All language subtitles for Adam Ruins Everything s02e10 The Suburbs.

?

Ah...

Finally. (CHUCKLES)

We made it to the suburbs.

Now, this is the American Dream.

Beep-beep! Heads up, Dad!

Oh-ho, little Donovan!

Are you drunk?

Dad, will you play catch with me?

Oh, I'd love to, buddy,

but your old man's gotta mow the lawn.

Hashtag Suburb Problems!

We'll play after.

Shouldn't take too long.

(MOWER SPUTTERS)

Oh, come on, you piece of Shinola!

(MOWER SPUTTERS)

Oh, heck! Every time I come out...

Okay, calm down, Ron.

Little bit of hard work
never hurt anybody.

After all, it's worth it to live here

in the nice, safe suburbs.

No, it isn't!

Holy canary! A talking bush?

Aah... the suburbs may seem
like the American Dream,

but in reality,
they're an American nightmare.

Hey, you ruined my topiary!

Yup, 'cause I'm Adam Conover

and this is "Adam Ruins Everything."

?

Oh! Ugh.

(SCREAMING)

(GRUNTING, MOWER SPUTTERING)

Oh, come on, start for old Ron,
ya bucket of bolts.

I gotta mow the lawn.

Ah, yes, the good,
old-fashioned American lawn.

We mow them, we water them.

On average, Americans
spend 70 hours a year

and a total of nine billion
gallons of water a day

maintaining them.

BUT HERE'S A QUESTION-why?

Um... why what?

Why do you do it?

Uh... easy, bush boy.

You gotta have lawns...
they're natural.

Actually, they're not.

If your lawn was natural,
it would look like this.

(SNAPS FINGERS)

This untended meadow

is a diverse ecosystem
of native plants and animals.

It may be less organized,

but it requires zero maintenance,

unlike... (SNAPS FINGERS)

this thing.

Okay, so it's not natural.

But the lawn is American, like my flag.

Nope, it's imported, like your car.

(HORN HONKS)

Almost all lawn grass in America

is actually native
to Africa, Europe and Asia.

It wasn't made in the USA?

But I thought this was freedom grass.

Try "lack of freedom" grass.

Getting all that
imported grass to thrive

in a non-native environment

means you have to do a ton of work.

You gotta pump it full of fertilizer...

(COW MOOS)

water it like crazy...

spray it with pesticides and herbicides

so it can compete
with native bugs and plants...

and then, when it finally grows,

for some reason
you mow it all down again.

Dad... gummit!

Ohh...

So, why the H-E-
double-frickin'-hockey-sticks

do I put myself through this?

SIMPLE: it's because a bunch
of crusty old Brits

were obsessed with paintings.

What?

Way back in the schmancy-pants 1500s,

British aristocrats became obsessed

with emulating the fantastical,
dreamlike lawns

they'd seen in Renaissance art.

Servants...

transform the grounds
into an expanse of green,

like my favorite painting.

(RON LAUGHS)

Dumb, fancy Europeans
and their dumb, fancy fads.

Well, in the 1800s,
those fads made their way

to dumb, fancy America.

American landscape designers
like Frank J. Scott

were so taken
with these European lawns,

they created weird and
arbitrary rules for their care

and thrust them upon the public.

My heavens!

Those bulbs are exposed,
you naughty boy!

It was even common for wealthy women

to form gardening clubs

that would travel to poor neighborhoods

and pressure them to keep their
lawns in line.

Listen up, poors!

Turn your dirt into grass fast

or you'll have to answer...
to the gardening club!

Ugh... I hate when rich jerks

try to tell me what to do.

It's my house! I can do what I want!

Unfortunately, ya can't.

What?

After World War II,

with the advent
of mass-produced suburbs,

lawns were put in place

before houses were even sold,

so those homeowners had no choice.

Here's your keys.

And here's your irritating obligation.

Enjoy.

And in some suburbs, like Levittown,

residents were actually required

to mow their lawns once a week.

This is going to be you...
every Sunday... like church.

Fast-forward to the present day...

and the lawn has become so
ingrained in suburban life

that if you don't
properly maintain one,

your neighbors will hate you.

Listen up, neighbor.

You're driving down my property values.

Now get your filthy lawn in shape

or you'll have to answer
to the homeowners association!

Many towns and homeowners associations

even have strict rules

about what you can and can't do

with your lawn.

