All language subtitles for Adam Ruins Everything s01e21 Prison.eng

Ss you, baby. The kids miss you.

The judge told us that
you ain't ever getting out.

I can't believe Adam
got you thrown in prison.

Are you okay?

It'll be fine.

I've seen "Orange
Is the New Black."

I'll make friends of varying

ethnic backgrounds
and grow as a person.

- Very slowly.
- Time's up.

Wait, am I Jason Biggs?

Gotta go, bye, I love you.

But no one likes Jason Biggs!

(overlapping shouts, laughter)

Quiet!
(shouting, laughter stops)

You gonna learn today!

Hi, my name's Emily.
I've never been

to prison before.
I'm awaiting trial

on a small,
trumped up drug charge,

and I'm trying not to be scared

by keeping an open mind
and checking my privilege.

What's your name?

Wow.

I can already tell
that this is gonna be long.

I'm Kendra.

I'm awaiting trial
for drugs, too.

And I got priors.

What priors?

More drugs.

Oh, boy, you're nice.

See, I knew prison
wouldn't be that bad.

(neck squeaks)
You know, it probably serves

a pretty important purpose.

It deters crime,

it punishes people
appropriately,

and it gives us a chance
to rehabilitate ourselves.

Wait, I'm talking too much.

Tell me your rich
emotional backstory.

How about I tell you
that everything

that you just said
is complete bull(bleep).

You know nothing
about this place.

She's right, Emily!

Oh, no! He followed me here.

Time to "Shawshank" my way out.

Who are you?

Hi, I'm Adam Conover.

And this is
"Adam Ruins Everything."

Told ya you gonna learn.

(whistling)

(beeping, buzzing)

*ADAM RUINS EVERYTHING*
Season 01 Episode 21 "Adam Ruins Prison"

Adam, you got me into this,

now you get me out!

I promise, I have someone
working on it.

But in the meantime,
this is a great opportunity

to explain why our
nation's prison system

is a failure on every level.

Ha! So you know
a lot about prison?

I bet you watch a lot
of PBS documentaries, huh?

I guess you're right.

I do lack firsthand knowledge.

Ooh, maybe you could
help me do this episode?

Sure. Nothing better to do.

(snaps fingers)

Whoa!

Do you have magic
TV powers like Adam?

Nope, but I got a lot of favors.

(both) Hmm.

Early lunch today.

Early lunch today, everyone.

America's prison system
is a total mess.

Whatever purpose you think
it serves, it ain't doing it.

Well, the point of prison
is to reduce crime.

It's definitely not doing that.

There are 2.2 million people

incarcerated in the U.S.,

ten times more
than 50 years ago.

Two million is more than
the population of some states.

Welcome to Mass-Incarceration-
Achusetts.

Our primary export... shivs.

Our secondary export... cod!

Hey! That's cod-traband.

(laughing)

But despite
this massive increase

in the prison population,

a study conducted
by the NYU School of Law

found that the effect
on the crime rate

has been essentially zero.

Zero? Then why do we lock
so many people up?

Well, I can't speak
for all prisons,

but this one
is here to make money.

Make money?

You mean someone is
profiting from all this?

Yep, these guys are.

It all started
in the "tough on crime" '80s,

when the war on drugs
meant state

and federal prisons were
bursting at the seams.

So many prisoners?
What do we do?

Let corporate America
handle your prisons.

We'll take care of everything.

Save you a few bucks

and skim a little off the top.

Businesses running prisons?

That sounds a little fishy.

(laughing) Just kidding!

I mean, hey, if it
saves money, right?

(Adam) And so the Corrections
Corporation of America,

or CCA, was born.

Okay, hold on.
You can't just sell prisons

like they're cars or real estate
or hamburgers.

Hmph! Then why don't you
tell that to Tom Beasley.

The co-founder of CCA
who once said...

(man on PA)
CCA, can I take your order?

I'll have a number seven
with extra solitary cells,

electric fence,
and small onion rings.

Like to supermax that?
Yeah, I'll supermax it.

And they rake in
a ton of scratch.

Last year, CCA
took in $1.7 billion.

Business is so good
it's criminal.

(laughter)

Well, you know, maybe it's okay

because they're saving
the taxpayer money.

