeguard games every summer and they have this
Speaker 2: like ten second head thing. Like Skokie Park District is
Speaker 2: very I've always been very impressed with their lifeguards.
Speaker 3: But they got paid worse than me.
Speaker 2: Like I taught swim lessons and I got paid double
Speaker 2: than what lifeguards got paid. Damn and so and they
Speaker 2: it's really hard work and training and stuff like Skochy
Speaker 2: pride itself from great lifeguarding.
Speaker 4: No, it's crazy. I mean I was a lifeguard for years.
Speaker 1: I became a certified lifeguard when I was fifteen at
Speaker 1: my summer camp and like it was hard, like I
Speaker 1: thought it was going to fail, Like they were like
Speaker 1: having to give me extra not because for us, it
Speaker 1: wasn't about like the swimming fast really thing.
Speaker 4: We weren't getting timed and stuff like that.
Speaker 1: It was like getting a spinal injury onto the board
Speaker 1: and getting it out of the lake. I mean, to
Speaker 1: train to be a lifeguard in a lake is pretty
Speaker 1: terrifying because you can't see the bottom at all. So
Speaker 1: they would basically just randomly once a summer blow a
Speaker 1: fog horn and we would everyone that was lifeguard had
Speaker 1: to run down to the waterfront, stripping their clothes off,
Speaker 1: form a line and jump into the water and start
Speaker 1: sweeping looking for a brick covered in duct tape. Like
Speaker 1: we had to find the smallest, darkest object, and it
Speaker 1: was so like everybody people would be crying afterwards. It
Speaker 1: was just like terrifying because they never told you if
Speaker 1: it was real or fake. You know, it was just
Speaker 1: like get down there. We didn't know if we were
Speaker 1: looking for a kid or the brick, so it was
Speaker 1: very traumatizing. But I've always thought beach lifeguards are like,
Speaker 1: oh my god, that's like the ultimate because that's like
Speaker 1: a current you're moving against and like that's you know,
Speaker 1: all kinds of different shit sharks.
Speaker 4: I don't even fucking.
Speaker 2: Know, but like, oh, I was raised on Baywatch, and
Speaker 2: I think a lot of America so they agree with you.
Speaker 3: We love a nation lifeguard.
Speaker 1: Like I mean, to me, that's like you're not letting
Speaker 1: some fifteen year old girl who's like kind of got
Speaker 1: the spinal down and maybe isn't doing the right taps
Speaker 1: of her CPR at the right like rhythm, you know,
Speaker 1: Like I.
Speaker 2: But I but I've also been to a hotel pool
Speaker 2: where the lifeguard's really slouchy and has a cell phone,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean, and the signs are like
Speaker 2: we don't really care.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but well.
Speaker 1: You've been to my pool with me that I go
Speaker 1: to where famously there are no lifeguards and the children
Speaker 1: are just running a book. So I but, like, I remember,
Speaker 1: it's cool that you even got paid, like they keep
Speaker 1: talking about in this episode of Luke rid Of it is.
Speaker 4: For me, it was like a badge of honor.
Speaker 1: Like people just it was cool to get your lifeguarding
Speaker 1: and then you did not really get paid more like
Speaker 1: maybe when we got old, you got paid one hundred
Speaker 1: more a summer for being a lifeguard.
Speaker 3: Well, camp's different.
Speaker 2: But also these are young, like as these are teens,
Speaker 2: and these are early twenty somethings, So for them, like
Speaker 2: as a teen, if you're I mean, we'll see this
Speaker 2: is like updated. But if you're getting like mon, you know,
Speaker 2: if you're not working at a dairy queen, it's like cool, Yeah,
Speaker 2: you're lifeguard. You're in the sun bathing suit, You're assuming
Speaker 2: everyone's in great shape, hanging out like it's exciting, Like
Speaker 2: for a youth, what's more cool than being a tanned,
Speaker 2: sexy lifeguard. Yeah, yeah, that's the that's like the dream,
Speaker 2: but too scary for me at the beach, Like I
Speaker 2: would not be able to do it at the beach,
Speaker 2: but and the.
Speaker 3: Salts and you can't see anything.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I got recertified. I would get recertified at home,
Speaker 1: like in a pool. And I was like, this seems
Speaker 1: a lot easier because we would have to get a
Speaker 1: spinal board out of a lake, like up onto the dock.
Speaker 1: It was like it was it was a lifeguarding was
Speaker 1: like traumatic for me. But back to the episode, I'm
Speaker 1: just saying, I know where these people are coming from.
Speaker 1: They're trying to qualify to be lifeguards. This girl gets
Speaker 1: to the end of the of the lap and this
Speaker 1: guy is coaching her.
Speaker 4: He seems happy with her performance. She gets out.
Speaker 1: He hands her a towel and goes cover yourself up,
Speaker 1: like he's shirtless, but he's like, okay, here, cover yourself up.
Speaker 1: So an older guy goes nice swimsuit. It's literally just
Speaker 1: a plane one piece, but she does have a very
Speaker 1: hot bod, so this already feels like it's heading in
Speaker 1: an SVU direction. And he asks her name, and it's
Speaker 1: Martina Rodriguez. She's the little sister of the guy who
Speaker 1: was telling her to cover up.
Speaker 4: His name is Diego.
Speaker 1: The older man makes a comment about Diego bolting bulking up,
Speaker 1: and he goes, yeah, I'm taking jiu jitsu, and then
Speaker 1: the older guy turns the combo back to the cysts
Speaker 1: and he's like, yeah, I haven't seen your times yet,
Speaker 1: but you look like a real fish in that pool.
Speaker 1: So you're already getting like lecherous vibes, like why are
Speaker 1: you talking like that, and like, I don't know, it's creepy.
Speaker 1: So this character's name is Paul Greco and he's played
Speaker 1: by James Carpinello, who is also in the episode, which,
Speaker 1: if you will remember, is the Drea de Matteo episode
Speaker 1: where her son is getting bullied or he gets like
Speaker 1: maybe murdered, and then she's like, oh, it's his school
Speaker 1: bully that did it. And then this guy plays the
Speaker 1: uncle who's like training the school bully to fight. This
Speaker 1: is not what I'm as familiar with I'm sure we'll
Speaker 1: do it someday, Drea call us. Anyway, a guy named
Speaker 1: Ronnie shows up and he's like, all right, everybody gather around,
Speaker 1: we're doing CPR. All these wannabe lifeguards gather around. Greco's like,
Speaker 1: have you seen the CPR dummy? I can't find it
Speaker 1: and he's like no. So he's like, I'm gonna need
Speaker 1: a volunteer. Oh who does he pick? Hot, young, wet Martina.
Speaker 1: The little sister has her like get down on the ground.
Speaker 1: The brother looks a little bit concerned, but the CPR
Speaker 1: lesson seems pretty normal, Like we don't see him touch
Speaker 1: her body or anything, but she's like lying on the
Speaker 1: ground and there's plenty of people around. So in the
Speaker 1: next scene, Greco walks into his office and tells Ronnie
Speaker 1: to call Rodriguez, his sister in Ronnie gets up from
Speaker 1: truly the first desktop computer ever invented, it's like a
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty eight apps and he goes to go get her.
Speaker 1: Martina shows up. We know the drill. He goes close
Speaker 1: the door and then he tells her she did great
Speaker 1: with CPR, but her times were not quite there. She's
Speaker 1: on the bubble and she's like devastated, like I'm not
Speaker 1: going to qualify. He's like, relax, I'm gonna let you
Speaker 1: do it again. But who's been training you? And she's
Speaker 1: like my brother, and he's like, well, that's the problem.
Speaker 1: He's going too easy on you. So then he sits down,
Speaker 1: gets right at like a vagina level with her, and
Speaker 1: starts moving her hips while she does like strokes in
Speaker 1: the air, and he's like, see, you're too flat in
Speaker 1: the water. You got to really move your hips. So
Speaker 1: she doesn't seem bothered by it, but as SVU watchers
Speaker 1: were like, oh God, what the fuck is gonna happen?
Speaker 1: Cut to Martina walking out of the office looking.
Speaker 4: Upset, and her brother's like, what were you doing in there?
Speaker 1: And she goes Greco wanted to go over my scores,
Speaker 1: and then Diego sees Greco come out onto the pool
Speaker 1: deck immediately rushes him, knocks him down, starts punching at him,
Speaker 1: and he's like, if I see you near her again,
Speaker 1: I'll kill you, bro.
Speaker 4: So that's dramatic because she didn't. She had like tears
Speaker 4: in her eyes.
Speaker 1: Which I don't know because he said he was gonna
Speaker 1: help her, so I don't really know why she's crying.
Speaker 1: But at their house over dinner, Diego is pounding beers
Speaker 1: and his sister is like, what is your deal, bro,
Speaker 1: She's like, nothing happened, Like he was just trying to
Speaker 1: help me pass and now he probably won't after you
Speaker 1: attacked his ass. And then the mom gets home and
Speaker 1: she's like pissed that he's drinking. They argue, he walks out.
Speaker 1: So now we're at the precinct and Finn is asking
Speaker 1: Rollin's like, what are your plans for the night, and
Speaker 1: she's like, I'm gonna go put the girls down and
Speaker 1: then eat my feelings on the couch and wait for
Speaker 1: for Coreesi to come over.
Speaker 4: It's like okay.
Speaker 1: Finn's like, you guys don't live together yet, and she goes,
Speaker 1: he has a drawer, and keep in mind, they get
Speaker 1: married four episodes from now. He has a drawer in
Speaker 1: this episode and they are not living together. So but
Speaker 1: you know he's Catholic. So Finn says it seems like
Speaker 1: a waste of gas, and then he gives Rolins a
Speaker 1: little gift and it's like, I can't tell if it's
Speaker 1: just a charm, if it's like a little key chain,
Speaker 1: but it's a bullet, and Rollins is like a bullet
Speaker 1: and he's like, it's the same caliber of the one
Speaker 1: that you got shot with. And she got shot in
Speaker 1: the first episode of the season, and that's when she
Speaker 1: has like the breakdown with Live about being too loose
Speaker 1: with her life because of her kids, and then they're
Speaker 1: sort of teeing her up to.
Speaker 4: Leave us for you.
Speaker 1: So anyway, Finn's like, you got to own your trauma
Speaker 1: or your trauma will own you. And it's like put
Speaker 1: it on a decorative piece of driftwood. Baby, He's so good,
Speaker 1: he's so quotable. Live shows up and it's like, hey,
Speaker 1: we got a call from the one one. You guys
Speaker 1: want to take it. And then Finn tells Rolins like
Speaker 1: you had out, I'll get it, and Rollins is like, nah,
Speaker 1: I'm in, but I'm driving.
Speaker 4: I guess.
Speaker 1: She's like, I'd rather solve crimes than go eat my
Speaker 1: feelings and watch like a UFC fight, which is probably
Speaker 1: what she's doing. The UNI when they get there, explains
Speaker 1: that they picked up Diego drunk and starting fights, saying
Speaker 1: something about a run in with his sister, and it's like,
Speaker 1: you guys called sbu based on that, like what happened?
Speaker 4: Like what did he say that make you like have
Speaker 4: to call his view? It seems like a weak connection.
Speaker 4: But fine, Diego's in a holding cell. He's wasted.
Speaker 1: He's saying, how his when his dad was dying, he
Speaker 1: promised he'd take care of his sister and protect her,
Speaker 1: and they're like protector from who? And he's like Paul Greco,
Speaker 1: the head of the lifeguards. And Finn's like, so, did
Speaker 1: he rape your sister? And he goes, no, he raped me.
Speaker 1: Twist credits. Oh y'all wanted a twist there. It is
Speaker 1: so at the precinct, Rollin's and Finn tell Diego that
Speaker 1: his arrest was voided. That's powerful of them. They got
Speaker 1: him food. I guess he was just dry. It was
Speaker 1: just like drunken, disorderly, but they got him food. They
Speaker 1: want to talk to him and they're like, you told
Speaker 1: us your this is the next morning, by the way,
Speaker 1: Like he's sobered up at this point, you told us
Speaker 1: your boss sexually assaulted you. And he's like, no, no, no,
Speaker 1: I was wasted. He's going after my sister. And then
Speaker 1: he tells them the whole story about the pool the
Speaker 1: day before and he's like, she doesn't see Greco for
Speaker 1: who he really is. And so then we see Martina
Speaker 1: show up outside the rooms. I mean, where's my brother?
Speaker 4: Everybody blows into Spu, going where's my wife? Where's my brother?
Speaker 1: Like there again, no receptionist, no one's doing crowd control,
Speaker 1: and he's yelling, I told you not to come here,
Speaker 1: and he's like, just tell her. I'm all right, everything's good,
Speaker 1: and so Rollins goes to take care of Martina and
Speaker 1: Finn's trying to have a one on one with Diego,
Speaker 1: like about what's happening. He's still denying it, but then
Speaker 1: he's like he opens up to Finn because how could
Speaker 1: you not? And he's like, I heard lifeguards make a
Speaker 1: ton I needed money for college.
Speaker 4: I apply.
Speaker 1: Greco brings me to his office, says I don't qualify. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: we're talking to the sister and Rollins. She's like, I
Speaker 1: left his office in tears because I didn't qualify, and
Speaker 1: then my brother went into roid rage and she doesn't
Speaker 1: even get why her brother is there.
Speaker 4: Back to Diego he goes. One day.
Speaker 1: Greco tells me that he only gave me the job
Speaker 1: because of my and he doesn't finish. But Finn's like,
Speaker 1: knows what he's talking about, and he's like, that's before
Speaker 1: I learned how to fight. That's clearly like why he's
Speaker 1: taking jiu jitsu. And he says Greco forced him on
Speaker 1: the desk, faced down, and he quote did it to me,
Speaker 1: is what he says. So after that he cleaned up.
Speaker 1: He got all the posts and overtime that he wanted
Speaker 1: and he never tried anything again. And Diego never told anybody,
Speaker 1: and he's like, well, you didn't want to warn your sister,
Speaker 1: and he's like, I thought he was only into guys.
Speaker 1: Now the gang is giving Captain Live the download on
Speaker 1: Chief Greco. He works for the Lifeguard Division of Parks
Speaker 1: and rec for Bronx County. He oversees the pools and
Speaker 1: some of the beaches in the Bronx for the last
Speaker 1: ten years. He's got no priors in the system. And
Speaker 1: this job pays a lot for teens and young twenty somethings.
Speaker 1: As Lisa was bringing up before, plenty of overtime. You
Speaker 1: get paid a lot to sit on the beach and
Speaker 1: Live goes, sign me up. And we know this bitch
Speaker 1: loves the Bahamas. So Alasco and Monsey are there as well.