Those who don't comply

can be fined and even jailed.

There he is, officer,
the lawn criminal.

Arrest this... grasshole.

Okay, okay! I'm mowing!

The result is, if you wanna
live in the suburbs,

you are forced to waste
time, money and water

keeping up a foreign plant species

that has no business being here.

It was just a European fad
that got outta control.

- (MOWER SPUTTERING)
- Ugh! Ohh!

Oh, I hate this stupid thing!

- (MOWER STARTS)
- Oh! Oh!

(LAUGHING)

Oh, Ron is back.

Dad to Mission Control, over.
(IMITATES CLICK)

Uh, this is Mission Control.

You are cleared to mow.

(LAUGHING)

See? Huh?

Even a little elbow grease is worth it

to live in this nice, safe cul-de-sac.

Mmm. Actually, cul-de-sacs
are very unsafe...

and inefficient.

But... I'll tell you about it
after your chores.

I liked you better
when you were a bush.

Ah... well...

took all morning to mow this yard,

but who had fun doing it?

This guy.

Now to move the van
and sweep the old driveway.

A clean sweep.

(LAUGHING)

Vroom-vroom!

Come back here, Lorraine Hamilton.

Vroom!

Hey, pal, are you drunk again?

I'm racing with my friend,
Lorraine Hamilton.

Vroom...!

Of course you are.

He is so creative
with his imaginary friends.

Well, that's a cul-de-sac life.

No safer place for a growing boy
and his dad.

Actually...

when it comes to traffic,
cul-de-sacs are unsafe.

Did you know that traffic fatalities

are 270% more likely in cul-de-sacs

than in grid streets?

Oh, that's a bunch of bull.

(TIRES SCREECH)

Oh! Little Donovan!

Are you all right?

Oh, oh... I am so sorry
I constantly joked

you were a drunk child.

That's okay. Bye!

How did this happen?

Well, maybe it happened
because cul-de-sacs lull you

into a false sense of security,

where the difference

between sidewalk, street
and driveway are blurred.

That makes drivers less attentive,

thus more accidents.

(TIRES SCREECH, THUD)

(RON) Holy crow!

Don't worry. He's just one
of the sketch characters

from our show.

In fact, the design
of cul-de-sac suburbs

is bad for you on nearly every level.

Come on!

In a dense grid system, you can
walk from place to place.

But the complex, maze-like design

of cul-de-sac neighborhoods

positions just about every
destination farther away,

making walking practically impossible,

which means you need your car
to get just about anywhere.

This pattern of disorderly, far-flung,

low-density neighborhoods

is known as suburban sprawl.

I feel trapped.

Yeah, you should.

Being dependent on cars means
more isolation, more accidents,

and absurdly long commutes.

(HORNS HONKING) Ugh, I hate my commute.

You gotta listen to boring podcasts

to pass the time,

and I don't care if Adnan did it.

Come on.

Uh, boredom is
the least of your worries.

People with lengthy car commutes

suffer from disproportionate
levels of stress and pain,

obesity, and are even
40% likelier to get a divorce.

A study in Sweden even found
that people who live

more than 31 miles from work
actually die sooner.

(TIRES SCREECH, THUD)

Holy moley, she was hit!

Oh, she's just
a sketch character on our show.

Literally. She's a sketch. (LAUGHS)

Well, at least we got
sunshine and green grass,

unlike the dirty city.

Actually, when it comes to pollution,

sprawl is much worse.

One study found

that suburbanites have
carbon footprints

up to four times larger
than city dwellers.

And not only is sprawl bad
for your health and the planet,

it costs us a ton of money.

Since homes here are so spread out,

the suburban tax base
doesn't raise enough money

to pay for its own infrastructure.

Meanwhile, denser cities

generate ten times as much
tax money per acre.

As a result, they often have to
create special programs

just to keep nearby suburbs afloat.

In fact, compared to cities,
suburban sprawl costs

in excess of
one trillion dollars per year.

But I don't wanna live
on some government teat!

The suburbs are supposed to
represent freedom, dadgummit!

Actually, the suburbs

systematically foster dependency.

Oh. This is Dr. Richard Jackson,

a pediatrician and a professor
of environmental health science

at UCLA.

Ron, research shows

that the design of the suburbs

dramatically reduces our freedom

to be physically active.