Sorry! The sales pitch
was wrong.

The data shows
that private prisons

cost the taxpayers just as much

as regular prisons.

And today, nearly one-fifth
of federal prisoners

are held
in a for-profit facility.

Okay, no...

Ah, graffiti!
That's an infraction.

A beautiful one. Are you Banksy?

Oh, my gosh, I already
got an infraction.

They must give out
a lot of these.

Oh, yeah, that's not
a coincidence.

One study showed
that private prisons

dole out twice as many
infractions

as government prisons.

Not having enough infractions.

That's an infraction.

That's an infraction.

which earns the company
even more cash.

Oh, so the more people
that are in prison,

the more money they make.

Ooh, that's dirty!

Yep, that's why private prisons

sneak occupancy clauses
into their contracts,

which actually require states
to keep prisons full.

Last year, a private prison
in Arizona

didn't make
their 97% capacity quota,

so the state government
had to pay them

a $3 million fine.

Fines like that incentivize
cash-strapped states

to keep people in prison
as long as possible.

Your parole forms are in order

and you've been
a model prisoner,

so we're going to...
(clears throat)

Lock you back up.

We really can't afford
to pay another fine.

That's reprehensible.

Look, not all prisons
are private prisons,

but this one is, so no,

it's purpose
isn't to stop crime.

It's the dollar-dollar
bills, y'all!

(chuckling) Whoo!

I can't believe all this
has been happening

and I didn't even know.

I mean, I never thought
about prison, like, at all.

Hey, pulling back the curtain

on our disturbing
business practices,

that's an infraction.

Hey, that makes
three infractions.

You're gonna go to solitary.

Okay, that doesn't sound so bad.

You know, peace and quiet,
do some meditating.

No, solitary confinement

is a cruel and
inhumane punishment

that has no place
in modern society.

Wait, what?

Eh, we'll tell you about it

after you get settled
in the hole.

No, tell me now!

Ever wonder why Americans
eat so much cheese?

It's everywhere.

Tacos, burgers,
even inside our pizza crust.

(gulps)

Well, it all started during
the Great Depression.

The dairy industry
was on the brink of collapse.

Without my cheese,

I got nothing to live for.

("Hail to the Chief" playing)

So the government decided
to bail them out.

Uncle Sam will protect you.

I'll buy your dang cheese.

(sobbing)

For decades to come,
America used tax dollars

to buy up
a whole bunch of cheese

and save Big Cow.

Moo!

The United States bought
so much excess dairy

they needed somewhere
to store it,

so they made a, uh,

somewhat questionable choice.

(ding)

We'll put it in a cave!

That's right.
The government found

some caves in Missouri

and packed them full
of cheese and butter.

By 1983,
these literal cheese caves

held over $4 billion worth
of dairy products,

and they still exist
to this day.

(cheese gurgling)

The government had
so much excess cheese,

they gave it away
to those in need,

also known as government cheese.

(cheese bubbling)

And to this day, the government

still provides money
to fast food companies

to help them market
cheese-heavy products

Hey, they got a lot of cheese
to unload.

And, folks, that's why America
is wild about cheese.

Whoo-ee!

I'm glad I can tolerate lactose.

(munching) Oh, yeah, cheese!

(door buzzes)

Solitary confinement.

Okay, we're here,
we're doing this.

Hmm.

Yeah, maybe it won't be so bad.

I can read and think
and get super jacked

by punching the wall
like in "Old Boy."

Yeah, okay.

Why-did-they-remake-
that-movie?!

(Adam's voice)
Solitary confinement

has devastating effects
on prisoners' mental health.

(Kendra's voice)
In solitary, you're kept alone

for 23 hours a day

in a room the size
of a king-size bed.

Well, that doesn't sound so bad.

Me and Murph share a queen.

Wait, where are those voices
coming from?

Oh, no, oh, gosh.
I'm seeing things.

It's an archaic and cruel
form of punishment

that started in the 1800s.

Eh, something to watch, I guess.

Solitary confinement
was conceived by Quakers,

who thought prisoners
would use the time

to reflect and study the Bible.

You know, I've been meaning
to read this.

