♪ I don't wanna fuck you, you can't even sing♪
♪ You had to sing or something to get some pussy♪
♪ Ooh, baby, I like it raw♪
♪ Yeah, baby, I like it raw♪
♪ Ooh, baby, I like it raw♪
♪ Yeah, baby, I like it raw♪
♪ Shimmy shimmy ya, shimmy yam, shimmy yay♪
♪ Gimme the mic so I can take it away♪
♪ Off on a natural charge, bon voyage♪
♪ Yeah, from the home of the Dodger Brooklyn Squad♪
♪ Wu-Tang Killer Bees on a swarm♪
♪ Rain on ya college ass, disco dorm♪
♪ For you to even touch my skill♪
-[whoops] -♪ You gotta go through one Killer Bee♪
♪ And he aim for the kill now♪
♪ Chop that down, pass it all around♪
♪ Lyrics get hard, quick cement to the ground♪
♪ For any MC in any 52 states I get♪
-[gun clicks] -♪ Psycho killer, Norman Bates♪
-♪ My producer slam, my flow is like bam...♪ -[growling]
You better pull the trigger, or I'm gonna fucking kill--
[barking]
♪ I like the way you talk♪
♪ Ooh, baby, I like it raw♪
♪ Yeah, baby, I like it raw♪
-♪ Ooh, baby, I like it raw...♪ -ANNOUNCER: Now, please welcome
this year's winner of the Ben C. Bradlee Award for Excellence
in Investigative Journalism, Beth Burgess.
Thank you.
[cheering]
Thank you so much.
Um...
Wow. This is surreal, um...
Firstly, I want to say that this award
is a testament to, uh, the unrelenting,
unwavering journalistic spirit of all
-my colleagues at the Chronicle. -[applause]
To all you brave souls... this is for you.
And of course I want to thank my wonderful husband,
Marco.
If it wasn't for you,
I'd be wasting away somewhere with no award,
and all my cutlery would be in one pile in the drawer.
-[laughter] -And then there's
-Ravi Mehiri. -[cheering, applause]
Yes, show him love.
Ravi...
the best boss in town,
you wouldn't let me stop until I got to the truth.
Well... here I am.
Oh, and there's
one more person who deserves recognition tonight.
Um, the woman who, from day one,
taught me the power of a great story.
You know her as Susan Burgess.
-But... -[cheering, applause]
...but to me, she'll always be Mom!
-[cheering] -MAN: We love you, Susan!
-[cheering, whooping] -MAN: Come on, Susan!
Oh, no, no. Uh, sadly, Susan couldn't be with us tonight,
-because, um... -[audience groans]
she's halfway around the world
researching her latest book
in Budapest and, um...
can't say anything.
Um, anyway... thank you!
[cheering, applause]
♪
Ooh.
Hi, thank you.
Oh, my-- Carol, hi!
[laughs]
Diane Sawyer, eat your heart out.
Oh, God, did I sound stupid? I felt stupid.
What? No, it was great. I loved it.
Especially when you talked about me.
Babe...
-I love you. -I love you.
All right, I'm gonna get us some drinks.
Oh, okay. Okay, thanks.
-God, you are hot. -Oh, come on!
[gasps]
Ravs, Ravs.
Can you believe it?
-[inhales] -Come with me.
Why?
[low chatter]
[whispering]: Ravi, what's going on?
Beth, this is Doreen Paulson.
She's our in-house attorney.
Ravi, what's this about?
-I'm sorry, Beth. -Ms. Burgess, have a seat.
-We need to talk. -[exhales]
What is this?
It's come to our attention that you may have falsified a quote.
This, of course, is a very serious matter.
Effective immediately, your employment with the Chronicle
has been terminated.
♪
RELAXING NARRATOR: Take a step back and ask yourself,
"How did I get here?" The truth is
you've been walking down this path for a long time.
Most of our toxic beliefs
are formed in childhood.
We're rewarded when we're good
and punished when we're bad.
We learn to measure ourselves against the strengths of others.
Most of all we learn to fear failure.
The next ten chapters will guide you
towards an understanding that failure is nothing more
-than a mirage. -[quiet footsteps]
Only you
have the ability to look failure square in its face
and tell it to fuck right off.
-Holy shit! Jesus fucking Christ! -Oh, fuck! Fuck, babe, it's me!
-What just happened?! -It's me! It's me! [moans]
Marco, what the fuck?
Jesus motherfucker.
-What are you doing? -[laughing]: I'm sorry.
-[laughing]: Oh, God, are you okay? -Sorry, yeah.
I just...
You know, you were laying there with your mouth open like this.