Speaker 1: If you're not. Some people don't listen to our podcast
Speaker 1: that don't watch past season twelve.
Speaker 4: So Velasco is the new cast member who's.
Speaker 1: In the picture at the beginning during the credits, and
Speaker 1: he's kind of like a I think he's like Danny Zuko,
Speaker 1: kind of like a modern like John Travolta from Greece.
Speaker 4: And then Munsey is this.
Speaker 1: Boy got shot tomboy name who's like, she's still a
Speaker 1: special guest star. She she doesn't ever make it to
Speaker 1: full time regular spoiler alert, she doesn't. She leaves at
Speaker 1: the end of the season. This is who they were
Speaker 1: trying to replace Rollins with and it didn't work because
Speaker 1: they just thought they could replace one hottie with another.
Speaker 1: But I think that Kelly Giddish does a lot more
Speaker 1: than Dick Wolf gives her credit for.
Speaker 2: So or maybe I also wish that cat to Mean
Speaker 2: and what was the name Barnes had another season, Like,
Speaker 2: I think kicking them out so quick was a mistake, huge,
Speaker 2: especially just like a random tomboy. I just it was
Speaker 2: uncomfortable both of them. It's uncomfortable to watch their like
Speaker 2: accent work. It's really uncomfortable. I don't believe it. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: I don't believe it. They're cops, Like she's.
Speaker 3: A cap cat.
Speaker 1: You want to go check it out, Like yeah, it's
Speaker 1: like they're they both have Like she's.
Speaker 2: Wearing like a platform sneaker too, like she's just crub.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 1: Well, there is a part of the season, and I
Speaker 1: don't know if it's before this episode or after this
Speaker 1: episode where live goes go get some other clothes, like
Speaker 1: you dress like a ragamuffin, like you need to be
Speaker 1: in like a smart blazer and slacks like I've been
Speaker 1: since nineteen ninety nine. So anyway, months he's there, She's
Speaker 1: like I looked into it. Everybody says Greco's friendly smart
Speaker 1: single has a rap as a player, but nothing about
Speaker 1: like assault or anything like what Diego is suggesting. So
Speaker 1: Diego and Martina, she says, are good kids are from
Speaker 1: the project straight A's Diego had a big stress reaction
Speaker 1: when he confessed to Finn, so they don't think he
Speaker 1: has a reason to lie, Like that would be a
Speaker 1: really wild thing to just create and make up. But
Speaker 1: there's no outcry witness, there's no rape kit. Monthsy's like
Speaker 1: do we keep digging, and Velasko's like, it's kind of
Speaker 1: a risk if Greco finds out we're on to him,
Speaker 1: and it's like, yeah, we don't want to tangle with the.
Speaker 4: Most powerful lifeguard in New.
Speaker 1: York, right, So Live's like, okay, let's go right to
Speaker 1: him and see if he blinks.
Speaker 4: This is the strategy.
Speaker 1: At the pool, Live and Finn are talking to Greco
Speaker 1: and he's like incredulous about Diego's accusation and they're like.
Speaker 4: So you didn't do it, and he's like, of course not.
Speaker 1: He didn't report the physical assault from the day before,
Speaker 1: because he's like, I like the kid last year, he
Speaker 1: was all sweet. This year he's all jacked up and
Speaker 1: wants to start fights. I wouldn't be surprised if he's
Speaker 1: on steroids or something. Finn's like, those muscles are armor,
Speaker 1: and Greco's like, Alma, for what end? The Finn goes,
Speaker 1: you tell me, So he tells them nothing happened with Martina,
Speaker 1: And you can ask my second in command, Ronnie Volpi.
Speaker 1: He's on duty at the beach right now with Diego
Speaker 1: and they're like, you let him come to work, and
Speaker 1: he's like, look, I care about him. I'm short staffed,
Speaker 1: and they're like, but if I assaulted him, he goes,
Speaker 1: why would I come? Why would he come to work?
Speaker 1: And he's like, I've never had any sexual contact with
Speaker 1: Diego of any kind.
Speaker 4: So now we're at the beach.
Speaker 1: Munsey and Velasco are talking to Ronnie and he's saying
Speaker 1: he had to pull Diego off Greco at this fight
Speaker 1: and that something's happened since last year because Diego is
Speaker 1: like a different person. And he says, but nothing happened
Speaker 1: with the little sister. And he goes, so, what happened
Speaker 1: when he showed up for work today? And he goes, well,
Speaker 1: he looked like shit, and he's I could smell the
Speaker 1: booze on him. So he's out there swimming laps between
Speaker 1: the buoys and he says, it's Pinsky's rules anytime someone
Speaker 1: shows up hungover, So put a pin in Pinski. You're
Speaker 1: gonna get back to who he is. So Munsey and
Speaker 1: Velasco start taking the world's weirdest walk towards the other lifeguard.
Speaker 1: They're just walking on the shoreline in jeans. They're getting
Speaker 1: weirdly close to the water. They can't get their footing
Speaker 1: because they're trying to do a smooth walk and talk
Speaker 1: on sand. It's hilarious, and spew detectives just look weird
Speaker 1: on the beach. That's like, we haven't seen it a lot,
Speaker 1: and it's weird. But Munsey's like, say what you will
Speaker 1: about Benson. At least she doesn't make us swim laps.
Speaker 1: And then they finally get to the end of this
Speaker 1: awkward sandwalk and they get to Pinsky, who I guess
Speaker 1: is the head lifeguard for that beach. He's toirling his whistle.
Speaker 1: He looks like a total douche. Velasko's like, are you
Speaker 1: sure Diego's okay out there? And at that exact moment,
Speaker 1: like we've seen Diego start struggling in the water throwing
Speaker 1: his hands up, Pinsky starts blowing his whistle and calling
Speaker 1: Diego's name, and Velasko's.
Speaker 4: Like, are you going to go in there and do something?
Speaker 1: You're a lifeguard and the guy goes give it a minute,
Speaker 1: and that's not something I don't think a lifeguard should
Speaker 1: really say.
Speaker 4: So Velasco takes let's.
Speaker 3: Just see how it pans out. Let's just see this.
Speaker 4: Could go a couple of ways.
Speaker 1: Uh, so Velasco takes off his leather and his shoes
Speaker 1: and starts booking it into the water in full denim.
Speaker 3: This did remind me.
Speaker 2: I did delete TikTok off my phone, but for a
Speaker 2: while I was getting shown it was like people trying
Speaker 2: to take photos near the ocean where they shouldn't, and
Speaker 2: then the water kind of like snatching them, or like
Speaker 2: someone jumping in thinking they're gonna have fun, and then
Speaker 2: all of a sudden they're in like a current in
Speaker 2: the rocks, and I'm like, why is my phone showing
Speaker 2: me horrors that I didn't think of yet, you know,
Speaker 2: But it's just like people trying to take cool photos
Speaker 2: and do full jumps and then the ocean's like, go
Speaker 2: fuck yourself. Yeah, And then I learned don't turn your
Speaker 2: back on the ocean. I guess that's like a big saying.
Speaker 2: I didn't know, like cause you can't see the waves,
Speaker 2: so people like turn around to take a selfie and
Speaker 2: then they get knocked down and drag.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Well, because I also started sending there's like a boat
Speaker 2: that goes from Argentina to Antarctica, and I started sending
Speaker 2: it to our friend Julia, and she goes That's when
Speaker 2: I knew you really hit TikTok because everyone's been talking
Speaker 2: about Antarctica for about a year and I had just
Speaker 2: and I had just gotten a part of the boa.
Speaker 2: I'm like, should we do this when we're older? And songins?
Speaker 2: But the boat is crazy, Like I've told you about this.
Speaker 2: It's like a two day journey, but like sometimes the
Speaker 2: waves are like thirty feet engulf everything, and so people
Speaker 2: get really sick on this journey.
Speaker 3: But then you do see the penguins. I don't think it.
Speaker 2: I don't think what if you just take drama means
Speaker 2: xanax and pass out for two days? Yeah maybe yeah,
Speaker 2: drug me up and then you wake up just with
Speaker 2: a penguin.
Speaker 4: Yeah, could happen.
Speaker 2: Sure, I'm sorry I interrupted with that, but it's just
Speaker 2: it seems like probably a.
Speaker 1: Lot of money for a cold vacation, you know. I
Speaker 1: like to pour my money into hot vacations. So I
Speaker 1: don't know, but let's.
Speaker 4: Stand much about it.
Speaker 3: It's more of an adventure than a vacation.
Speaker 1: Sure, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely a life experience.
Speaker 4: It's something I would do in my fifties.
Speaker 2: I'm sure that's what I mean, Like, yeah, I don't
Speaker 2: need to do it, like first, I'd like to go
Speaker 2: to the sey Shells.
Speaker 3: You know, I have other purls, the.
Speaker 4: Say shells, Bali something. What's the other one?
Speaker 1: Where's the one where I owe them mal Daves the Maldives.
Speaker 4: Yep, that's what I was thinking of. You got it.
Speaker 1: So the other lifeguard, Frankie, starts running into the water
Speaker 1: with his baywatch booye to help, and fucking Pinsky's still
Speaker 1: standing there doing absolutely nothing. People are like yelling, Diego, Diego, Diego.
Speaker 1: The music intensifies. Oh not good news. Top of that,
Speaker 1: two Diego is unconscious on a stretcher and the paramedics
Speaker 1: are taking him off the beach, and Velesko's like you
Speaker 1: could he's got a chimps And months he's like, dude,
Speaker 1: they just did CPR on him for thirty minutes, Like
Speaker 1: you know, it's like they've probably got his heart beat
Speaker 1: back going, but like your brain can't survive that much
Speaker 1: like unconsciousness. I feel maybe I'm not I mean, I'm
Speaker 1: not a doctor, but it's not looking good. Velasco's like
Speaker 1: I just watched a kid drown. And months he's like,
Speaker 1: you didn't that lazy scumbag did. And then the camera
Speaker 1: whips over to Pinske, who's talking to another cop making excuses.
Speaker 4: He's like, I.
Speaker 1: Observed a rip current and I feared for my life
Speaker 1: and safety, and then Velasko gives him a dirty look.
Speaker 4: So now we're at the precinct. Finn gets the call.
Speaker 1: Diego did not make it, so this is tragic, and
Speaker 1: Finn and Live and Rollins all agreed that Diego was
Speaker 1: being taught a lesson and it wasn't about being hungover.
Speaker 1: Finn thinks that means that the allegation is credible, but
Speaker 1: how can we make it stick now that, like our
Speaker 1: only witness is dead, And they're like, well, there's no
Speaker 1: way that this guy's only struck once. He's a predator.
Speaker 1: He's been in this job for ten years. We got
Speaker 1: to find the other victims. So at the Rodriguez house,
Speaker 1: the mother is like tearfully telling them about how much.
Speaker 3: Sad I didn't want him to die.
Speaker 4: I know, I know.
Speaker 1: I thought they could at least like have him in
Speaker 1: a coma for most of the episode and then he
Speaker 1: wakes up at the end.
Speaker 4: I don't know, but you know, we have.
Speaker 1: To have steaks, so they wouldn't have kept looking into
Speaker 1: it if this hadn't happened. So at the Rodriguez house,
Speaker 1: the mom is like tearfully telling Finn and Rollins how
Speaker 1: much Diego loved swimming that had healed him after his
Speaker 1: father died. Martina tells her mom go lie down so
Speaker 1: she can talk to the cops, and she tells Finn
Speaker 1: and Rollins, I drove Diego to work this morning, and
Speaker 1: he confessed the whole assault to me, but he didn't
Speaker 1: want our mom to ever know. And they're like, okay, well, like,
Speaker 1: you know, Greco offering to help you with your time
Speaker 1: and stuff that's called grooming. Is there anyone else you
Speaker 1: might know who he could have done that to? And
Speaker 1: she goes, I think I might know someone. So now
Speaker 1: they're at the apartment of Daniella Cruz. She's very pretty
Speaker 1: with thick bangs, and she heard about Diego. She's like,
Speaker 1: I know him from the neighborhood. He was my first
Speaker 1: love and I was his first love. And she's like,
Speaker 1: and I guess his last dark She immediately knows that
Speaker 1: they're there about Paul Greco and they're like, oh, so
Speaker 1: did he mention his attack? And she's like, what are
Speaker 1: you talking about? They were so close he saw him
Speaker 1: like a father figure. And they're like, well, then, why
Speaker 1: did you know we were here about Greco And she's like, oh,
Speaker 1: because Greco raped me and she never told Diego, but
Speaker 1: she suspected he knew about it. She wanted to be
Speaker 1: held at that time, but Diego wouldn't even touch her,
Speaker 1: and that's why she broke up with him. And she
Speaker 1: thought he was just being loyal to Greco. But months
Speaker 1: he's like, it's actually more likely that the same thing
Speaker 1: happened to him, and that's why he was unable to
Speaker 1: comfort you.
Speaker 4: And Danielle was like, I thought Greco was just into girls.
Speaker 1: So this guy's a bisexual offender and that's probably what's
Speaker 1: making him harder to catch.
Speaker 4: I guess, I don't know.
Speaker 1: She explains how Diego pulled strings and got her an interview.
Speaker 1: When she got laid off, he had to qualify her privately,
Speaker 1: took her into the office and pinned her down. She's like,
Speaker 1: I had no business being a lifeguard anyway. I can
Speaker 1: barely swim. I don't even know why you show up
Speaker 1: and try to qualify. But she says she reported it
Speaker 1: to the precinct and the Bronx and they're like did
Speaker 1: you do a rape kid?
Speaker 4: She goes, yeah, but they never called me back.
Speaker 1: And so at the pool, Greko is caressing the flip
Speaker 1: flopped foot of what looks like a fifteen year old
Speaker 1: girl as Live and Finn show up, and Finn goes
Speaker 1: pools clothes and Live arrests Greco for Danielle's rape.
Speaker 4: He has no idea who that even is, and Live goes, well,
Speaker 4: she knows you.
Speaker 1: So then we open up with Greco in court, still
Speaker 1: in his little lifeguarding jacket, which has to be kind
Speaker 1: of embarrassing to stand in court with your lawyer just
Speaker 1: like wearing a little zip up lifeguard jacket and his lawyer.
Speaker 1: I had to do like a double take because his
Speaker 1: lawyer is named Sandy Braun and he's played by Jason Kravitz,
Speaker 1: and he's giving me Michael Kostroff vibes, and then I
Speaker 1: type that in. Right after I type that into my notes,
Speaker 1: I scrolled down in the SVU wiki and saw that
Speaker 1: there was a trivia item that says it is possible
Speaker 1: he's related to Evan Brawn, who is Michael Kostroff's character,
Speaker 1: due to them sharing the same surname and job as
Speaker 1: well as both looking similar in appearance, so you know,
Speaker 1: interesting could be brothers, Sandy Braun.