The cul-de-sac may be great
when your son's three or four,

but as he gets older

and needs to increase his autonomy,

he will be unable to go anywhere

without a parent driving him.

That means he won't be able
to explore on his own

and develop the skills he needs

to become an independent adult.

Well, I can just keep
driving him, then.

Once I'm back from my endless commute.

Well, one day your roles
will be reversed.

At some point,
you'll be too old to drive,

turning your house into a prison.

(RON) If I can't drive,
how will I live?

There isn't even a grocery store
in walking distance!

(ADAM) And so, even after
little Donovan moves away,

he'll still be tied
to this cul-de-sac...

to help you.

No! Go live your own life!

At that point,
you'll be reliant on others

to keep you alive.

By 2035, over 50 million Americans

will be facing that same dilemma,

many who don't even have
a family to help them.

And, unfortunately,

we don't have an easy
or affordable way to fix it.

The fact is, the design of
the suburbs actually makes you

less independent, less healthy
and less safe.

(RON) Little Donovan, no!
Get out of the street!

Come on, chalky bush boy, take me back.

I'm gonna break the record!

Time me, Lorraine Hamilton!

Ooh!

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Stop! Little Donovan!

(TIRES SCREECH, THUD)

Lorraine Hamilton! No!

Lorraine Hamilton was real?

Oh, my God, you were right.

The suburbs are nothing
but an isolating hell-scape

filled with constant car crashes.

Well, we did exaggerate
the car crashes a little

for comedic effect. (CHUCKLES)

But... this place will
still give little Donovan

a better life. Know why?

Because of the schools. Huh? Huh?

The suburbs have the best schools

and there's no downside to that.

Actually, suburban schools
have a ton of downsides,

but... I'll tell you about it
in a second.

We should reallyan schools
help Lorraine. Downsides,

Oh, yeah, good idea.

Here you go, pal.

Bologna sandwich and milk.

I know you wanted whiskey,
but we're all out, you lush.

(LAUGHING)

Drunk kid reference, oh...

it's fun again.

Dad, can we play catch?

Oh, not until you finish your homework.

We moved to the suburbs

so you could go to a good school,

and apparently that is

the only solid, unruinable
reason to be here.

(ADAM, MUFFLED) Uh, not quite.

Oh, no.

You're right.

Schools are often better
in the suburbs.

But have you ever wondered
why they're better?

THAT'S EASY: better facilities,
better teachers,

more funding.

Right.

And how did your school
get those advantages?

I don't know.

We're just in a good community,
I guess.

And which groups of people get to live

in this community?

Wait, y... you're not saying
this is a white thing, are you?

It... it's not so white here, look!

Bad example.

Ignore sweater dog people.

A tote bag full of kale.
You're killing me, lady!

Okay, maybe... this neighborhood
is mostly to... completely to...

insufferably white,

but that, that's just
the way things are here.

It doesn't mean we're racist.

I'm sure you're not, Ron.

But the fact that so many
suburbs are mostly white

is no accident.

It's the result of decades
of racist federal policy

that affect us to this day. Look!

Hooray! Games!

What the heck kinda game is this?

It's Settlers of the Suburbs,
redlining edition.

Cool!

Little Donovan, you be green.

Ron, you're red.

All right, red, just like the name.

Looks like I've got the advantage.

No. You don't.

See, in the 1930s,
as part of the New Deal,

FDR created loan programs

to help Americans finance their homes.

But, to decide who got those loans,

the government created color-coded maps

in which green neighborhoods were good

and red neighborhoods were bad.

This practice
became known as redlining.

Because of these policies,

if you lived
in the green neighborhoods,

it was super easy to get a home loan.

All right, I can buy property!

But the folks in the red areas?

No loans were available.

I can barely afford rent with this.

It's no fair.

The red areas are screwed.

Yeah, they were.

And do you know why some areas
were designated as red?

No, but I can guess.

Those were the neighborhoods

where African Americans
and other minorities lived,

and redlining
systematically prevented them

from getting home loans.

Well, I know what I'll do.

Just take my little guy

and put him in the green neighborhood.

Sorry! That's against the rules.

Early suburb developers
like William Levitt instituted

explicitly racist policies.

And the federal government
itself encouraged developers

to discriminate.

The result of these policies

is that from 1934 through 1968,
a whopping 98% of home loans

were given to white families.

Yes...!

O-okay, this, this is not fair.