But even they decided
it was too cruel to use.

The Supreme Court
at the time declared...

"Prisoners subject
to solitary confinement

became violently insane;
others committed suicide."

Ugh. We gotta stop doing this.

Stop, stop! (Adam) We did stop.

Solitary confinement
fell out of use

in the U.S. for a century,

but a few decades ago,
we brought it back,

and it's been destroying
minds ever since.

Destroying minds?

I mean, that sounds
a little hyperbolic.

Yeah, maybe. What do I know?

I'm just a hallucination.

Hello?

Adam?

Is anyone here?

(Adam's voice)
Humans are social animals,

and a prolonged lack
of social contact

can cause serious
and permanent brain damage.

People held in solitary
hallucinate,

fall into depression,

and lose the ability
to keep track

of how much time has passed.

How long have I been in here?

Oh, I'm really losing it.

Psst! Emily, you okay in there?

Kendra! Oh, thank God!

Why am I even here?

I thought solitary was
for the worst of the worst.

Nope, solitary confinement

is routinely used
in our prison system.

It's basically given to anyone

the guards don't want
to deal with.

The mentally ill.

LGBT.

I wouldn't eat dinner.

(all) We had it coming!

Man, if I'm gonna hallucinate

a Tony award-winning musical,

why couldn't it be "Hamilton"?

Solitary confinement is given

to between 80,000
to 100,000 people a year.

There are actually
entire prisons

made up of nothing
but solitary cells.

They're called supermax prisons.

Enormous complexes

full of people held
in tiny cages like animals,

slowly being driven insane.

(Kendra) They may be criminals,

but they don't deserve this.

And it gets worse.

Research shows
that solitary causes

a syndrome called delirium.

People with delirium
don't just hallucinate.

They have difficulty thinking,

they have panic attacks,

and they suffer
from overt paranoia.

And once they're released
from solitary,

the outside world
can be too much for them.

There was a teenager at Rikers

named Kalief Browder.

He was accused
of stealing a backpack.

We was held in solitary
for almost two years,

and then his case
was thrown out.

He never even went to trial

and still had to suffer
through solitary.

And when he got out,
his family said

that would hole up
in his room for days.

He committed suicide.

Oh, my God. That poor kid.

Some prisoners are kept
in solitary for decades.

Decades.

And then one day,
shoved back into society,

often in worse mental shape
than when they arrived.

Put all that together,
and it's hard

to escape the conclusion
that solitary confinement

should be considered
a form of torture.

You're right.

You're right.
I need to get out of here.

How do I get out of here...

All right, time's up.
(door buzzes)

My favorite part

is how Caro exposes
that Johnson's power

comes from
his deep insecurities.

Ooh, we should
start a book club.

Hey, how was solitary?

I learned it's an unbearably
cruel form of punishment

that needs to be abolished.
You taught me that.

You're right, but we've been
here the whole time.

You guys weren't actually
in there with me?

Nope! In fact, I've been here

getting a cool prison tattoo.

See?

Well, I am not going back!

(snaps fingers)

From now on, best behavior.

I'll use prison

as an opportunity
to rehabilitate myself.

Yeah, I'll study,
and I'll take classes,

and I'll get "swole"
as hell... up here.

Well, that's not gonna be easy

since rehabilitation is now
borderline impossible.

(Emily) Aah!

You owe me a new copy.

Of course. (whistling)

Ever wonder why treadmills
are so un-fun?

Even the name
sounds grueling: "treadmill."

Hmm, I hate running even when
it's animated.

Well, it turns out treadmills
were actually invented

as a form of punishment
for prisoners.

(snaps fingers)

At least it's not ab day.

In 1818, British engineer
William Cubitt

designed the first treadmill.

The "treadwheel,"
or "ever-lasting staircase,"

would often be used to grind
grain or pump water.

And the target market
for his new device was prisons.

Well, it's a torture chamber
that uses the "tread"

of a human being
to "mill" grain.

What should we call it?

Hmm, "cruel and unusual"?

How about "treadmill"?

Some prisoners
would be made to climb

for 10 hours a day
up to 12,000 feet.

That's about as high

as the Empire State Building
every single day.

(gorilla roaring)

12,000 feet? Ha! That's easy.