Speaker 4: This character also defended the kid in the.
Speaker 1: Ballad of Dwighton Arena, the guy who kills his mom's
Speaker 1: abuse boyfriend by like putting a hair dryer in the
Speaker 1: tub or something. It's the Ricky Lindholme episode, so he's
Speaker 1: been in an episode before. Caresy requests seventy five thousand
Speaker 1: dollars bail as this man has the means to flee,
Speaker 1: and Sandy argues he's a respected civil servant with no record.
Speaker 1: The judge goes for it and grants roar Cariesy and
Speaker 1: Benson are doing what I'm calling a chit chat and chill.
Speaker 1: It's an alt for walking talk. I'm just testing it out,
Speaker 1: and everyone wants this case settled. This doesn't look good
Speaker 1: for the city to have the most powerful lifeguard in
Speaker 1: New York on trial and mcgrathizon lives ass about it,
Speaker 1: et cetera, etc.
Speaker 4: It's like one of these ones. They just want to
Speaker 4: get it kind of wrapped up.
Speaker 1: They get interrupted mid convo by Assemblywoman Diane Garcia. She
Speaker 1: wants to put in a good word for Greco. This
Speaker 1: is how powerful this lifeguard is he's got politicians on
Speaker 1: his side.
Speaker 4: He's a good guy.
Speaker 1: And she says, so, there's definitely no way he's a
Speaker 1: sexual predator. That's just how the real world works, you know,
Speaker 1: and she goes, I just think you should think about
Speaker 1: it before you ruin a respected city officials reputation and
Speaker 1: put the city in danger of civil litigation. And then
Speaker 1: she just kind of like stalks off, and it's like,
Speaker 1: on this show alone, there have been so many civil
Speaker 1: servants arrested, like nobody is innocent because of government.
Speaker 2: By this point, there was a whole sex ring of
Speaker 2: judges and legislators that were carried on the courtroom steps
Speaker 2: like what.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Like remember Paget Brewster, she was fully involved in
Speaker 1: a section, Yeah, in a prostitution ring. So anyway, Coreesi
Speaker 1: explains that this woman who's just gone to bat for
Speaker 1: the lifeguard oversees judge appointments, bail reform, court procedure, and
Speaker 1: the DA's budget, so she's important. And then they go,
Speaker 1: how much you want to bet Greco's a campaign contributor.
Speaker 4: He's a lifeguard. I don't understand how important he can be.
Speaker 4: How much can he be contributing to a political camp.
Speaker 3: That's where you lost me, like most powerful lifeguard.
Speaker 4: I was there.
Speaker 3: I was there. And then it's like he's a major
Speaker 3: donor what.
Speaker 1: Like, and they keep talking about his political clout throughout
Speaker 1: the episode, and I'm like, as a lifeguard, I mean,
Speaker 1: I know he's the head lifeguard, but it's it's it's wild.
Speaker 1: So liv says Danielle's rape kit came back and boom,
Speaker 1: it's a match.
Speaker 4: And guess what.
Speaker 1: The Bronx sview has not been helpful. They don't do
Speaker 1: anything by the book, especially their SVU. At this point,
Speaker 1: I don't even know if we've met Kevin Kaine's character
Speaker 1: yet because he's Bronx SPU. But maybe they're maybe they're
Speaker 1: teasing it, like how they're going to start interacting more
Speaker 1: because I know in past episodes, I believe Annabella Siora,
Speaker 1: the actress, is the head of the Bronx SVU.
Speaker 4: But and they you know, butt heads or whatever.
Speaker 1: But it's wild because I guess his DNA wouldn't be
Speaker 1: in the system as a civil servant, just his fingerprints.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I was wondering why they wouldn't have matched
Speaker 1: the rape kit, but it wouldn't have been DNA so ran.
Speaker 2: They probably didn't want to. There's been tons of more
Speaker 2: shady shit with the Bronx there, you know.
Speaker 4: Yeah, because also she would have given his name. She
Speaker 4: knows who he is. It wasn't like it was a
Speaker 4: random stranger attack.
Speaker 2: Because there was that case where there's all these underwear
Speaker 2: on clothing lines, like that's the gang, that's the gang.
Speaker 2: And then it was wasn't it the DNA stuff like
Speaker 2: going into rate victims. DNA wasn't out the Bronx with
Speaker 2: orphae with orphe is she bronx or is she Queen's
Speaker 2: I think she's queens?
Speaker 1: Yeah, but you know, everybody besides Manhattan SVU has gone
Speaker 1: bottom line. So at the grand jury hearing, it's five
Speaker 1: minutes till it starts, and uh oh, the classic SVU trope.
Speaker 4: The witness is nowhere to be found. Daniella has not
Speaker 4: shown up.
Speaker 1: Rollins calls it, calls her phone, it goes right to
Speaker 1: a beep, no voicemail.
Speaker 4: You don't see that a lot. But she she goes,
Speaker 4: I'll send Muncy and Malasko over to check on her.
Speaker 4: At Danielle's apartment.
Speaker 1: She's like, sorry, I didn't tell anyone, but I'm out,
Speaker 1: I can't testify my father's on parole. Greco must have
Speaker 1: gotten to his po because he threatened to have my
Speaker 1: father violated, Like I don't think that means violated, like attacked.
Speaker 4: I think it means like that have him like framed
Speaker 4: for violating his parole.
Speaker 1: And it's like this guy has ends with parole officers,
Speaker 1: he's a lifeguard.
Speaker 4: I don't get it.
Speaker 1: We can all, we can get this all strained out,
Speaker 1: they tell her, and she's like, look, I can't risk
Speaker 1: my dad going back to Rikers like sorry, no go,
Speaker 1: and Belasco goes for the heart strings about Diego dying
Speaker 1: in his arms, and she's like, I hate Greco, but
Speaker 1: Diego's dead. Nothing will bring him back. I have to
Speaker 1: protect my dad. Slams the door in their faces. So
Speaker 1: at court, Greco walks in with his smarmy lawyer to
Speaker 1: meet with Careesi and Benson and he's like, heard, you
Speaker 1: lost your only witness and they're like, yeah, your client
Speaker 1: used political clout to threaten her.
Speaker 4: Greco's like, what are you talking about.
Speaker 1: They're like, you want us to open a witness tampering
Speaker 1: case because we're also looking into Diego's death and Greco
Speaker 1: stops his lawyer from talking and goes, I am devastated
Speaker 1: by Diego's death. Any drowning is a tragedy, but a
Speaker 1: lifeguard that's a supervisor's worst nightmare.
Speaker 4: And Benson's like. Benson's like, but a nineteen year old is.
Speaker 1: Dead because of your sorry ass, and he denies giving
Speaker 1: that order, and Greco says, I'm not the monster you
Speaker 1: think I am. I've devoted my career to saving lives,
Speaker 1: not destroying them, and Live goes men like you become
Speaker 1: so good at lying, even start believing the ones they
Speaker 1: tell themselves. And then there's a stare down between a
Speaker 1: captain of a police squad and a head lifeguard and
Speaker 1: he walks off and lives like, we cannot let this
Speaker 1: guy back on the job. But now the rape cases out,
Speaker 1: what are we going to do? And then they're kind
Speaker 1: of spitballing. Creasy's like, if Greco knowingly hired underqualified lifeguards
Speaker 1: in exchange for sex, we might have a manslaughter case.
Speaker 1: So let's find out how many drownings happened at that
Speaker 1: beach with lifeguards that Greco qualified. So in the next scene,
Speaker 1: Rollins is standing next to a huge smart board with
Speaker 1: let me tell you quite a few people have drowned
Speaker 1: at this beach. It's nine people. Diego makes the tenth.
Speaker 1: All of them drowned at Jonas Bronc Beach. Who Jonas
Speaker 1: Bronc is who the Bronx are named after. I didn't
Speaker 1: know that. It's like an old historical figure that the
Speaker 1: Bronx are named after. But this is not a real beach.
Speaker 1: And the sleuths on Twitter noticed that you can see
Speaker 1: the Verrizanto Bridge in the background, plus a bunch of
Speaker 1: other clues, and so this was actually filmed at Midland
Speaker 1: Beach on Staten Island, New Yorker. And you're interested in
Speaker 1: this kind of trivia anyway, All nine of these people
Speaker 1: drowned while lifeguards that Greco qualified were working. They all
Speaker 1: had no risk factors like no drugs, no intoxication, so
Speaker 1: that's not good. I don't know what the time period is,
Speaker 1: but he's been there ten years, so it's at least
Speaker 1: in the last ten years. There are also headshots of
Speaker 1: lifeguards on the board. One is Diego, one is Greco,
Speaker 1: one is Frankie, one is Pinsky, who we've met, and
Speaker 1: then there's three others who have all lawyered up and
Speaker 1: they're all loyal to Greco, So they're like, what about Frankie,
Speaker 1: the guy who takes the times, Maybe he faked some
Speaker 1: of them. If grec Go's up for manslaughter, why don't
Speaker 1: we let this kid know that if he's helped and
Speaker 1: he's an accomplice.
Speaker 4: That he's fucked to.
Speaker 1: So now we're in interrogation and it's cement bars, so
Speaker 1: they're not fucking around with these lifeguards. They're laying out
Speaker 1: photos of the drowning victims and Frankie is like manslaughter,
Speaker 1: like he's panicking. He's like, I tried to help Diego,
Speaker 1: Like he thinks he's in there because they're going to
Speaker 1: charge you for manslaughter for not rescuing Diego. But Velasko
Speaker 1: and Finn are like no, no, no, no no. This is
Speaker 1: about the lifeguards and Greco fixing their scores, Like what
Speaker 1: about Pinske, you took his timing? Did Greco have you
Speaker 1: fix his score? And Frankie's like, look, I came in
Speaker 1: to talk to you guys because I feel sick about Diego,
Speaker 1: but maybe I need to get a lawyer, and they
Speaker 1: do the whole thing where they're like, okay, you get
Speaker 1: a lawyer, we can't help you. And he's like, dudes,
Speaker 1: I took this job for the college money and to
Speaker 1: meet babes. I am not an accomplice to shit. And
Speaker 1: he says Greco changed the scores. He goes, I didn't
Speaker 1: notice it at first, but he'd write down. I'd write
Speaker 1: down the scores, and then when I went to put
Speaker 1: them in the system, I saw that they'd change by
Speaker 1: a few seconds here and there. So I started taking
Speaker 1: pictures of them on my iPhone. And he didn't report
Speaker 1: it because he likes his job. So then caress like
Speaker 1: if he knowingly hired lifeguards for sexual favors and those
Speaker 1: lifeguards resulted in drownings, that's depraved in difference to human life.
Speaker 1: That's murder too, and liv goes take him down, and
Speaker 1: there's a dramatic music.
Speaker 4: Sting, which we love.
Speaker 1: So when we come back from commercial Careese's questioning a
Speaker 1: witness named Anna Kallis. She's an investigator for the New
Speaker 1: York Department of Health. They investigate drownings at public beaches.
Speaker 1: She identified the ten victims whose photos are being shown
Speaker 1: to the courtroom as victims who have drowned during Greco's tenure.
Speaker 1: With a lifeguard attempt. All the lifeguards were qualified and
Speaker 1: hired by Greco. Then his lawyer was like, and all
Speaker 1: of these drowtings were ruled accidental, right, no lifeguard and competence,
Speaker 1: And she goes, yeah, but that's beyond my purview, and
Speaker 1: you know, he's like, no more questions, you know, like
Speaker 1: we kind of cut her off. So now they have
Speaker 1: the last most powerful lifeguard in New York City, a
Speaker 1: guy who served as the chief lifeguard for twenty five
Speaker 1: years before retiring, and he's evaluated thousands of rescue cases,
Speaker 1: most of them successful Caresi's going through some of the
Speaker 1: cases that were on Greco's watch, and he's like, like,
Speaker 1: how about this fourteen year old boy who drowned in
Speaker 1: calm flat water? And the guy said that never would
Speaker 1: have happened with a qualified lifeguard. I can't believe they're
Speaker 1: even like allowing this line of questioning because you can't
Speaker 1: really say what.
Speaker 4: Would or wouldn't happen with a different lifeguard.
Speaker 1: But I kind of I can't believe they're not objecting
Speaker 1: another case where the guard was on his phone, which
Speaker 1: slowed the rescue. He said, again would not have occurred
Speaker 1: with a qualify lifeguard as if all, no qualified lifeguard
Speaker 1: has ever looked at their phone to check a text.
Speaker 1: Another case where the lifeguard.
Speaker 2: You know, if you were a good lifeguard, you would
Speaker 2: not be checking your phone.
Speaker 4: No, you wouldn't.
Speaker 1: But it's just it's like to act like this is
Speaker 1: all part of a conspiracy, like these are teens in
Speaker 1: early twenties, Like I do think it's possible for there
Speaker 1: to be like human errors.
Speaker 4: You know, I think this guy's a piece of shit.
Speaker 4: Don't get me wrong.
Speaker 1: This lineup questioning is just as a lawyer myself, having
Speaker 1: graduated from SVU, I would be objecting. So there was
Speaker 1: another case where the lifeguard headed into the water and
Speaker 1: then turned around. And then they get the camera on Pinsky,
Speaker 1: who basically did that to Diego. And he's in the
Speaker 1: gallery and his face looks nervous, he looks a little puky.
Speaker 1: And now Frankie Volpi is on the stand. This is
Speaker 1: Greko's like right hand guy. He's on the stand talking
Speaker 1: about how he records the times. But he came to
Speaker 1: realize that Greko's sometimes changed the times. He took screenshots
Speaker 1: on his phones of all of his initial timings, all
Speaker 1: four of the lifeguards in question had times that did
Speaker 1: not qualify them. So that's Pinske plus the three headshots
Speaker 1: of lifeguards that we never meet. Greco changed them and
Speaker 1: then he said he requalified them, meaning Frankie says he
Speaker 1: had sex with them, or they had to give him
Speaker 1: ten percent of their salary. He called it pay or lay.
Speaker 1: Frankie knows this because Greco told him that when he
Speaker 1: confronted him, and he recorded the entire conversation on his cell. Frankie,
Speaker 1: you could have gone to the authorities a lot earlier.
Speaker 1: You have so much evidence saved on that little phone
Speaker 1: of yours. And it's like, let's get him into the SVU.
Speaker 1: He is really a detective. He's got screenshots, he's got combos,
Speaker 1: so obviously CARIESI plays the combo in court and he's
Speaker 1: like we hear Greco being like, hell, yes, she requalified
Speaker 1: on her knees. You want to crack out or two.