I did not get to pick what color I was

when I started.

Yeah. No one does.

And this advantage
compounded over time.

The families in the green...
or white... neighborhoods

were able to purchase homes
and accrue wealth.

The market went up!

I can sell my house
and buy a bigger one!

Whereas the people
in the red neighborhoods

got none of those opportunities.

I can't afford property.

I'm behind on my electric bill.

In the green neighborhoods,
the influx of new wealth

attracted new businesses.

Whoa... we got an organic grocery!

Which caused property values to go up.

Which meant white families
could sell their homes

and send their kids to college.

They grow up so fast.

Passing down
their wealth and advantages

to future generations.

(FEMALE GROUP) ? Money, money ?

Meanwhile, the red neighborhoods

had far less ability to build wealth

and many remained trapped in poverty.

This game is rigged!

Yeah, it was.

That's why laws were eventually passed

that made most of these
discriminatory practices...

illegal.

Ah! Ha, great! Ha!

Finally, I can move, and...

I don't have enough money.

Exactly.

Without wealth, families
in the red neighborhoods

couldn't afford to move up,

keeping these communities
separated by race.

Today, 70 years
after Levittown was created,

it's still less than one percent black.

Ha-ha! I may be dead,

but the effect of my racism lives on.

And if the neighborhoods
are segregated,

that means the schools are too.

What? It...

No, no, that, that, that can't be true.

We ended school segregation
back in the '60s.

Sorry, Ron, but I'm afraid
that's not true.

Ron, this is Nikole Hannah-Jones.

She's a New York Times
investigative reporter

who covers civil rights issues,

including school
and housing segregation.

Nikole, would you mind telling Ron

what most people get wrong
about segregation?

People tend to think of segregation

as an archaic term
for Jim Crow policies

that led to the civil rights movement.

But the truth is that black children

are more segregated in schools now

than at any time since the 1970s.

And in the U.S.,

schools are largely funded
by property taxes.

Since property values
in the white neighborhoods

are so much higher,

their schools get way more money
to spend on things

like facilities, teachers and supplies.

On the other hand,

predominantly black and Latino schools

are massively underfunded.

They're less likely to have
A.P. science and math courses,

and they're the least likely

to have experienced
and qualified teachers.

The truth is,
little Donovan doesn't just go

to the best school.

He goes to a segregated school.

Oh, no, no, no.

This is a direct result

of decades of redlining policies

enacted by our own government
to build the suburbs.

Highways that were built

to make access to the suburbs
easier for white Americans

were often run right through

black middle-class neighborhoods,

destroying them.

People in the past were the worst.

It's not just the past.

Banks still regularly charge
black home buyers

higher rates on loans than
they do white home buyers,

even when they have the same credit.

Worst of all, black
and Latino home seekers

still experience four million incidents

of illegal housing
discrimination every year.

But... I mean, I didn't
do any of that stuff.

I, I'm not racist

and I worked hard to get this house.

Of course.

But without realizing it,
you've also gotten a leg up

from America's history
of racist housing policies.

The suburb you live in

was built on a foundation
of segregation,

and we can't close our eyes to that.

You know what?

I don't think I want
to raise little Donovan

in a place like this.

Well, don't despair.

There are things you can do that...

No, no, no, save your breath, okay?

Go pack your things, buddy.

I'm selling this house.

Oh, man, this is why
nobody finishes board games.

?

Hello, everyone!

We're here on set
on "Adam Ruins Everything"

with Nikole Hannah-Jones

because I have way more questions

about housing and school
segregation in America.

So, this topic is such a stunning one

because I grew up,

like I think a lot of kids
my age did in America,

being told that we ended segregation,

but American society
is not as integrated

as the story that we tell ourselves,

and, I mean, why do you think that is?

Well, one, I think,

often when we hear about segregation,

we think of this
as a Southern phenomenon,

as something that happened
way back then

and happened way down there.

But the truth is,

the most segregated parts
of the country

have long been in the North.

The difference is, in the South,

because often black people
lived quite intimately

with white Americans,

then you would have laws that would say

you couldn't go to this swimming pool,

you couldn't go to this school.

In the North, you can keep
your neighborhood white,

then you can keep your swimming pools

and your libraries
and your restaurants white

because there are no black
people living in proximity.

You don't have to have
a rule that says,

"No black kids can swim in this
pool or go to this school,"

because there just are none in the area

because that's how things
have been engineered.