-Oh, God! -And-and, naturally,
I was thinking maybe you would give me
-one of your famous sleepy blow jobs. -Okay, I get it, no, I get it.
-No, no, no, no, no. No! -What? Come on.
Look, baby, no, ew, no, gross!
-Stop it, stop it. -What?
Come on, we can be fast, not too fast,
just the right amount of fast.
Babe...
I have a really early meeting. I'm working, okay?
MARCO: Come on, babe, just lay back, I'll do everything.
-Oh, shit! -What?!
Oh, no, no, no, no!
Goddamn it, the fish is dead.
-Awesome timing, fish. -Oh, I keep killing them.
Well, maybe you should stop stealing them.
TESSA [on TV]: And the police are on the scene right now.
Just absolutely horrific, devastating.
The victim was three months pregnant
when her husband stabbed her 27 times.
For Channel 24 News, I'm Tessa Flores,
Chief Crime Correspondent.
ANCHOR: Thank you, Tessa...
Why are you smiling? She was stabbed.
["Di-Gue-Ding-Ding" by Michael Legrand playing]
♪
You're new here, right?
I-I work in the newsroom.
I'll call you up. Um, what's your name?
Oh, are you calling Linda?
'Cause she doesn't get in till 6:30.
Yeah.
Thank you.
♪
Huh.
So you're his prize piggy.
LINDA: Rav?
Linda, hi.
You can't keep doing this.
You know he deserves this.
Stop defending a monster!
Beth!
Stop her! Someone stop her!
Just leave the fish!
AMBER: Good morning.
How is everyone? Any thoughts on tomorrow's lead?
Still looking for that front page.
I heard Lady Gaga might run for Congress.
BETH: [sighs] I love that she calls it
a front page like it's a real paper.
-Yeah, and the stories get stupider every day. -Yeah.
-Can we get an interview? -PIERRE: Doubtful, but...
I could put together something fun,
splashy, try to predict
-what her platform might be. -Okay...
get it ready, but keep it in the hopper till she announces.
-All right. -What else? Beth, anything?
BETH: Yeah, sure, um...
I just had a very meaningful,
uh, interaction with a homeless woman.
-[tires screech] -Oh, my God!
-You trying to kill me? -Her name is Erica.
She grew up in Weld County.
And she lost everything
when she had to pay out of pocket
for her mom's dialysis.
I'd like to live with her in a shelter
for 48 hours to-to put our readers
in Erica's shoes and-and to give her
back a shred of her humanity.
-Cool. I'll think about it. -Amber, it's,
it's putting a face to an otherwise anonymous crisis.
PIERRE: Or is it about trying to get
me to slit my wrists?
[laughter]
Thanks, Beth.
But it's, it's not our kind of story.
Because it's not candy-coated Lady Gaga
fluffy happy fun, we don't give a shit?
Excuse me, but my uncle is homeless.
Really?
And so are two of my cousins. And another different uncle.
So, yeah, you could say I give a shit, but it's just
not the kind of story we do.
-But you've barely even considered... -Beth?
As my therapist likes to say,
"Embrace the no."
So...
What else? Fiona?
Okay, this might be a terrible idea,
but it occurred to me that it's the 20th anniversary
of the first Harry Pottermovie--
[British accent]: You're a wizard, Harry.
-Iconic. -FIONA: Yeah, right?
So I was thinking to celebrate, we could do a photo essay:
"Hermione's Hottest Looks."
Too good. Thank you.
Thank you. [giggles]
What?
[children clamoring]
CINTHIA: What is it? What is it?
A train set-- how cool is that, honey?
Ellie, baby, say cheese.
Ah, perfect!
Hey, did you get my message about picking up the dollhouse?
What? No.
I thought you were picking it up.
I think it's just it's just Uncle Marco and Aunt Beth left.
[both chuckle]
Hi, there, sweetheart, um...
Well, uh...
Miss Big Birthday Girl...
we got you something
really special this year.
We did?
-Ta-da! -Wow!
-It's a... fish. -Yeah.
BETH: Yeah... [chuckles]
[quietly]: What?
-I want a cousin. -[gasps, laughs]
-What? -Mama said
if I want a cousin
I should ask you.
CINTHIA [laughing]: Ellie! I never said that,
I did-- I didn't say that.
She's taking it out of context
-is what that is. -MARCO: It's okay.
Come here, sweetheart, come here, come here, come here.
Come here. [grunts] Oh, you're so big now.
A cousin would be fun, though, huh?
Except it's-it's not possible.
Ellie, I'm gonna
tell you the truth, okay, because I respect you.