Speaker 1: So immediately it's like cases over. This guy's disgusting. We
Speaker 1: know what's up. And now it's Sandy's turn and he goes,
Speaker 1: so you knew about the scores being changed and you
Speaker 1: said nothing, And Frankie's like, yes, but with deep regret,
Speaker 1: and then Sandy cuts him off and goes, did that
Speaker 1: regret come after or before?
Speaker 4: You were offered a deal in exchange for your testimony?
Speaker 1: Which they always love to point out that people are possibly,
Speaker 1: you know, giving false testimony for a deal. So cuts
Speaker 1: a late night at Carisie's office, and you know, Amanda
Speaker 1: SLINKs in like, hey, babe, a, you gonna be working late,
Speaker 1: and she's like, you know, I saw tears with the jury,
Speaker 1: so I think you are getting to them. Like, so
Speaker 1: you're doing great, and he's like, you slept like a
Speaker 1: baby last night, first time in a while that you
Speaker 1: didn't wake up. And then she shows him the bullet
Speaker 1: charm and says maybe Finn should be a shrink after
Speaker 1: he retires, which.
Speaker 3: I love that.
Speaker 1: And he tells her he's going to be late because
Speaker 1: Greco's on the stand tomorrow. They have a little smooch
Speaker 1: and she's like, you got this back in court. Greco's
Speaker 1: on the stand saying his job takes discipline and integrity,
Speaker 1: Like how how do you even put this man on
Speaker 1: the stand after the phone call we just heard him
Speaker 1: talking about like fucking people for assaulting people for you know,
Speaker 1: kickbacks or whatever. The fuck he's doing. And then you
Speaker 1: get him on the stand and have him talk about integrity, Like,
Speaker 1: what's going on again, Sandy, I'm a better lawyer than you.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't put him on the stand. He says he's
Speaker 1: a man of integrity, but he also admits to having
Speaker 1: sexual involvements with lifeguards underneath him. All consensual still would
Speaker 1: be sexual harassment, like still would not be Like if
Speaker 1: there's a power dynamic imbalance, it's not okay. He says
Speaker 1: he's never hired someone unfit for the job. But even
Speaker 1: the most experienced guards can lose a swimmer and Careesi
Speaker 1: asks him if he loses sleep, and his lawyer objects,
Speaker 1: but the judge allows it. And she does look familiar.
Speaker 1: She is a judge in two episodes this season, plus
Speaker 1: she's in the episode Crush and the episode Complicated. But
Speaker 1: I didn't really look up her parts. But she's an spu.
Speaker 1: Queen Greco says, I'm understaffed. My budget is cut. It
Speaker 1: gets worse every year. People drunk on the beach, people
Speaker 1: with no business getting in that water. Then we need
Speaker 1: to get in and risk our lives. And Creasey's like,
Speaker 1: but that's your job, like and then this guy goes
Speaker 1: off into a monologue and he goes, look at you
Speaker 1: in your suit and tie. You have no idea what
Speaker 1: it's like to people's lives in your hands, do you.
Speaker 1: People don't think about it. The ocean is a wilderness.
Speaker 1: Men like me are the breakwater, the only barrier between
Speaker 1: a fun day at the beach and some out of shape,
Speaker 1: stupid person becoming part of the food chain. It's IQ
Speaker 1: points and common sense most of the time. And they're like,
Speaker 1: so did you send Diego into the water because of
Speaker 1: lack common sense?
Speaker 2: It's also funny to say this Sacarsi who was an officer,
Speaker 2: so he knows about it pretty well.
Speaker 1: We've seen it one handed pull up and get himself
Speaker 1: up and save girls that were being trafficked.
Speaker 4: Okay, he's helped save lives.
Speaker 1: So he goes, so did you send Diego into the
Speaker 1: water because he lacked common sense? And he goes, Diego
Speaker 1: was a drunk who showed up, showed up hungover, and
Speaker 1: Creasy's like really laying into him, so you gave the
Speaker 1: order for him to swim laps in a riptide and
Speaker 1: his lawyer tries to object, but Greco goes, you're damn right,
Speaker 1: I gave that order, and you cannot tell me that
Speaker 1: the fucking showrunner of the show does not have a
Speaker 1: boner for the movie. A few good men, because this
Speaker 1: is ripped right out of a few good men from
Speaker 1: the scene of you can't comdle the truth, Like, it's
Speaker 1: the same fucking thing.
Speaker 4: Did you get order? Did you order the code blue?
Speaker 4: It's the same fucking thing.
Speaker 1: Everyone in the courtroom is stunned that Greco's just admitted
Speaker 1: to this, and Greco says, I didn't know. He goes, yeah,
Speaker 1: I gave the order, but I didn't know there'd be
Speaker 1: a rip anymore.
Speaker 4: That I wanted that kid dead.
Speaker 1: So like, he admits that he was making the kid
Speaker 1: like kind of get punished, but not that he wanted
Speaker 1: him dead. And he's like, that beach and all the
Speaker 1: lives on it are my responsibility, all mine, my ass
Speaker 1: on the line.
Speaker 4: I'm the boss. I'm the boss at all my lifeguards.
Speaker 1: No way.
Speaker 4: He's such a little boy, this man.
Speaker 2: So yeah, if you are taking responsibility, then you're guilty.
Speaker 1: Okay, yeah, yeah, great, and that's it, great, done and dusted.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: So at this point we see Pinske, the little douche
Speaker 1: guy get up and leave the courtroom, which is kind
Speaker 1: of a big move, Like the courtroom is quiet and silent,
Speaker 1: and he's like up and leaving. So then Live tells
Speaker 1: Velasco figure out what's going on with Pinske. So Velasco
Speaker 1: approaches him and he's like, my lawyer says, I shouldn't
Speaker 1: talk to you, and I will not be following his advice.
Speaker 3: It's like he.
Speaker 4: Immediately starts talking.
Speaker 1: Velasco asks why he's been showing up to court, and
Speaker 1: he goes to show support for Greco. He made it
Speaker 1: clear we all needed to show up and he didn't.
Speaker 1: But I don't see the other lifeguards, Like there's like
Speaker 1: a girl lifeguard on that board. I don't see her
Speaker 1: in the gallery. But maybe they just couldn't pay for
Speaker 1: the extra that day. So he didn't know Diego was
Speaker 1: going to go under. He was a strong swimmer. He goes,
Speaker 1: are you He goes, I'm all right, but that's not
Speaker 1: why I didn't go in and Greg he goes, Greco
Speaker 1: told me not to no matter what. And it's like,
Speaker 1: how much does lifeguarding pay? Like your boss tells you
Speaker 1: to let somebody drown no matter what, and you're like
Speaker 1: gotta make that twenty four an hour, like it is
Speaker 1: really wild, and he's like, I should have gone in.
Speaker 1: It's like, yeah, you should have. Velasco's like what does
Speaker 1: he have on you? And then Pinsky's struggling to tell him,
Speaker 1: and Velasko's like, whatever it is, it's not your fault.
Speaker 4: We know what he did to other guys.
Speaker 1: And so he's like, okay, he's got pictures of me
Speaker 1: and him and a couple of other guys doing stuff
Speaker 1: quote unquote, he goes, and I didn't do what he said.
Speaker 1: He was going to show them to everyone. He's right
Speaker 1: what he said in there. He's the boss. He's got
Speaker 1: all the power because you know, he is.
Speaker 4: The most powerful lifeguard in New York. That might be
Speaker 4: the last time I s get to say it. But
Speaker 4: so then the Lasco goes, so take it back. Okay.
Speaker 1: So now in a private conference room combo, it's Greco,
Speaker 1: his lawyer, and Careesy and Greco's like that Pinsky Punk
Speaker 1: is lying, and his lawyer is like trying to cool
Speaker 1: things down. But Greco's like, what am I paying you for?
Speaker 1: And Sandy's like to tell you when to shut the
Speaker 1: fuck up because you had lost and Greco is cocky
Speaker 1: as hell, and he's like, the jury's ever gonna convict
Speaker 1: if they do, I'll appeal because like that is the
Speaker 1: kind of guy this is. It's like they have you
Speaker 1: on tape saying that you fucked girls like that that
Speaker 1: were underneath you and that you were holding something over them,
Speaker 1: like we have you on we have you in the
Speaker 1: courtroom saying you order this kid to swim laps like
Speaker 1: and what led to his death? Like, and he's still like,
Speaker 1: I'll just appeal. That's something I think people with money do.
Speaker 1: They go all just appeal because in a lot of cases,
Speaker 1: I think you can just appeal until it fucking goes away.
Speaker 1: But it's wild the cockiness on this man, Like he
Speaker 1: has like terminal confidence and entitlement.
Speaker 4: And so Cariese's like, dude, it's over.
Speaker 1: The political clout you bought has run out with your
Speaker 1: massive political donations. Pinsky has the photos you used to
Speaker 1: blackmail him, Like yeah, I mean if you knew that
Speaker 1: the photos are out there, why are you so confident?
Speaker 1: And Cariese's like, I'm giving you the chance to serve
Speaker 1: time without everyone knowing the truth about you, and he goes,
Speaker 1: oh yeah, what's that? And he goes that you're a
Speaker 1: manipulative little big man. I don't really get that insult.
Speaker 1: I feel like we could have done better with a
Speaker 1: little pitch session in the writer's room that you're a
Speaker 1: manipulative little big man with a fiefdom built on sand,
Speaker 1: and it's all coming down. I do like the fifdom
Speaker 1: built on sand because it works on two levels. It's
Speaker 1: like the beach, you know. And then the lawyer is like,
Speaker 1: what's the offer? So now back at the precinct, Live
Speaker 1: hangs up the phone with Careesy and lets the gang
Speaker 1: know that Greco's gonna plead guilty to ten counts of manslaughter,
Speaker 1: all of that so that it doesn't come out about
Speaker 1: the sexual stuff.
Speaker 4: And yeah, he was really fucked. He had nowhere to go.
Speaker 1: Finn points out that consecutive sentences would put him in
Speaker 1: jail till he's seventy.
Speaker 4: So then Live tells Alaska on Muncie.
Speaker 1: Good job, guys, and they're like, we're gonna go tell Martina,
Speaker 1: and then Velasco mentions there's a memorial on the beach
Speaker 1: for Diego, and Lives like, well, I will not be attending,
Speaker 1: but please send my condolences and then lives like Velasco.
Speaker 1: You lost someone and it's easy to take that personally,
Speaker 1: so you feel sorry, but not for yourself. You did
Speaker 1: everything right. And then he thanks her and she's like
Speaker 1: I need it, and then you know, she gives her
Speaker 1: signature sort of like terse stare as they walk out
Speaker 1: and that's Dick wolf Baby. This is, you know, a
Speaker 1: wild season. I've said it before on the podcast. It
Speaker 1: just like it used to just be this could have
Speaker 1: been an interesting episode. I didn't really think that we
Speaker 1: needed to like have there be like a councilwoman and
Speaker 1: like parole officers being called and stuff like that, Like
Speaker 1: we didn't have to make like this whole season is
Speaker 1: all about crimes involving the most powerful people in New York.
Speaker 1: There's a soccer player episode, there's a lifeguard, there's a
Speaker 1: woman who's like a big real estate person. There's like
Speaker 1: everybody's the most powerful person New York and I'm like, God,
Speaker 1: back in the day, it was just any Tom Dick
Speaker 1: or Stanley who showed up in New York and had
Speaker 1: a problem they could call SV And now it's like
Speaker 1: they're feels like they're like the personal police of the rich.
Speaker 3: And powerful, the concierge.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean this is a hokey, silly thing,
Speaker 2: you know, lifeguards, but it is based on real crimes.
Speaker 3: It is Yeah, it is.
Speaker 1: Here we are and I cannot wait to hear you
Speaker 1: talk about it. So listen to our messages and we'll
Speaker 1: be right back.
Speaker 2: This episode is based on two crimes. One is based
Speaker 2: in the Chicago Park District. It's a sex abuse scandal
Speaker 2: in the early two thousands in Chicago at Lakes that
Speaker 2: I have been to at beach as I was there,
Speaker 2: so apparently I had no clue.
Speaker 3: You know, I'm more of a skoche girl.
Speaker 2: But the aquatics department in Chicago had a misogynistic, toxic,
Speaker 2: and abusive culture that has pervaded them for decades. But
Speaker 2: unbeknownst to the young victims that just wanted to be lifeguards,
Speaker 2: you know, just young fun teens that wanted to be
Speaker 2: tan and cool. Like as a kid, I looked at
Speaker 2: the lifeguards as cool when I went to the beach,
Speaker 2: like I it's Baywatch. I mean, babe, Baywatch yeeah.
Speaker 1: Like babe, I mean Nicole Eggert from Charles in Charge,
Speaker 1: so gorgeous, Pamela Anderson Yasmin Bleef, Carmen Electra. I mean
Speaker 1: it was like every Maxim babe was on that fucking show.
Speaker 4: And the men were hot. The men were hot too,
Speaker 4: I mean, who were the men?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Who?
Speaker 4: I think it's like a lot of now Republicans.
Speaker 2: But go on, yeah, so young women, you know, like
Speaker 2: on the show, it's the first jobs are coming in.
Speaker 2: They want to make friends, experienced camaraderie, get nice paychecks,
Speaker 2: you get to work in the sun, sand water. But
Speaker 2: instead they were truly preyed upon their males by their
Speaker 2: male supervisors, with impunity in a workplace that was rooted
Speaker 2: in a culture of sexual harassment and physical abuse. Sexual
Speaker 2: harassment was the norm during this time. It was daily
Speaker 2: and dealt with in house. So the park District is
Speaker 2: responsible for twenty six indoor pools, fifty one outdoor pools,
Speaker 2: another fifteen pools at schools, and twenty three beaches on
Speaker 2: Lake Michigan. And there's also one inland beach at the
Speaker 2: Humboldt Park Lagoon, which I had never even heard of,
Speaker 2: but I guess, I guess you can swim in a lagoon.
Speaker 2: Michael Kelly was the Chicago Park District chief at the time.
Speaker 2: And it's claimed that he allowed and concealed a pervasive
Speaker 2: institutional culture of sexual misconduct against female Park District lifeguards.
Speaker 2: The initial whistleblower to the case said that she tried
Speaker 2: complaint to the city's top parks officials, but was initially
Speaker 2: brushed under the rug. So early twenty twenty, this woman
Speaker 2: sent a letter to Kelly alleging serious misconduct by seven
Speaker 2: supervisors at Oak Street Beach, and she described regular drug
Speaker 2: use by the lifeguards as well while they were on duty.
Speaker 2: She wrote that one time a male lifeguard, in quotes,
Speaker 2: told me that he was so high when he was
Speaker 2: giving CPR to a man who had just got pulled
Speaker 2: out of the water.
Speaker 3: And that's a direct quote from Wbez.