We passed laws and said,

"Okay, this is no longer legal,"

but we didn't put any effort

into actually undoing the
segregation that we created.

It would require an equal or
even greater amount of effort

to undo the segregation

as it took to create it
in the first place.

We've never had the will to do that.

It's not like when we passed
the Fair Housing law in 1968,

we started over

and we equalized
all the housing values.

We just continued with that,

and so those white
neighborhoods continued

to, um, see their property values rise,

and black neighborhoods

would see the property
values rise as well,

but they started
so much further behind.

So, it's not saying that white people

haven't worked for anything,

because clearly, uh, white
Americans have worked hard,

but so have black Americans.

They just were disadvantaged.

So, back to schools.

I mean, people seem like they
want to integrate schools more,

you know, um, uh, how...

what are the barriers to doing that?

Even in neighborhoods
that are integrating,

the schools are not,

and that's kind of
the last line in the sand.

White people are afraid

if they put their children
into a diverse school,

it's gonna harm their children.

Well, and it's my understanding...

I don't know the research
top to bottom...

but it's my understanding

that diverse schools
are good for all students.

Is, is that correct?

Absolutely. Um, diverse schools,

for black and Latino children,

ensure that they actually get

the same resources
that white children get

in terms of instruction, curriculum,

uh, quality teachers.

For white children,

it actually helps them
to be able to think better.

They become better problem solvers.

And you can think about this.

If you work at a business

and everyone grew up exactly the same

and everyone thinks exactly the same,

you all come up with
the same answers to problems.

When you are dealing with people

who have different experiences

and have different ways of processing,

then you can find solutions.

Look, clearly, this a huge, huge
systemic problem in our society

that's gonna take a long time to fix,

but what can we do on an
individual level to address it?

Well, the first thing we can do
is actually live our values.

If we say we believe
in integration and equality,

that means that we're gonna
have to give something up.

You can't, um, say you want
equality for all children

but then try to get advantage
for your own.

Those two things
actually don't work together.

So I think, um, as a country,

we have a lot of soul-searching to do.

Do we, do we really believe

that every child should have
the same opportunity?

Because if that's true,

we can't horde all of the opportunity

for our children,

and the same types of children

who have always had the advantage.

Well, thank you so much
for being here, Nikole.

Thanks so much for having me.

?

So, it's got all-new floors

and, and I remodeled the kitchen

based on an episode
of "Property Brothers,"

so... anyways, knock yourselves out.

There's all-new cabinets
and sinks and... whatever.

Of course, the schools are all racist

and your lawn is a rip-off

and you'll probably kill one
of your kids with your car.

(CAR SPEEDS PAST, TIRES SCREECH)

Ron, those are all real problems,

but you don't have to
leave the suburbs.

There's a better way!

Haven't you done enough already,

you overgrown garden gnome?

I am done listening to you.

Well, maybe you'll listen
to Ellen Dunham-Jones,

director of the urban design
program at Georgia Tech

and a leading authority
on suburban redevelopment.

Ron, the good news is,

now that we're aware of these problems,

communities across the country

are implementing real solutions
to fix them.

Like in Atlanta,

where a 22-mile park and
transit loop around the city

is connecting
its suburban neighborhoods.

or Pleasant Ridge, Ohio,

which revitalized an old Main Street

with new local businesses

by designating it a community
entertainment district.

(JACKSON) And you can
help encourage this

by demanding that your neighborhood

has protected routes,

so every child can get to school
safely and independently.

(HANNAH-JONES) And you can
lobby your state government

to make school funding more equitable.

And you can support the
integration of students of color

into your local schools.

(DUNHAM-JONES) The fact is, Ron,

you don't have to leave the suburbs.

Instead, you can help
to make them better.

(DONOVAN) I don't wanna move, Dad!

All my friends are here,

like Lorraine Hamilton!

You're right.

This is my community...

and I'm not giving up on it.

All right, you looky-loos,
get outta here!

Huh? We are staying.

Come here, little Donovan.

Listen up.

Now, this place,
it's got a lot of problems,

but we're gonna work on fixing them...

together.

Okay.

But right now, buddy,

there's only one thing I wanna do.

Little Donovan...

you wanna have a catch?

- Yeah.
- (TEARFULLY) Okay.

?

Maybe I should move.

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