There are some people,
who can have babies, like Mommy and Daddy.
And there are some people, like me and your Uncle Marco,
who... who can't.
Okay, uh... time for cake.
Everyone to the dining room!
-Yes, cake, cake! -Yes, to the... dining room.
Get the cake, get the cake, go on.
♪
I mean, I cannot get over how adorable Ellie is.
Oh, god, she's a doll.
-Yeah. -Thank you.
Wait, I thought you were gonna fix that.
Oh, yeah, just give it a second, it'll stop.
Well... okay.
Hey, why'd you say that to her?
That thing about us not being able to have kids.
Because we can't.
Technically we can.
Well, that's not what Dr. Woodhouse said
when he sealed those puppies shut.
Well, it is reversible.
I mean, these puppies can be let out.
Oh, God, I didn't tell you.
Had the worst day. Again.
I had a great idea, and Amber felt the need
to take a dump all over it.
She's fucking obsessed with Harry Potter.
Oh.
Wait, wait, wait.
Oh. Yeah,
Cin gave it back. She said never gift a pet.
Your sister hates me.
Okay.
Welcome home, fishy.
Well, I got some good news today at work.
Turns out a ranger in the Tetons killed himself.
Yay. What?
Yeah. It means that there's a job opening
in the crown jewel of America's parks,
-the Tetons. -Oh, no, no, no. No, not the Tetons.
No. We're not moving to Wyoming.
Honey, we always talked about leaving the city,
-getting a country house. -Yeah, when we were old
and incontinent and had nothing better to do.
Oh, come on, babe. You hate your job.
-I don't hate my job. -You were just complaining about it.
I hate my boss.
I hate my office.
I hate the stupid shit I have to write ab--
I don't hate my job.
Babe,
we have been grinding it out here
for you.
I know you're trying to get work stuff back on track,
but, uh, maybe...
maybe it's time for a change.
Oh, my God.
You know how hard this has been for me.
-I do. -How much I've been struggling.
This is the first time in so long
I'm not waking up every night at 3:00 a.m.
with a panic attack.
I'm feeling almost c-close to what I used to feel like.
If I give up now, Ravi and the rest of them win
and-and they get proved right
and I'm a big, fat failure.
Fuck those fuckers. All of them.
Who cares?
We could put them and this entire city
in the rearview mirror.
You know,
Jackson Hole has newspapers, too.
Oh, my God. Yeah. Breaking news--
another rich mom fucks her ski instructor.
I'd read that.
Besides, it's cheaper up there.
It's simpler. I mean,
you know, we wouldn't need much.
And who knows? Maybe you'd end up doing something else,
like, I don't know,
raise a family.
W-- I'm sorry, what?
Yeah, I-I know it wasn't the plan.
-We've always said we don't want kids. -I know.
-We're old.
Then now or never.
Never!
You really want a baby?
I don't know.
Maybe.
Come here.
Hey.
I know this feels like giving up.
But it's not.
It could be a fresh start, just... you and me.
Huh?
I'm gonna take a bath.
You want me to save the water for you?
Uh, no, thanks.
[inhales]
♪
Hey.
Do you have a second?
I wanted to run some story ideas by you.
Great.
-What are you thinking? -[inhales]
Well... [chuckles softly]
There are rumblings that Taylor Swift
is traveling from her home to her car in a large suitcase,
to avoid paparazzi.
And I thought, why don't we use this to tackle immigration?
So, Taylor Swift is our beautiful, blonde Trojan horse,
but it's our way of talking about human smuggling,
uh, family separation,
uh, immigrant detention centers
-and... -It-It's really
such an important issue.
-Yeah. -But the Taylor Swift thing
was done years ago.
Um... Okay.
Left turn for a minute.
How about we take Fiona's Harry Potterball and we run with it?
So it's a-- it's a slideshow.
Uh, like a-a "Who's Sexy Now"
for-for the whole gang. S-S--
Harry and, um, the, um...
redheaded one and all the hot little...
wizards.
You want to steal Fiona's idea?
No, no, no, no. God, no. I want to expand on it.
[chuckles]: Have you even read the Harry Potterbooks?
[chuckling]
-Obviously. -[chuckling]: Yeah.
Who's Hagrid?
Hagrid, um...
[chuckles]: Oh, come on. Really?
[stammers softly]
Okay. Um...
Hagrid, uh, is...
a wizard, and she i--
-she is... -Let me stop you there, Beth.
We all know your reputation.
-I'm sorry, what? -The way
you were fired from the Chronicle.The scandal.
Wait a minute. You don't know what you're talking about.
