A City Walks Into An Investigation

The next episode of a real mystery reported by This American Life

The couple that discovered a police officer’s secret allegiance found themselves at the center of a story they didn’t want to start.

In this episode of This American Life, the ripple effect of an investigation undertaken by the city is way larger than anyone could have expected or intended.

If you haven’t listened to the first episode linked here, give it a listen! In the second episode we continue this personal story but drag in the police department and the rest of the neighbors who find exactly what the couple found, but come to slightly different conclusions about what to do about it. And that? Well, those choices complicate things for everyone.

I recommended this episode not just because it’s well done reporting, but because it demonstrates just how much work and energy it takes to hold racist or unjust institutions or actors accountable.

Often, we are told that the world we live in can’t be all that bad, because we don’t see regular cases of our people or institutions having to go to court or breaking the law in ways that are obvious or visible. If everything was SO racist wouldn’t we know? Wouldn’t we see it? Wouldn’t the People In Charge do something?

In this story, we look at how evidence isn’t enough. How a clear offender can face some consequences, but still burrow away with institutional benefits. We watch as whistleblowers are asked to pay alongside the guilty party. It’s never as easy as simply pointing out rot. The cost is something the victims and the perpetrators both have to weigh.

Listen, and think about what you’d pay for your peace. It’s not always an easy answer. And it’s that additional cost of racism and injustice, that can be so darn tiring.