Speaker 2: And she said a male lifeguard slammed her into the
Speaker 2: wall of a guardroom and called her misogynistic slurs while
Speaker 2: he was high as hell. There was like a hazing
Speaker 2: situation where this woman refused to drink vodka and that
Speaker 2: led to a lifeguard grabbing her and trying to force
Speaker 2: a bottle of vodka down her throat. Throughout the summer,
Speaker 2: she said her coworkers called her slurs that became her
Speaker 2: regular name. There was like an awards ceremony where grown
Speaker 2: ass men gave teens awards that were like Bitch of
Speaker 2: the Beach, slud of the Beach, little dick man Hohrror
Speaker 2: of the Beach, and it's hard as a comic and
Speaker 2: someone who would love to be the Bitch of the beach.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's tough, and I'd love to see someone have
Speaker 1: to get little dick you know, I'd like to see
Speaker 1: someone accept that award.
Speaker 4: That's fun.
Speaker 2: We would definitely be the women that allowed the abuse
Speaker 2: of the lifeguard group. We'd be like whatever, relaxed. Bitch
Speaker 2: of the Beach is funny. But Kelly waited nearly six
Speaker 2: weeks before four this, so this is where it all comes.
Speaker 2: So then Michael Kelly gets this message early twenty twenty
Speaker 2: and he tells this girl, I'm going to report this
Speaker 2: immediately to the Inspector General.
Speaker 3: He does not.
Speaker 2: He waits over six weeks and to send the letter
Speaker 2: to the park districts like internal watchdog.
Speaker 3: Now, if we're talking money, and.
Speaker 2: You know, in the episode, we were like, how is
Speaker 2: he affording anything?
Speaker 4: This guy?
Speaker 3: But he's head of the park district.
Speaker 2: But he was making two hundred and thirty thousand a year,
Speaker 2: and a lot of these guys were making between ninety
Speaker 2: and one hundred something thousand, like one twenty.
Speaker 3: I don't think you're making.
Speaker 1: Any meaningful contributions to a political campaign with that kind
Speaker 1: of salary.
Speaker 4: But yeah, it's not nothing.
Speaker 2: It's not nothing, not in early two thousands. That's in Chicago.
Speaker 2: I mean, that's a nice living. I never paid more
Speaker 2: than four hundred dollars in rent when I lived in
Speaker 2: chip but I lived in rooms with people. But anyways,
Speaker 2: so he said no, he denies being relaxed. He's like,
Speaker 2: I always treated this with the utmost seriousness, but that's
Speaker 2: not true. And this investigation dragged for seventeen months. So
Speaker 2: like when the woman first wrote to him, she was seventeen,
Speaker 2: and she was nineteen when this happened. So it's like,
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, you can't say this was swiftly taken care of.
Speaker 3: Yeah, when she no.
Speaker 2: So, so he got the email February seventh, twenty twenty.
Speaker 2: He did not send it till March nineteenth, twenty twenty.
Speaker 2: And that only happened because a second female ex lifeguard
Speaker 2: sent a complaint of sexual misconduct to Mayor Lori Lightfoot's
Speaker 2: office so I mean.
Speaker 3: Kelly legit.
Speaker 2: Instead of sending it to the Inspector General like he
Speaker 2: said he would, he sent it to just like the
Speaker 2: managers within, and he's like, I think it's totally normal
Speaker 2: to poke around first before it, like taking it outside
Speaker 2: the department, Like he just thinks it's not a normal
Speaker 2: or like to tell your bosses first.
Speaker 4: But also like bulshit, when he finally sent it, is
Speaker 4: it coincidence that that's.
Speaker 1: Like literally when COVID hit, like March nineteenth, twenty twenty,
Speaker 1: is like right when COVID is like shutting everything down,
Speaker 1: so he's like, maybe this will just get buried. Damn,
Speaker 1: you know, just a thought.
Speaker 4: Damn.
Speaker 2: So then Spector General for the park District at the
Speaker 2: time is Elaine Little, and nobody seemed to be on
Speaker 2: the same page. So like then Spector General office said
Speaker 2: that they didn't have the resources it took to take
Speaker 2: on such a big case, and then Kelly and Lightfoot said, no,
Speaker 2: we do. But then nobody is doing anything, so like
Speaker 2: they just weren't able to get on the same page.
Speaker 2: Everyone had an excuse of like why they weren't doing more.
Speaker 2: So the letter to Mayor Lightfoot stated that she was sexually.
Speaker 2: It's just funny to think about her because the meme
Speaker 2: of her stand like really took over the internet.
Speaker 3: But then also Carmen Christopher.
Speaker 2: Has a funny joke that like on January sixth or like,
Speaker 2: some sort of tragedy happened and everyone was right or
Speaker 2: someone had just died, like something happened and everyone was
Speaker 2: tweeting about the tragedy, and she tweeted Chicago's the Home
Speaker 2: of House Music, and.
Speaker 3: I just like just laugh about it. But she got
Speaker 3: made fun of a lot.
Speaker 4: Okay, So.
Speaker 1: It is the meme just like her making that serious
Speaker 1: face like this, yeah, but in all different places.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So the letter to Lightfoot stated that she was sexually
Speaker 2: assaulted by an employee with a more senior position than her,
Speaker 2: and then learned there was a huge number of such
Speaker 2: incidences after she told three coworkers about the attack and
Speaker 2: about the manager's mocking her when she tried to speak up.
Speaker 2: So this letter writer asked her coworkers if they filed reports,
Speaker 2: and they did and nothing was done about it. By
Speaker 2: the end, there were a dozen complaints by workers at
Speaker 2: the city's pools and beaches. Horrifying stories of employees experiencing
Speaker 2: sexual violence, being groped, forcing each other to make out,
Speaker 2: and then of course, threats of retaliation made by supervisors.
Speaker 2: One woman said she is scared to speak up because
Speaker 2: the person who attacked her is now an officer at
Speaker 2: the Chicago Police Department. So the huge investigation didn't happen
Speaker 2: until April twenty twenty one.
Speaker 3: The evidence showed that there were.
Speaker 2: At least three male lifeguards that got in trouble for
Speaker 2: sexual assault, harassment, and retaliatory threats against their subordinates, including
Speaker 2: one incident involving the sexual assault and attempted rape of
Speaker 2: a sixteen year old girl. In another instance, investigators found
Speaker 2: an aquatics department employee sexually harassed two junior female lifeguards
Speaker 2: and later sexually attacked each of them in public swimming
Speaker 2: pool locker rooms twenty sixteen in Portage Park at one
Speaker 2: of their facilities, in a women's locker room. One of
Speaker 2: the claims is that the male lifeguard molested her. He
Speaker 2: fondled her over her clothes, even as she pushed his
Speaker 2: hands away and repeated pleaded for him to stop. Another
Speaker 2: woman told Inspector General's Office of a similar attack by
Speaker 2: the same man two years later. Another man was part
Speaker 2: of the investigation for sexual harassment and a Wells Park
Speaker 2: where he supervised ten lifeguards and worked at the aquatics
Speaker 2: department for about ten years. There, three female lifeguards said
Speaker 2: that he harassed, propositioned, and threatened each of them. And
Speaker 2: he is a serial harasser. And that's the thing. It's
Speaker 2: like these women have spoken forward, they some of them
Speaker 2: did rape kits, and like the fact of the matter
Speaker 2: is nothing was done where it kept happening time and
Speaker 2: time and time and time again. You know, we talk
Speaker 2: about this where it's like so many mass shooters and
Speaker 2: serial killers all do petty cron petty in quotes against
Speaker 2: women young in age and like oh and it's always
Speaker 2: like boys will be boys attitude or like oh, we
Speaker 2: don't want to get him in trouble, oh this and that,
Speaker 2: and it's like it will always escalate the more you
Speaker 2: let people get away with it. They of course they're
Speaker 2: going to keep doing more. Why would they stop. And
Speaker 2: the whole department is responsible for any second person that
Speaker 2: has been assaulted by any of these fuckers. And so
Speaker 2: five years prior, this motherfucker was fired from Chicago public
Speaker 2: school life guarding jobs when he made inappropriate advances towards
Speaker 2: high school students.
Speaker 4: Ugh, so he got fire.
Speaker 2: So he was put on the no hireless for the
Speaker 2: school districts. But I guess that doesn't make it to
Speaker 2: the park district. Computers make it make sense. Yeah, So
Speaker 2: one woman was sexually abused by her boss at a
Speaker 2: house party and then had to work with him as
Speaker 2: her supervisor for two more years. And then so three
Speaker 2: female women said that they didn't report because he said what.
Speaker 4: Well, three female women as a face.
Speaker 2: So these ladies did not report because he said the
Speaker 2: supervisors would take his side, and that one said he
Speaker 2: didn't trust the supervisor because she thought he would tell
Speaker 2: the lifeguard about the complaints and then there would be
Speaker 2: more issues to deal with. So then another lifeguard, she
Speaker 2: worked with the park district for seven years with assignments
Speaker 2: at North Avenue Beach, Foster Beach, and Wheels Park.
Speaker 3: I don't know if that's the thing. And Portage Park.
Speaker 2: North Avenue Beach we were at together when we did
Speaker 2: Zany's that long time in the summer, so that's like
Speaker 2: where we were. Foster Beach I used to go. They
Speaker 2: used to have moon ceremonies like full moon dances that
Speaker 2: I had been to So this lifeguard worked there for
Speaker 2: seven years, and he was found that he locked a
Speaker 2: girl in his car, forced her to perform a sex
Speaker 2: act on her, and then attempted to rape her and
Speaker 2: then threatened her, knowing that she was sixteen and he
Speaker 2: was in his twenties. She then told coworkers about it
Speaker 2: right away, and then when she started getting threatening texts
Speaker 2: that made her fear for her and her family's safety,
Speaker 2: she told her mom and sister about the assault. Her
Speaker 2: mom wanted to contact the police, but she just wanted
Speaker 2: it to be done with. So finally she decided to
Speaker 2: talk when she heard that a bunch of other women
Speaker 2: from the park district were already interviewed for the investigation.
Speaker 2: So that's what kind of convinced her to talk because
Speaker 2: she was scared and did not want to take this
Speaker 2: any further. So one time a lifeguard used police officer
Speaker 2: handcuffs to shackle.
Speaker 4: Her to a tree, Oh my god, near the.
Speaker 2: Lake shore against her will, and then tickled her while
Speaker 2: she was confined.
Speaker 4: I hate that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there are.
Speaker 4: So many Tickling is so fucked up.
Speaker 3: It's so fucked up.
Speaker 2: And you've obviously seen the documentary about the forced tickling that.
Speaker 4: I haven't thought I've heard, but you haven't. Wait what's
Speaker 4: it called again?
Speaker 2: It's probably called tickled, right, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's called tickled.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you're right.
Speaker 2: It's about mysterious tickling competitions. But then he digs deeper
Speaker 2: and deeper and then it ends up being like this
Speaker 2: dude who forces not force it, Like he has all
Speaker 2: this footage of these ticklings, but he's like a rich
Speaker 2: guy that owns everything.
Speaker 3: It's like wild.
Speaker 2: It's this tickle monster who's like really into pain, who
Speaker 2: is into what happened to him.
Speaker 3: He's a culture for he's just a rich guy that
Speaker 3: could sue.
Speaker 2: We have to rewatch it whatever, But there's this tickling
Speaker 2: subculture and then evil people that are involved in it.
Speaker 3: If you want to.
Speaker 2: Watch it, it's from twenty sixteen called Tickled, and it's weird.
Speaker 2: You haven't watched it, and I think you should. Yeah
Speaker 2: I should, because it all it's like it goes to
Speaker 2: the courts and this guy, it's just this powerful tickling maniac.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I'm like really really sensitive about like when I'm tickling
Speaker 1: my kids, if they say stop, I stop like right away,
Speaker 1: because I just like to be tickled.
Speaker 2: When you don't want it anymore. Is like I hate that. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and you could die I think from the stress.
Speaker 4: Oh really, go ahead.
Speaker 2: Well, someone was just telling me a story of like
Speaker 2: this dude accidentally got stuck at his job in like
Speaker 2: a sub zero freezer and he when he was found,
Speaker 2: he like dug so much that is like like into
Speaker 2: the ice and stuff and snow that it was all
Speaker 2: these marks trying to get out.
Speaker 3: But he just died from the stress.
Speaker 2: And actually the freezer was unplugged and he would have
Speaker 2: been fine and the temperature was warming up, but because
Speaker 2: he was so stressed trying to get out, he died
Speaker 2: of like oh my god, something else not, like he
Speaker 2: tricked his body into thinking he had hypothermia but he didn't.
Speaker 4: Type of thing.
Speaker 2: Wow, And that's how I think about with tickling, Like
Speaker 2: if someone says stop, you just have to. I always
Speaker 2: remember this, Like fucking girl from my school had a
Speaker 2: little snake and I don't like snakes, and she like
Speaker 2: chased me around with the snake and would not stop,
Speaker 2: and it's just like, go fuck yourself. But she had
Speaker 2: a rough upbringing. So anyways, there's a lot of pools
Speaker 2: and a lot of beaches and so there. It's hard
Speaker 2: to keep track of all these men in punishments and
Speaker 2: how things were handled because a lot of names weren't
Speaker 2: used because wb EASY is local Chicago news and like
Speaker 2: they can't publish any names until people are full criminally charged.
Speaker 2: So a lot of these articles just like don't really
Speaker 2: have names that. Yeah, it's a lot of suspensions, it's
Speaker 2: a lot of accusing.
Speaker 3: It's just like a lot. It was huge.
Speaker 2: You know, I've told jummy beaches and pools there were,
Speaker 2: but you know, I'm trying to keep it as straight
Speaker 2: as possible. So one lifeguard declined to talk to the
Speaker 2: Inspector General's office because he had already resigned from the
Speaker 2: park district and so since he didn't work there, he
Speaker 2: didn't have to be included in the investigation. But it's like,
Speaker 2: then call the cops, excuse me, so you quit a
Speaker 2: job and so they don't have to investigate you.
Speaker 3: It makes no sense to me.
Speaker 2: So yeah, he resigned, and he resigned because he was
Speaker 2: already under investigation and suspicion. And this is according to
Speaker 2: a report in the case like to WBZ, and he
Speaker 2: is on the do not rehire list, which we've seen earlier.
Speaker 2: Does not really work.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: So April twenty twenty one.
Speaker 2: WBZ reported that despite the inspector finding that illegal or
Speaker 2: criminal sexual misconduct likely took place repeatedly, neither the park
Speaker 2: district nor its inspector General would reply when asked if
Speaker 2: they had referred any of the incidents to law enforcement.