I was wrongfully accused.
Please! Keep your energy professional.
While we aren't exactly the Chronicle,
we do have journalistic integrity,
which means I can't let my writers steal from each other.
I would never steal a story.
Or make up a quote?
I want to keep you here.
I do.
But you need to find your spark.
And if you can't,
then maybe it's time to think about doing something else.
[exhales]
[sniffles]
[soft chatter]
[shudders]
[whispers]: Here's your spark, motherfucker.
[exhales]
Hey. Are you okay?
Yeah. Just swell. [sniffles]
Okay.
Oh. This one's for you.
What's CWP?
Colorado Women's Penitentiary.
It's a maximum security women's prison.
FIONA: Well, open it.
Uh... [clears throat] It's from someone called Toni Plimpton.
[inhales] "Dear Ms. Burgess..."
Wait.
I know that name.
Why do I know that name?
-Toni... -"Dear Ms. Burgess,
"three and a half years ago, I was convicted
"of murdering my husband, Wallace Plimpton.
"I was sentenced to 92 years in prison.
"I could come to peace with that if I had pulled the trigger.
But I didn't do it."
The Dick Cutter!
Of course. Yes.
-I remember her. Do you not... -No.
A few days before she killed him, she tried
to hack off his dick with a pair of kiddie safety scissors.
-She's a total loon. -[inhales]
Uh... "But no one cares about the truth.
They only care that one more Black woman stays behind bars."
Oh, my God.
They found her husband's body in a nature preserve,
trampled to mush by buffalo.
-Oof. -"I know your work, Ms. Burgess,
"and I believe you're a genius
and the last real journalist working in Denver."
It does not say that.
It does say that.
-I love her. -Huh.
It does say that.
[inhales] "Please help me.
"I know you can find the truth,
and the truth will set us both free."
[chuckles] Okay.
[chuckles]: Beth.
Beth, what are you gonna do?
You don't believe this woman, do you?
I mean, the whole thing, it seems super sketchy.
It reeks of a scam. And, I will say,
they do tend to target older people.
My grandmother's entire temple got conned
by a man who looked just like Jay Leno.
Like, an Indian Jay Leno. He looked just like him.
I mean, the hair, the-the chin,
the denim on denim.
Listen, just don't give this woman money.
She's gonna want money.
-Don't give it to her. -[door buzzes, latch clicks]
[indistinct chatter]
GUARD: Stand there, please.
Do that up.
Really? It's-it's so...
Do it up or go home.
Okay.
Stay beside the line.
♪
[exhales]
[door opens]
[chains jangling]
JIMMY: Ten minutes.
[door closes]
-Hi. -Hi.
Listen, uh,
the letter that you sent me,
it was... it was so moving.
-How are you? -Oh, you know.
The best.
Right. No, of course.
I'm really sorry.
Yeah, they're punishing me 'cause I knocked out
a bitch's front teeth
and stabbed her in the eye.
Huh.
She's a Nazi.
W-Well-well, uh,
I-I hope she's eating out of a straw
for a good long time.
She will be.
I like your tattoo.
Oh, thanks.
I did it myself.
BETH: Wow. No way.
That's, um...
Is it-- is it Medusa?
Yeah.
Well, it's me,
and I'm Medusa.
It's about time somebody chopped off Perseus' head,
don't you think?
Yeah.
Totally. [chuckles softly]
What about you?
Any ink?
Ink? Oh.
No. [chuckles] No, I'm... not...
I'm not that sort of person.
What, a badass?
I mean, you could pull it off.
Well,
a few years ago, I was, like, this close
to getting, uh, an old-timey typewriter on my upper thigh...
[laughs]
[inhales]
Oh, you're-you're for real?
Yeah, no, that's cool.
I mean, you could get, like, your kid's name or something.
You got any kids?
No. But, uh, that-that topic sure comes up a lot.
It's a touchy subject?
No, it's just that, um,
well, my mom always chose work over me,
and I don't want to do that to a kid.
My work's my priority.
Which means you're my priority.
So...
[sniffles] Cool.
Love a lady who means business.
[exhales] Okay, so if I'm gonna write your story,
I'm gonna need you to piece together
for me what happened, uh, the night of the murder.
So, where you were, uh, who you were with.
I mean, that's all public record.
Trial transcripts.
Well, yeah, of course. I know that.
But, um, it helps to actually hear it from you directly.
[inhales] Uh, I was working at TJs Sound & Video,
and I was alone.
Huh. Yeah, see, that's...
that's not good.
You sound like the cops.
And, uh, why were you violent to your husband a few days before?