Uh, guys... little help here?

In the end, the treadmill
as punishment was abandoned

because the practice was seen
as too cruel.

And now, we use it
to torture ourselves at the gym.

So next time you hop on,
just be glad

you'll be able
to hop off whenever you want.

Okay, prison stinks.

But that's just if you don't
have the right attitude.

I'm gonna be a model prisoner,

work hard, and come out
ready to reenter society.

Rehabilitating folks should be

the goal of our prison system.

Too bad it actively
does the opposite.

How do you plan to better
yourself in here?

Through education!
I've seen movies.

I'm gonna get my law degree
while studying the classics

like Plato and "Ari-strudel."

Okay, what books we got?

"Larry Podder
and the Gang Initiation"?

"How to Shiv Friends
and Influence Cellmates"?

Okay, where are all
the real books?

I feel like I'm being
set up to fail.

That's because you are.

It's been years since
your prison education fantasy

was a reality. Back in 1847,

Sing Sing's prison
education program

had a curriculum
that included reading,

writing, math,
history, geography,

physiology, and even phys ed.

Well, great! Sign me up.

That was a long time ago.

Government budget cuts

have systematically eliminated
any opportunity for people

to educate themselves
while in prison.

In 1994, tough on crime
was all the rage,

and American politicians
hated the idea

that prisoners
should get anything.

Bad guys getting Pell Grants?

No! They should be getting
Hell... Ants!

Or something. I hate them!

(cheers and applause)

Since then
we've gone from having

350 college degree programs

for prisoners across the country
to just 12.

(crickets chirping)

And good luck getting into
the programs that do exist.

The largest prison training
program in the country

has a waiting list
of 10,000 people.

Um, excuse me, how long
have you been waiting here?

(spooky music cue) Aah!

And this is a real shame
because studies show

that education is the easiest,

cheapest way
to reduce recidivism.

Right now,
40% of federal prisoners

are back behind bars
within just three years.

And instead of trying
to reduce that number,

this system does everything
in its power to make sure

that we end up back
in here again.

Just ask Daryl Atkinson.

He's a lawyer
and Second Chance Fellow

at the Justice Department.
(snaps fingers)

Ladies and gentlemen
of the jury...

Oh, man, Adam!

I was in the middle
of closing arguments.

Sorry, Daryl.
You're just so good

at explaining these things.

It's kind of what I do.
Hey, Emily.

Hi!

In 1996, I was convicted
of a first-time,

non-violent drug crime
and sentenced

to ten years in prison.

I did my time, got out,
got my education,

my law degree,
and now here I am.

You accomplished all that
after you were in the pokey?

You ever call it "the pokey"?

Yeah, I did, but it wasn't easy.

People who leave prison
face a litany of barriers.

Their rights are stripped away

and it impacts every aspect
of their daily lives.

They have no money,
but they have to pay

for their own ankle monitors

and other fees associated
with their incarceration.

When they apply for a job,

they have to check that box...

which immediately
disqualifies them

from even being considered.

But finding a job is often

a requirement of their parole.

They can't find a place to live

because they're discriminated
against by landlords.

They have no support
for themselves

or support from society.

So, it's no wonder that people

keep coming back to prison.

Instead of truly
rehabilitating people,

the system keeps
setting them up to fail.

America is supposed to be
the land of second chances,

but we continue to punish

millions of American citizens

again and again for things

that they paid their debt
to society for.

It's just wrong.

Hey!

Are you teaching people
stuff in here?

That's not allowed!

They're supposed to
be sitting down

and doing nothing
productive whatsoever.

You two are coming
with me. Get up!

(Adam) Sorry, Daryl.

Your trial can wait, right?

Ugh, and you're a man.

I'm really not
on the ball today.

You want to know
my emotional backstory?

Here it is. You're a teacher.

My schooling sucked.

I was in and out
of juvie as a kid.

When I grew up,
juvie became prison.

When I got out, I tried
my best to do right.

But I had no money
and no one would hire me.

So, I started
selling drugs again.

I'm so sorry.

Yeah, well, it's not just me.

60% of the prison population
are people of color.

Black men are six times
more likely

to be in prison than white men.