Speaker 2: So they had evidence but refused to get law enforcement involved,
Speaker 2: and a spokeswoman for the mayor at the time also
Speaker 2: declined to comment to WBZ and referred all questions about
Speaker 2: the investigation to the park district. So no one really
Speaker 2: wanted to answer to all these lifeguards. So maybe they
Speaker 2: are all powerful lifeguards who fucking knows what's going on. So.
Speaker 2: Mauricio Ramirez Humble was a Humboldt Park lifeguard manager and
Speaker 2: he was charged with sexually abusing two underage female employees
Speaker 2: that he had supervised. He was more than thirty years
Speaker 2: old and was grooming and sexually exploiting underage girls. There
Speaker 2: was physical evidence against him because his second victim completed
Speaker 2: a sexual assault kit at the hospital. After a party
Speaker 2: where the victim was drinking alcohol. Ramirez is accused of
Speaker 2: driving the girl to a motel, carrying her into a room,
Speaker 2: and sexually assaulting her on the bed. The abuse continued
Speaker 2: for the rest of the summer, and more assaults in
Speaker 2: the back of his car and in showers and locker
Speaker 2: a y rooms happen.
Speaker 4: Oh he's poor girls.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he would pick up girls from high school and
Speaker 2: help them study and do act prep and stuff like.
Speaker 3: He is a creed.
Speaker 2: But he pled guilty, which is awesome because it's also
Speaker 2: better to get money. It's easier to get money when
Speaker 2: people plead guilty in civil cases, and that the girls
Speaker 2: didn't have to testify. He legit in court in quotes,
Speaker 2: he said, full responsibility for my actions, and that's according
Speaker 2: to the Chicago Sun Times, he apologized to his victims
Speaker 2: in court and said he had nobody to blame but himself.
Speaker 2: I mean, the bar is set so low. I'm like, okay,
Speaker 2: I'm like admitting. I'm like, oh, okay.
Speaker 4: At least he's taking accountability.
Speaker 5: I mean.
Speaker 2: He was sentenced to three years of probation, forty hours
Speaker 2: of community service, electronic monitoring, and a lifetime sex offender registry.
Speaker 2: Hector Cause is twenty five and is another lifeguard who
Speaker 2: was charged with felony criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal
Speaker 2: sexual abuse for assaulting a seventeen year old in a
Speaker 2: locker room in Jefferson Park in twenty eighteen. And I
Speaker 2: think he's the one that like left and refused to
Speaker 2: help the investigation, but they got him. He said he
Speaker 2: can pleasure one of the girls better than her boyfriend
Speaker 2: and lock the door in the changing room at the
Speaker 2: pool and pinned her against the lockers before grabbing her
Speaker 2: face fondling.
Speaker 3: Her in all of our private areas.
Speaker 2: And prosecutors also said that he penetrated the girl with
Speaker 2: his fingers twice even though she kept telling him to stop.
Speaker 2: So according to the Cook County Lockup, he was booked
Speaker 2: on May fifth, twenty twenty two, and had a court
Speaker 2: date December seventh, twenty twenty three for bond information. So
Speaker 2: hopefully by the end of this episode we will have
Speaker 2: an update on how his court date went and if
Speaker 2: he's still going to be in jail or not.
Speaker 4: But that is interesting.
Speaker 2: So the Chicago Park District ended up paying out more
Speaker 2: than one point nine million dollars in legal settlements to
Speaker 2: three lifeguards.
Speaker 4: The Sun Times.
Speaker 2: Wrote, who allegedly that these lifeguards are who allegedly suffered
Speaker 2: from sexual misconduct and hazing but it's not alleged. They
Speaker 2: wouldn't pay one point nine million dollars if it was alleged.
Speaker 2: The Sun Times thank you very much. So the park
Speaker 2: district said, three claims in nine months and guess what
Speaker 2: the settlements were expended by taxpayer funded agency.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I mean, this is like one of my biggest beliefs
Speaker 2: that I think. I think if cops embark all these people,
Speaker 2: they need to pay out their own like things. It's
Speaker 2: like so fucked up that our money goes to pay
Speaker 2: for crooked employees. It's insane, Yeah, because I think they
Speaker 2: would behave a little better if they actually had to
Speaker 2: pay out of their pockets and pensions. All the settlements
Speaker 2: include a clause prohibiting the former lifeguards from disparaging the
Speaker 2: park district. Stephen Blandon, one of the lawyers, said to
Speaker 2: The Sun Times, this appears to be a continuing cover
Speaker 2: up so that other victims don't come forward. The Suntimes
Speaker 2: reported September twenty twenty three that a fourth female ex
Speaker 2: life card filed another lawsuit against the park district and
Speaker 2: a former head of the park district, Michael Kelly and
Speaker 2: Humboldt Park District supervisor that was convicted. The cases pending
Speaker 2: in Cook County. Also, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot forced
Speaker 2: him to resign, even though he kept trying to defend
Speaker 2: how he handed the matter.
Speaker 3: But whatever.
Speaker 2: Michael Kelly resigned after twenty seven years working in the
Speaker 2: park district in October twenty twenty one. Avis Lavelle, Yeah,
Speaker 2: Avis Lavelle was the president of the park's board. She
Speaker 2: also resigned, But she's a dumb bitch anyways, she worked
Speaker 2: for Mayor Daily and worked at the private parking company
Speaker 2: that Mayor Daily sold all Chicago public parking too, that
Speaker 2: his cousin owned and gave him one hundred year deal.
Speaker 2: So this motherfucker on his way out from becoming mayor
Speaker 2: sold all public parking in Chicago to a company. So
Speaker 2: there's no caps, there's no free Sundays, all hours of
Speaker 2: the night.
Speaker 4: Like truly came oversight for that. How is there not?
Speaker 4: Like you can't do that? Like I don't.
Speaker 2: It's so crazy, motherfucker. And obviously he owns like a
Speaker 2: part of the company. And this bitch double dipping working
Speaker 2: as the president of the parks board and then also
Speaker 2: at this parking company.
Speaker 4: So she fucking got go to.
Speaker 2: In June twenty twenty one, a woman named Julie to
Speaker 2: Twitterich came forward about her summers as a teen spent
Speaker 2: as a lifeguard, where her supervisor cornered her in a
Speaker 2: park office and sexually abused her twice. That was in
Speaker 2: the seventies, So this has been going on for decades.
Speaker 2: Whoa so at the time of this interview, she is
Speaker 2: a sixty year old grandmother of e and the recent
Speaker 2: news brought back a flood of memories and she wants
Speaker 2: an apology and recognition that this happened to her. She
Speaker 2: says she was too young a naive to speak up
Speaker 2: and it made her wonder at the time if she
Speaker 2: did something to provoke her attacker. She said, I didn't
Speaker 2: even think that it was something that I could say.
Speaker 2: I was embarrassed that it happened. It was awful. It's
Speaker 2: crazy the things that you think when you're a teen.
Speaker 2: And she's quoted saying that at Wbez, another woman came
Speaker 2: forward saying fifteen years ago, a captain took rope and
Speaker 2: lassoed her, tied her up and left her on the
Speaker 2: beach like a calf at the rodeo. They literally had
Speaker 2: a day called sexual harassment Saturdays. Another woman from before
Speaker 2: said that she remembers two young female guards were made
Speaker 2: an accusation and immediately one was asked to leave and
Speaker 2: the other was moved to another beach. And this is
Speaker 2: ongoing and we could see for decades and if you
Speaker 2: reacted negatively to being harassed, they would give you long
Speaker 2: shifts in a rowboat on the lake called rotting and
Speaker 2: just like punish you. So the fact that this all
Speaker 2: came out, I think to the help of the Me
Speaker 2: Too movement and yeah, to these brave like girls that
Speaker 2: step forward in you know, the twenty twenties. But this,
Speaker 2: you know, we kind of with this episode or we're like,
Speaker 2: this is a silly episode of Lifeguards, but now we
Speaker 2: have like a good example of how this has been
Speaker 2: happening forever.
Speaker 4: Well, it's like, you know, we've talked about it before.
Speaker 1: It's like people that are supposed to help people, like lifeguards, police,
Speaker 1: like they get put on a pedestal and then these
Speaker 1: guys think that they're above.
Speaker 4: The fucking law, you know, and they get a big
Speaker 4: head about.
Speaker 1: Oh, I got people's lives in my hands, and blah
Speaker 1: blah blah, I can do whatever.
Speaker 4: I want it's bullshit.
Speaker 2: The other case that I think helped inspire this one
Speaker 2: not about lifeguards, but it is in the pool, so
Speaker 2: I thought I would include it. It's the Paul Hickson
Speaker 2: rape case. He was a British Olympics swim coach. He
Speaker 2: ended up being jailed for seventeen years total for sexually
Speaker 2: attacking teenagers on his elite squads.
Speaker 3: In nineteen ninety five.
Speaker 2: My god, yeah, he was convicted of fifteen of seventeen
Speaker 2: charges at Cardiff Crown Court. He was found guilty of
Speaker 2: raping two teenage swimmers and in decently assaulting others. He
Speaker 2: was arrested in nineteen ninety two when he was the
Speaker 2: chief swimming coach at Millfield Public School in Somerset. So
Speaker 2: thirteen complainants came forward who were aged between thirteen and twenty.
Speaker 2: So before he was famous, So before he was famous
Speaker 2: for being a rapist, he was known for the Sole Olympics.
Speaker 3: That was like the big thing.
Speaker 2: He coached a lot of athletes who meddled and he
Speaker 2: was just kind of like the swimming hero and they
Speaker 2: gave evidence that he assaulted them after swim lessons or
Speaker 2: while carrying out fitness tests. He of course denied everything
Speaker 2: and said that the women just fantasized about him and
Speaker 2: this was dur and he said that to the jury,
Speaker 2: like he said this on the stand. He goes, no, no,
Speaker 2: they just fantasized this. That's I could see Grouco saying
Speaker 2: something like that. I mean, that's like the kuy He
Speaker 2: seems the same kind of guy. But he got twelve
Speaker 2: years for both rapes and other serious sexual offenses to
Speaker 2: run concurrently, and then the judge, John Proser ordered him
Speaker 2: to serve an additional five years for the indecent assaults.
Speaker 2: The judge gave a little speech, and at first, like
Speaker 2: it kind of bothers me, because you know, at first,
Speaker 2: the judge starts with, you know what a terrible shame
Speaker 2: a man of your great ability. You enjoyed international swimming
Speaker 2: fame and brought the best potential out of swimmers.
Speaker 3: They looked up to you.
Speaker 2: But I understand the judges trying to build him up,
Speaker 2: to drag him down in this speech, but it's like,
Speaker 2: fuck that he's not known for that anymore. So then
Speaker 2: he continues, but you had a great duty to them too,
Speaker 2: in particular the girls you committed these offenses against their parents.
Speaker 2: Entrusted them to you, and they also looked up to you.
Speaker 2: I regret to say that you have thwarted their efforts
Speaker 2: and blighted the careers of some of them.
Speaker 3: And that's from the Independent.
Speaker 2: So and this is like amazing to have someone say
Speaker 2: this in the nineties because I'm thinking about the US
Speaker 2: like women's gymnastics team and the lack of like compassion
Speaker 2: we had for someone Biles needing to take a break,
Speaker 2: and like just all of these young girls that were
Speaker 2: abused for decades and like we now are not even
Speaker 2: kind to them and understand the scope of how abuse
Speaker 2: affects people's brains and careers and lives. And yet we
Speaker 2: had a judge in the nineties being able to understand,
Speaker 2: like you fucked these girls like brains up their careers,
Speaker 2: and so kind of a shout out to this judge,
Speaker 2: but also like nothing ever changes.
Speaker 1: It's also just so fucked up, because it's like, you know,
Speaker 1: you're under a micro you know you're you're You're not
Speaker 1: just like US swimming coach, You're like the swimming coach
Speaker 1: in your country. Like you're not just on gymnastics coach,
Speaker 1: You're the head of the fucking.
Speaker 4: US best team.
Speaker 1: You know, like people are looking at you, but they
Speaker 1: don't think they I don't know what it is, like
Speaker 1: the compulsion that they just like are like I have
Speaker 1: to abuse these girls or like cause it's like you're
Speaker 1: gonna get caught.
Speaker 4: And they did.
Speaker 2: But they I mean after decades though, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean, it's decades.
Speaker 3: They get away with it for decades.
Speaker 2: It's not that like, it's not that shocking for them
Speaker 2: to think they would get away with it.
Speaker 4: They have been.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the gymnastics organization in this country abuses its gymnasts
Speaker 2: for decades, like and allowed it to happen.
Speaker 3: So whatever.
Speaker 2: The judge continued, called him a pathetic creature and this abuse,
Speaker 2: like I'm saying, it went back twenty years, and not
Speaker 2: only did he coach them, but also him and his wife,
Speaker 2: Kathleen were appointed assistant house parents to the girls.
Speaker 3: So it's wild and three to just go backwards.
Speaker 2: He joined the University College Swansea as an assistant director
Speaker 2: of pe. It was there that a lot of the
Speaker 2: sexual abuse was carried out on young swimmers who joined
Speaker 2: his advanced training squad. He then left in the fall
Speaker 2: of nineteen ninety one to become head of pe at
Speaker 2: the top Millfield Public School in Somerset. One year later,
Speaker 2: he was suspended from the school and then arrested by
Speaker 2: South Wales detectives investigating indecency allegations made by eight former
Speaker 2: members of his Swansea Advanced Training squad. While waiting for
Speaker 2: his trial to start September nineteen ninety three at Swansea
Speaker 2: Crown Court, he ran away. So this article and they
Speaker 2: use the word absconded and it's like relax, relax, the
Speaker 2: Harold Scotland Okay, but he absconded.
Speaker 3: I had to get my thesaurus out for that.
Speaker 2: So he left quickly to northern France and held a
Speaker 2: job teaching English to businessmen. I really am confused for
Speaker 2: this all. You gotta be fucking kidding me.
Speaker 1: This guy was at another school where he did this
Speaker 1: before he got before the British swim team.
Speaker 4: Stuff.
Speaker 3: What do you mean he's teaching English to businessmen?
Speaker 5: No?
Speaker 1: I but but you were saying he was convicted in
Speaker 1: Cardiff for like all these squad. This is like his
Speaker 1: first squad of girls that he's that he's attacking.
Speaker 2: He went to Success, so he went to the second
Speaker 2: school and that and then that's when the girls that
Speaker 2: were abused in his first school all came together and
Speaker 2: they made the claims got it okay?
Speaker 1: And that I thought he was Like I thought he
Speaker 1: had eight eight allegations and then went to another school
Speaker 1: and had fifteen allegations, and I was like, what the fuck?
Speaker 4: How did they let him into that school?