Violent?
You mean the dick thing?
Yeah. The, uh... the dick thing.
Tell me this, why would I cut his dick off
if I was gonna kill him?
The whole reason you cut a dick off
is so that he has to walk around without a dick, right?
I mean...
uh, that-that does make some sense, yeah.
And he hit me.
He laid his hands on me over and over.
Does your husband do that to you?
Besides, I barely nicked him.
On his dick?
Jesus.
That's all anyone cares about.
-It's a whole country full of dick lovers. -[chuckles softly]
I wouldn't call myself a-a dick lover.
Uh...
Okay. So who did kill Wallace?
Wyatt.
Who?
Wallace's brother.
Wyatt.
They ran guns.
I mean,
that's the guy the D.A. should've gone after.
I was over there selling flip phones for nine bucks an hour.
Meanwhile, those two were clearing $5K a week,
funneling carbines to the Philippines,
but who's serving time?
Okay, sorry, could you just slow down for one second?
Um, okay, so his name is Wyatt.
And I missed the connection to the flip phone,
so you'll have to explain that to me.
And I know I can google it, but what's a carbine, exactly?
You didn't bother looking me up, did you?
No research? Nothing?
No, I did. I j-- I knew about the dick thing.
-And, um, I... -[exhales] Okay.
-Goodbye. -Wait, wait, wait, wait! Where are you going?
No, I don't have time to tell you how to do your job.
You can find somebody else to boost your ego.
If I were you, I wouldn't walk away from the one person
who can help you.
If you were me?
See, I have a daughter.
Her name is Laila, and she turns four on October 13.
But that's all I know about her.
I don't know where she is, who she's with,
who's peeling her carrots or wiping her nose.
I don't know what she sounds like or smells like.
I-I don't even know what she looks like except for a picture
that I saw when she was born.
'Cause I had her in here.
In cuffs.
I gave birth handcuffed to a bed.
They took my baby and handed me a Polaroid.
So, yeah...
that's who you'd be if you were me.
But if I were you,
I would've done my damn homework.
Oh. No, no, no. Sorry. Please.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Look, the last year has been really,
really hard.
I barely sleep.
I...
I work for this brainless child dictator.
I-I steal fish to get even.
And now my husband wants me to become
this walking, talking uterus in the woods, and...
[inhales] And then I got your letter.
And...
it gave me hope.
Please don't walk away. Please.
I'm-I'm not ready to give up.
You've had a hard year, huh?
Yeah.
[laughs]
[inhales]
Whew.
Well, at least you funny.
Look, this ain't Driving Miss Daisy,
and I'm not cooking you no Sunday dinner.
I'm here to save my ass,
not yours.
Hey, yo, Jimmy!
[door opens]
You're so cute.
-[door closes] -[exhales]
[whispering]: I shouldn't have said that.
Fuck.
TESSA: Beth?
[scoffs] Tessa?
My God. Beth, look at you.
How are you holding up after everything?
-It's fine. -Good, good.
My God, you-you were the last person that I thought
I'd bump into today. This is so funny.
Sorry, wh-what is that?
Oh, um, this inmate-- well, wrongfully convicted inmate--
wrote me the most amazing letter. Listen to this.
"Ms. Flores, you are a genius
"and Denver's last real journalist.
"I know you can find the truth,
and the truth will set us both free."
That's beautiful, isn't it?
Yeah. Very. Except...
I'm the genius in this one.
I love it.
She's auditioning us.
Wow. [chuckles]
Tessa Flores!
That's me.
Great to see you.
Good luck.
But you're not getting this fucking story.
-[exhales] -[door buzzes]
[latch clicks]
[door opens]
♪
[men chattering in distance]
[laughter]
[chattering]
[laughter in distance]
[breathing heavily]
[microwave door shuts]
[beep]
BETH: Wyatt Plimpton?
[dog barking]
♪
[knocking]
Mr. Plimpton?
♪
[dog growling, barking]
Hi, there.
[microwave dings]
["Shimmy Shimmy Ya" by Ol' Dirty Bastard playing]
♪ Shimmy shimmy ya, shimmy yam, shimmy yay♪
♪ Gimme the mic so I can take it away♪
♪ Shimmy shimmy ya, shimmy yam, shimmy yay♪
♪ Gimme the mic so I can take it away♪
♪
♪ Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang♪
♪ Shimmy shimmy ya, shimmy yam, shimmy yay♪
♪ Gimme the mic so I can take it away♪
♪ Shimmy shimmy ya, shimmy yam, shimmy yay♪
♪ Gimme the mic so I can take it away.♪
♪
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org