Whole communities
are stuck in this cycle.

Two million Americans
are in prison.

Two million of us
are trapped in a system

that profits off of us
being in here,

shove us in tiny boxes
where we go insane,

and does everything
it can to make sure

that we come back here.

So, you tell me...

what's the point of prison?

It honestly just seems like
it's to get the people

that we're scared of
as far away from us

as possible and then
forget about them.

Bingo.

I don't know what to do.

I feel so helpless.

Welcome to the club.

But there is some light
at the end of the tunnel.

But I'll tell you about
that after the break.

We in prison. We got time.

67... 68... 69...

(chuckles) Nice.

70... 71... 72...

You gonna chill out ever?

Nope, system's broken.
Got no future.

Gotta get ripped
to kick the walls down.

(chuckles) That's dumb.

I don't know if you forgot,

but you're a pretty white lady

with no record who hasn't even

been convicted yet.

Yeah, but the system...

Is a system that
we can work to change.

There are incremental steps

that we can take
to make the system better.

Let me introduce you
to Dorsey Nunn,

Executive Director
of Legal Services

fro Prisoners With Children,

and founder of
All of Us or None.

Hey, Emily, several decades
after I got out of prison,

I helped initiate a campaign
called "Ban the Box."

The box is that question

on the applications,

"Have you ever been
convicted of a felony?"

And that box
on this application,

it puts formerly
incarcerated people

in a no-win situation.

Either they have to lie

and say they've never
been convicted of a crime,

or they check that box
and face discrimination

and never get call backs
for interviews or jobs.

We're not asking companies
to hire people

just because
they've been to prison.

We ask them for our fair chance

to return to the community

and actually be a asset,
instead of a liability.

(Daryl)
This is a campaign that helps

our entire community
by reducing recidivism

and keeping
our neighborhoods safe,

something that everyone should
be on board with.

Thanks, guys.

I'm totally on board.
How can I help?

Well, when you get out of here,

you can search online
for Ban the Box.

I mean, it's a start.

But if we really want
to overhaul the system,

we need to eliminate
mandatory minimums

and all of those harsh laws

that turn people
into second-class citizens.

And we need to ban solitary.

Oh, yeah, that's a given.

Emily, we need your voice,
we need your energy.

Use your privilege

for something that's meaningful.

Of course! I am gonna fight
for all of this.

When I get out of here...

Oh! I forgot, you're free to go.

I'm sorry, the judge gave me

the note 30 minutes ago.

I'm just so caught up
in this episode.

I hope Robb Stark
has a fun wedding!

Emily, that's great.

I'm glad you get to go home.

But we gotta take off.

We got some other folks
to go visit

and tell about the movement.

Congratulations. Thank you.

Yeah, I hope to see you
out there, homegirl.

You will.

(sighing)

Well, Kendra...

I'll write, you know,
or, I mean... I won't forget.

Um...

I'll do what I can... It's fine.

I'm happy for you.

Just go.

(buzzing)

Adam, you actually got me out?

Told ya we were working on it.

Hey, who's this "we"? Oh, sorry.

Emily, this is my sister, Rhea.

She's a lawyer.

A really good one, apparently.

Yeah, I just showed the judge

this episode of Adam's show

and he threw the case right out.

And she gave really
constructive criticism

on act three.
We should have spent

more time on fentanyl.

(Emily gasps) Murph!

(laughter)

Mwah!

I missed you so much!
I missed you too!

I'm so glad everything
worked out

and that I don't have to
be Jason Biggs anymore,

because I really didn't want
to get written off.

Yeah. Uh... oh, Rhea.

Thank you so much
for everything.

Um, but, there's someone
in there

who could really use
your legal help.

Her name is Kendra Perkins

and she's in cell block 4B.

On it.

Man, we are both equally cool.

Miss Perkins, I've looked
over everything

and I think
we have a pretty good case.

Great! I just have one question.

Oh, shoot. Not for you.

For him.

Lyndon B. Johnson surrounded
himself with father figures.

How much of that do you think

is because of his daddy issues?

Oh, well, he was
obviously obsessed

with outdoing the success
of his father.

Can we get back to work? Please?

Oh, sorry.
Thank you.

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