Speaker 2: No, the allegations didn't come out till he was at
Speaker 2: his second school. But then this school is like teaching businessmen.
Speaker 2: But I also don't know. I mean, he absconded whatever,
Speaker 2: he ran away, But how even with an ID do
Speaker 2: you get to go to France. You can't even leave
Speaker 2: the state if you're arrested in the US. Like, I
Speaker 2: just don't get how he got to France and was
Speaker 2: able to get a job.
Speaker 3: It's confusing.
Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe they weren't extraditing yet or something, because I
Speaker 1: feel like if it's European Union, there's probably extraditionals, right,
Speaker 1: I don't know.
Speaker 2: So detectives made appeals for information. They showed his photo
Speaker 2: on bbctv's Crime Watch. It was a show, and then
Speaker 2: other swimmers began to come forward. So once his photo
Speaker 2: was shared, so many allegations that led to more charges
Speaker 2: and then South Wales Police made worldwide notice to trace
Speaker 2: him and he was re arrested in Sherwood Forest.
Speaker 3: I think that's what robinhood is from.
Speaker 4: It's like what yeah, So.
Speaker 2: He was arrested, but after being on the run for
Speaker 2: fifteen months while holding down a job in France, but
Speaker 2: he was rearrested. So this dude's escape, recapture, trial, subsequent
Speaker 2: imprisonment all came after a South Wales police officer was
Speaker 2: attending a social event and he heard rumors about the
Speaker 2: coach's perverted behavior. So gossip is good, thank you very much.
Speaker 2: He wrote a report to the senior officers naming four
Speaker 2: young women as possible contacts. He also was personally connected
Speaker 2: to this case because his daughter was a promising swimmer
Speaker 2: and one time worked with Hickson.
Speaker 4: Wow.
Speaker 2: So after the report, the detectives got to work and
Speaker 2: they were discreet but extensive, and they found so much
Speaker 2: stuff the Herald called a grotesque catalog of indecency and
Speaker 2: sex attacks spread over fifteen years, starting in nineteen seventy six.
Speaker 2: The trial was three weeks. Thirteen women came forward to
Speaker 2: accuse him. Nine complainants gave evidence to his indecency. He
Speaker 2: did tests where he ordered the swimmers to take off
Speaker 2: their bikini tops and bras before touching their breasts and
Speaker 2: committing other assaults. One recalled how he would give massages
Speaker 2: for a muscle injury and then attack. Then he attacked
Speaker 2: her when she was sixteen years old. He also attacked
Speaker 2: the same girl in a hotel bedroom after a swimming
Speaker 2: competition in Barnett, North London. She didn't tell her parents
Speaker 2: because she thought her career would be finished. She knew
Speaker 2: if she told her dad that he wouldn't allow her
Speaker 2: to work with him, and he was the best in
Speaker 2: the country and if it didn't happen for her now,
Speaker 2: she would never be able to succeed as a swimmer.
Speaker 2: So that's like another layer. Not only is it like
Speaker 2: power and looking up to these people and in sports
Speaker 2: like coaches are everything, but it's like your whole career,
Speaker 2: like you might not be able to like do your dream.
Speaker 2: And so there was a fourteen year old who endured
Speaker 2: his assaults and she was too scared to say anything
Speaker 2: because he threatened to spread untrue rumors about her having
Speaker 2: sex with her boyfriend.
Speaker 3: Which you know, to a fourteen year old.
Speaker 4: Is a lot.
Speaker 2: So another top swimmer was fifteen when he tried to
Speaker 2: rape her on a changing table before committing a different.
Speaker 3: Sexual act against her.
Speaker 2: Another woman said how he would rape her at his
Speaker 2: home during school lunch breaks, and the first time was
Speaker 2: when she was thirteen. These coach then persuaded her mother
Speaker 2: to put her on the pill, saying it would boost
Speaker 2: her swimming performance.
Speaker 4: Oh my god, don't want to get caught.
Speaker 2: So this dude was convicted September nineteen ninety five. He
Speaker 2: tried to get parole in two thousand and two and
Speaker 2: he did not get it.
Speaker 3: He is dead.
Speaker 2: He died in England in two thousand and eight, and like,
Speaker 2: so I couldn't find.
Speaker 4: Where he was.
Speaker 2: So I looked at Wikipedia to just see if he's
Speaker 2: dead or where he's serving his time.
Speaker 3: And it bothered me.
Speaker 4: So, like you go on Wikipedia.
Speaker 2: In the first like little paragraph is he was a
Speaker 2: swim coach and Olympics and then the rape and it's like, no,
Speaker 2: the rape takes priority.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Like are you fucking kidding me?
Speaker 2: So I know all you Wikipedia changers are listening, and
Speaker 2: I hope you guys fucking change this. I think if
Speaker 2: you commit rape, that takes over your career stuff. It
Speaker 2: should be convicted rapist formerly known as a coach, like
Speaker 2: to have multiple paragraphs about his like coaching experience in
Speaker 2: life before the rape is fucked up.
Speaker 3: He's a rapist. That is what he should be known for.
Speaker 2: And it sucks that like the swimmers had to work
Speaker 2: under him, and like hopefully their medals are not fully tainted.
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm gonna talk about one woman who like
Speaker 2: threw away all her medals because it fucked her up
Speaker 2: so much, and her friend took them out of the
Speaker 2: trash and that's how she still has them today.
Speaker 3: But like, it just bothers me.
Speaker 2: So anyone that's a Wikipedia sleuth fucking change it. And
Speaker 2: there's just so many examples of this at high levels.
Speaker 2: We've talked about the US gymnastics team, but we also
Speaker 2: have like, from two thousand to twenty ten, the USA
Speaker 2: Swimming Network whatever, discipline thirty six coaches for sexual misconduct.
Speaker 2: In nineteen seventy seven, a famed Canadian junior hockey coach
Speaker 2: pled guilty to three hundred and fifty charges of sexual abuse.
Speaker 4: Jesus, that's what.
Speaker 3: That's why when you're like, oh they get caught, they don't.
Speaker 2: They don't. And then and the Cripps, who is now
Speaker 2: known as Catherine Star. She had British parents but was
Speaker 2: born in Wisconsin, and they shipped her off to boarding
Speaker 2: school in London when she was eleven to train with
Speaker 2: the British best coaches, and her coach was Hickson. And
Speaker 2: she started a nonprofit advocacy group based in Santa Monica,
Speaker 2: California called Safe for Athletes, which we'll hear more about
Speaker 2: for what would.
Speaker 3: Sister Peg do?
Speaker 2: So she shunned her swimming past for so long but
Speaker 2: now is able to discuss it freely and she wants
Speaker 2: to help young athletes, and she just really talks about
Speaker 2: the effects of abuse, and you know, she turned to
Speaker 2: drinking and was addicted to alcohol for many years and
Speaker 2: unable to fully even like delve into her trauma until
Speaker 2: she was sober for eighteen months, you know, like that
Speaker 2: that's when finally she started to really realize it. Donna
Speaker 2: Lapiano is Texas's first woman athletic director and headed the
Speaker 2: Women's Sports Foundation.
Speaker 3: And she says that.
Speaker 2: Like she's just trying to expl like she works, she's
Speaker 2: a contributor and helper to save for athletes, and she
Speaker 2: just talks about like the power and balance with coach
Speaker 2: and coaches are gods and you do anything the coach says.
Speaker 2: And for Star, she said, yeah, he went to jail,
Speaker 2: but he never admitted guilt and that it's like really
Speaker 2: hard for her. She was not one of the people
Speaker 2: who testified. She couldn't even tell her parents, and only
Speaker 2: when Hickson called her mother to tell her about what
Speaker 2: was being said about him, and it's like, why would
Speaker 2: you even do that? But that's when she finally revealed
Speaker 2: to her parents what happened to her. And she says,
Speaker 2: in that moment when he raped her. According to the
Speaker 2: American Statesman paper, it was in that moment that my
Speaker 2: soul left me and has never returned.
Speaker 3: And she said that to the London police. And then
Speaker 3: when she finally.
Speaker 2: Called the police to file a report all those years later,
Speaker 2: is when she learned that he was already dead.
Speaker 4: Oh my god.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I all these brave fucking girls wait for
Speaker 2: a host smortom and talk more.
Speaker 3: But like it's so I.
Speaker 1: Just feel like these guys need to have like female
Speaker 1: assistant coaches that are like checking in with the girls like.
Speaker 4: Every day, being like is he doing anything? Like I
Speaker 4: don't know, I mean.
Speaker 1: Not sure there's ways that they get around ever getting caught.
Speaker 2: But also how many s of youse have we seen
Speaker 2: where the women help their male cop partners get away
Speaker 2: with crimes.
Speaker 3: You know, it's like.
Speaker 2: It's really messed up, and it's just the pressures, you know.
Speaker 3: I went on that deep dive with.
Speaker 2: About Sean Johnson on the balance, our balance being queen
Speaker 2: and just like, you know, these girls are fucking young,
Speaker 2: these gymnasts, fourteen fifteen years old, international competition, the hours,
Speaker 2: the pressure, and like the coaches are your home, you're
Speaker 2: there forever, and to exploit that relationship is so sickening.
Speaker 2: And the fact that these like leets are still able
Speaker 2: to perform at such high levels is I don't know
Speaker 2: if impressive is.
Speaker 1: The right word, but yeah, it's really Oh my god,
Speaker 1: I can't imagine it. I just like everybody abuses their
Speaker 1: power whenever they get a fucking chance. But okay, let's
Speaker 1: get to our post mortem.
Speaker 4: So listen.
Speaker 2: When we first saw this episode, we were like, this
Speaker 2: is hysterical. The most powerful lifeguard in the world, Like,
Speaker 2: what is this nonsense? And then once you read the
Speaker 2: real crime, and.
Speaker 3: It's so real.
Speaker 2: Every industry is just like dominated by predators that protect
Speaker 2: each other. And this job is even more susceptible because
Speaker 2: it's young people. It is teens, it's people's first jobs.
Speaker 1: And it's people like wearing bathing suits, and like, you know,
Speaker 1: there's a culture around like beach and lifeguards where everybody,
Speaker 1: I think, thinks this is where I'm going to party,
Speaker 1: this is where you know, like that's I don't think
Speaker 1: that's necessarily how like nurses all act together, for example,
Speaker 1: do you know what I mean? Like there's like a
Speaker 1: young sort of like party culture that has to do
Speaker 1: with lifeguarding in the beach that I feel like is
Speaker 1: an undercurrent where these guys feel like they can do
Speaker 1: whatever the fuck they want because everybody signed up to
Speaker 1: have fun, and it's like, no, it's a job.
Speaker 2: Well, and it's also maybe a little bit connected to
Speaker 2: comedy where it's not as well, not really because it
Speaker 2: is a job, job, but like the lines are blurred,
Speaker 2: like you're on a beach, you're at a venue, you're
Speaker 2: you know, they're like the environment adds to this like
Speaker 2: relaxed vibe when it is still professional.
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, but right, like there's so much.
Speaker 1: That happens in comedy that you just don't even think
Speaker 1: about that.
Speaker 3: You.
Speaker 2: She was explaining about how all the zoos have a
Speaker 2: program of like breeding where they do all these genetic
Speaker 2: tests and then they like ship the animals to different
Speaker 2: places to like, and they don't force it.
Speaker 3: If the animals don't want to breath, they don't breathe.
Speaker 2: But so I went, wait, you're telling me you just
Speaker 2: ship an animal to go fuck at a different zoom
Speaker 2: and bring them back.
Speaker 4: And she seemed shocked.
Speaker 2: And then my friends were like Lisa, and I was like, yeah,
Speaker 2: oh fuck, we are at this person's job. This person's
Speaker 2: probably younger than me by a law, like, and it
Speaker 2: was yeah.
Speaker 1: But no one would think twice about saying that, like
Speaker 1: at a club at a boy even.
Speaker 3: If you.
Speaker 2: Like, oh, I feel like that's normal or like like
Speaker 2: that's normal discussion or you can like say things. And
Speaker 2: then when I knew, I knew a girl when I
Speaker 2: was a salon receptionist that broke up with her boyfriend
Speaker 2: because he called her a bitch.
Speaker 3: And maybe it's like that's her.
Speaker 2: Limit, that's her boundary and she didn't want to be
Speaker 2: spoken to like that, and that is absolutely fair and normal,
Speaker 2: but like, I can't even imagine me clocking it. I
Speaker 2: can't even imagine me clocking that.
Speaker 4: It's an issue.
Speaker 3: If someone said stop being a bitch, I'd be.
Speaker 1: Like, whatever, you know, well yeah, well, I mean yeah,
Speaker 1: context is everything, right, because it's like I'm always like,
Speaker 1: what's up, bitch, Like I'm obviously not saying that in
Speaker 1: a mean way, but if your boyfriend said it to
Speaker 1: you with like venom, like you fucking bitch, like that
Speaker 1: might be a reason to get out, but but.
Speaker 2: It is idiot better, I'd probably be more mad. I'd
Speaker 2: be like, I'm not an.
Speaker 3: Iteat you're right.
Speaker 1: Well, yeah, It's also like that's not the only reason
Speaker 1: they broke up because he said one He said that
Speaker 1: word like no.
Speaker 2: But she had like Disney adult vibes where I just
Speaker 2: remember she was like an innocent type girl. She loved
Speaker 2: the cubs like I. She had cool highlights. But I
Speaker 2: just remember being like, yeah, I'm not putting up with that.
Speaker 2: Like it was we were also very very young, but it.
Speaker 3: I've remembered this now for fifteen years.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: That I just the way we speak is I think
Speaker 2: looser than people get to speak at their jobs. Like
Speaker 2: sometimes on my social media and YouTube, there's videos of
Speaker 2: like women that help professional like how to speak in
Speaker 2: professional like in professional settings and set boundaries and like
Speaker 2: that you don't have to tell someone what you're doing
Speaker 2: on your life break or not working over time without
Speaker 2: getting paid. And it's like how to say and people
Speaker 2: be like, how do you say this in professionals speak?
Speaker 2: And then they'll like help you, And I'm like, I
Speaker 2: don't think I ever have I don't have to.
Speaker 4: Have to ever really worry about that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I get to just say and and the
Speaker 2: things that I have to be professional about I pay
Speaker 2: people to do that, right, Like, if there's something that
Speaker 2: needs to be professional, I don't need to speak there's
Speaker 2: like a lawyer, right, you know, And so I there is,
Speaker 2: but there is no charge, there's no there's no protections.
Speaker 2: I guess like if someone just doesn't like you, they
Speaker 2: can And.
Speaker 1: There's been a fair share of horrible shit that's gone
Speaker 1: on in our industry too, so it's not like we're
Speaker 1: not we're not immune to it at all.
Speaker 3: But not immune to the issues.
Speaker 2: But I think it's like a perk that but I
Speaker 2: like the perks of like you can say, I don't
Speaker 2: have to send the threshold were what I want Yeah,
Speaker 2: the threshold is higher for inappropriateness for sure.
Speaker 1: Like it's not it's not verbal, it's not like in clothing.
Speaker 1: It's exactly. It's like it's pretty much an action. Like
Speaker 1: if you do something, then you're gonna get repercussions in
Speaker 1: our business, but almost anything you say is probably not
Speaker 1: gonna hurt you that much, unless you're Kathy Griffin and
Speaker 1: you hold a picture of a bloody you know, president's
Speaker 1: head and then you get canceled for a year.
Speaker 4: But now she's back and she's on tour.
Speaker 1: But I think this episode also, you know, you.
Speaker 2: Go a little bit of power helping each other, and
Speaker 2: then I guess the donations really get favors.
Speaker 1: Like yeah, like the political stuff was so was so wild,
Speaker 1: but I mean that's like anything like removing the lifeguard
Speaker 1: funniness of it, Like yeah, just people being like think.
Speaker 4: Twice before you ruin this guy's life and stuff like that.
Speaker 1: It's like what about the lives of the people who
Speaker 1: are dead or the people who have been like you know,
Speaker 1: a sexually assaulted to stay in their jobs or whatever.
Speaker 2: You know, Like that's not that you need to get
Speaker 2: over that. You need to why didn't you report it sooner.
Speaker 2: You should have gotten it together try like processed it,
Speaker 2: gone to the authorities and been fine for core and
Speaker 2: saved all the evidence, immediately paid for your own rape
Speaker 2: kit to be tested. Like what the expectations on victims is?
Speaker 2: It's wild if we were just a little bit nicer.
Speaker 2: Just I wish the patriarchy wasn't so strong, like just
Speaker 2: having compassion.
Speaker 3: I just hate the like suck it up, tough it out.
Speaker 3: I did it.
Speaker 2: It was worse when I did, and I'm fine. Like
Speaker 2: that attitude is like can it die already?
Speaker 4: Yeah, hopefully it dies with the boomers because that's a
Speaker 4: real boomer.
Speaker 2: Attitude, because I feel like business culture took over. Hustle
Speaker 2: culture is the new boomer culture. Nothing matters. There's a
Speaker 2: reason a Porsche's only two seats and the bus fits everyone.
Speaker 2: Cut people out. You know you're not the smartest person
Speaker 2: in the ruby. Better move, bitch. Like it's like this
Speaker 2: weird attitude where I guess, yeah, just no emo, like, no.
Speaker 1: No reflection on yourself, no growth. Yeah, the hustle for
Speaker 1: the hustle above all else. I guess, like nothing else
Speaker 1: matters besides what wealth.
Speaker 4: I don't know.
Speaker 2: It is hard though, because then sometimes you see people
Speaker 2: and you're like, fuck, that is so cool your work.
Speaker 2: Like I watch all these Kobe Bryant clips and it's
Speaker 2: like listen algorithms and so uh and he was so
Speaker 2: intense and it is inspiring to see someone working out
Speaker 2: harder than everyone, pushing everyone to the max. But then
Speaker 2: it's also like I would rather have friends and be
Speaker 2: nice to people around me.
Speaker 3: I don't know, But then, well, we can't all be Kobe.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we're not destined to be one of the greatest
Speaker 1: NBA athletes of all time. I think that's probably you know,
Speaker 1: that's a very specific person it is, and it's yeah.
Speaker 2: But those are the people we look up to, and
Speaker 2: then it's hard not to feel inferior at times.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and then I think, also those people get power complexes.
Speaker 1: And then that's where like I think some not not
Speaker 1: him specifically.
Speaker 3: But like him he is what he did commit a crime.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he definitely did commit a crime. But even with
Speaker 2: the Geordan like, I'd rather be Shack that I think that,
Speaker 2: I think I have to go get some Shack posters.
Speaker 3: I don't remember.
Speaker 1: Shaq is a funny like a funny piece of merch.
Speaker 4: I want to be doing commercials with the General.
Speaker 3: I don't care.
Speaker 1: Get me that little cartoon general and let's roll, Like,
Speaker 1: let me.
Speaker 2: Just buy people shit at Target and hang out. But
Speaker 2: like Kobe and Shaq had a lot of issues which
Speaker 2: I didn't know about, because Shaq Shack would be like,
Speaker 2: give me the ball, and Kobe would be saying, you
Speaker 2: don't work hard enough.
Speaker 4: I'm not giving you the fucking ball. Oh, he goes.
Speaker 2: If Shack worked harder, we would have had twelve championship rings.
Speaker 2: He's like, it annoys me, Shack doesn't work harder, and
Speaker 2: Shaq's like.
Speaker 4: I'm chilling.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: And it's not like Shaq wasn't one of the greatest,
Speaker 2: you know what I mean. Like that's the thing.
Speaker 3: I don't know. It's your work to live.
Speaker 4: You live to work. You know, there's different.
Speaker 1: But also like maybe Shack had more like inherent nate,
Speaker 1: like like inborn talent, and Kobe had to work harder
Speaker 1: for it. You know, who knows if we're talking about basketball,
Speaker 1: I certainly don't know.
Speaker 4: Like I'm not the answer.
Speaker 3: This has become a full sports tailor.
Speaker 4: This is a this is a sports philosophy podcast.
Speaker 2: Now, all right, just certain people's work ethics are so inspiring,
Speaker 2: and it's hard if there's this hard balance of like, no,
Speaker 2: I want to be in the moment and content and
Speaker 2: enjoy stuff.
Speaker 3: And then what's the other balance of.
Speaker 2: Like you are you're not actually working hard enough and
Speaker 2: you are coasting and you're not taking the the opportunities
Speaker 2: you have in the way you have. It's like, I
Speaker 2: just wish all the voices weren't like so loud all
Speaker 2: the time of like what you're doing now, And then
Speaker 2: I guess that's also being like self involved. Yeah, I
Speaker 2: find other things to think about. I wouldn't be thinking
Speaker 2: about how much harder I should work on stuff. But
Speaker 2: then you know, all day it's like I don't write shit,
Speaker 2: and then I and then I go I went to
Speaker 2: the store last night and I had like the best
Speaker 2: set ever, had so much fun. And then I'm like,
Speaker 2: I guess I could just be a couch potato. And
Speaker 2: then I get home, I'm like, oh, you know, I
Speaker 2: don't know. It's like I don't know how.
Speaker 4: People do it well.
Speaker 1: It's also a little bit of eyes on your own paper.
Speaker 1: Everybody's do everybody does things in a different way. You
Speaker 1: write and come up with comedy in a very different
Speaker 1: way than other people who sit every morning and write
Speaker 1: seven pages a stream of consciousness writing, and then they
Speaker 1: see what they can get out of that and like
Speaker 1: that's just not you, and like, you know, that doesn't
Speaker 1: mean you're better or worse than anyone. In fact, I
Speaker 1: think it means like your brain works in a very
Speaker 1: different way than those people who have to just like
Speaker 1: put nose to the grindstone and work harder at it
Speaker 1: where there's for you, like almost like any more ease
Speaker 1: to it, where it just comes to you.
Speaker 4: That's the way your brain works.
Speaker 3: Should I have a new bit. It's just like I
Speaker 3: want to hang out with the chill people.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but you can still look over us, the hard
Speaker 1: workers once in a while and go, hey, great job.
Speaker 1: I love what you're doing. I'm not gonna do it,
Speaker 1: but I like I see I see how you're hustling.
Speaker 2: You know. I know I want to be maybe pushed
Speaker 2: against the corner where I feel someone scheduled me the
Speaker 2: whole day.
Speaker 3: I would do it. Yeah, I'm if you were to
Speaker 3: schedule myself.
Speaker 1: Yeah, if you were called onto a set, you show up,
Speaker 1: you do your work day, You work long hours when
Speaker 1: you're when you're filming something.
Speaker 4: You know, we're just we.
Speaker 3: All, we all guess what.
Speaker 2: I begged my people for what I said, where's my
Speaker 2: white Lotus audition? I go, where's my white lotus audition?
Speaker 2: I go, I don't think i'd get it, but where's
Speaker 2: my audition? Bitch?
Speaker 4: And a tape?
Speaker 2: And they were like, we're trying. There's really not a
Speaker 2: lot of parts for it's just she's like it's in.
Speaker 2: She's like, don't worry, we've been on it. And I go, well,
Speaker 2: there's not one diner somewhere in Thailand.
Speaker 3: No, you're right, he's just working at a Thai diner.
Speaker 1: Man.
Speaker 4: They didn't get me the breath. They didn't get me
Speaker 4: the Thai waitress audition.
Speaker 3: But also like the top show, the best show ever.
Speaker 2: But I am like, I think, if someone's gonna play
Speaker 2: a dumb bitch, let me get a show. Let me
Speaker 2: throw my hat at totally. This audition I did this
Speaker 2: morning was for I guess we're not allowed to talk
Speaker 2: about it, but it was for like a cute lizard,
Speaker 2: and I was like, I would love this too.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, Liza, I want you to become the
Speaker 1: new guy Goo Gecko. Okay, let's move on.
Speaker 2: Well, I would be so rich, we would be on
Speaker 2: below debt, we would be everywhere.
Speaker 3: Oh my god, we'd be having so much fun.
Speaker 4: If I was the Geico Gecko.
Speaker 1: I mean, we need one of us to get that
Speaker 1: flow progressive job where you never are going to work
Speaker 1: again doing anything else, but you're just gonna make those
Speaker 1: commercials for ten years.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, we would. We would really have fun. Because
Speaker 2: some people don't know how to spend their money. Yeah,
Speaker 2: you don't. I think I spend what I have. But
Speaker 2: Kara's wild. She she did help me clean out my car.
Speaker 2: It was very nice. She did it so fast. It
Speaker 2: truly has been eating at me forever. But then you
Speaker 2: did grab my jean jacket and you're like, I can
Speaker 2: I can sell this for you if you want.
Speaker 3: I'm like, put the den down. Put the denim down.
Speaker 1: I was going through and I was like, okay, beach towel,
Speaker 1: pair of underwear, whatever.
Speaker 4: And then I was like this done them.
Speaker 1: You know I could get good money for this on
Speaker 1: the market, like on the on the mom market in
Speaker 1: Northeast La. Okay, let's move on to what would sister
Speaker 1: Peg do? Speaking of, you know, spending money or donating money.
Speaker 1: It's a new year, hopefully for the holiday season, you can.
Speaker 3: I want to know how many homes Marishka has.
Speaker 4: Do you think about that? Oh?
Speaker 1: For sure, because yesterday one of our friends texted us
Speaker 1: while we were recording and said, I just passed marishka
Speaker 1: har husband on the street while I was listening to
Speaker 1: your podcast, and I was thinking, Oh, I wonder if
Speaker 1: they They definitely still have a place in Manhattan, right.
Speaker 2: Manhattan, La Long Island. And then for me, it there's
Speaker 2: no way maybe a yeah, yeah, you're that rich, Like.
Speaker 4: What do you do?
Speaker 2: I don't know, there's like full TV shows explaining how
Speaker 2: rich people spend money. I don't know.
Speaker 4: I'm acting like I've never.
Speaker 3: But yeah, I'm clarious.
Speaker 1: Well, because the thing is this is that she continues
Speaker 1: to work, and she could stop working tomorrow and still
Speaker 1: be a millionaire for the rest of her life just
Speaker 1: on residuals. And how much like that show gets played
Speaker 1: on ten different channels all the fucking time.
Speaker 2: You know?
Speaker 1: Oh, I know, because she's not only like she's an
Speaker 1: executive producer of some of them or like a director
Speaker 1: of some of them, you know, So it's not even
Speaker 1: just acting anyway. Let's get into our what would Sister
Speaker 1: peg do? This is our weekly segment where we direct
Speaker 1: you towards a resource, blog, post book, podcast, episode something
Speaker 1: to give you more info about what we talked about
Speaker 1: today and maybe an organization that you can help. And
Speaker 1: this week we wanted to point you to the organization
Speaker 1: Safe for Athletes. That's safe and then the Number four
Speaker 1: and then athletes And this is the organization that Lisa
Speaker 1: mentioned earlier that was started by you know, a victim
Speaker 1: of a coach, you know, sexual assault. So this is
Speaker 1: a nonprofit providing a safe and positive environment for athletes
Speaker 1: free of abuse, bullying, and harassment. Their goal is to
Speaker 1: create a space to empower athletes to be joy full
Speaker 1: in sport. The organization provides training, fundraising, and advocacy. You
Speaker 1: can also report abuse at their website. So if there's
Speaker 1: you know, like sometimes it feels difficult in US where
Speaker 1: some schools, some like states and governments the coaches are gods,
Speaker 1: So who do you tell? This is a website where
Speaker 1: you can get some more resources and get some help.
Speaker 1: So for more info go to Safe the Number four,
Speaker 1: Athletes dot org, Save for Athletes dot org and that
Speaker 1: will be posted on our Instagram stories the day of
Speaker 1: it's in our show notes and it'll be safe forever
Speaker 1: in our WWSPD highlight on our Instagram page.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for that, and next week we
Speaker 2: will be doing an uplifting episode called baby Killer, Season two,
Speaker 2: Episode five. Join us on this amazing journey. Thanks for
Speaker 2: coming in with us into twenty twenty four and we
Speaker 2: hope to do this for as long as s few
Speaker 2: keeps churning them out for us. So thanks for everything,
Speaker 2: and I hope your new year starts on such a
Speaker 2: high note. And if you want to be depressed, Baby
Speaker 2: Killer is waiting for you on Peacock and Hulu. Bye guys,
Speaker 2: That's Messed Up as an exactly right production.
Speaker 1: If you have compliments you'd like to give us or
Speaker 1: episodes you'd like us to cover, shoot us an email
Speaker 1: it That's Messed uppod at gmail dot com.
Speaker 2: Follow the podcast on Instagram at That's Messed Up Pod
Speaker 2: and on Twitter at Messed Up Pod, and follow us
Speaker 2: personally at Kara Klank and at glitter Cheese.
Speaker 1: As always, please see our show notes for sources and
Speaker 1: more information.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much to our producer Casey O'Brien and
Speaker 2: our associate producer Christina.
Speaker 1: Chamberlain, and to our mixer John Bradley and our guest
Speaker 1: booker Patrick Cottner. And to Henry Kaperski for our theme
Speaker 1: song and Carly gen Andrews for our artwork. Thank you
Speaker 1: to our executive producers Georgia hard Start, Karen Kilgarriff, Daniel
Speaker 1: Kramer and everybody at Exactly Media down the dn
Speaker 2: MHM