TRANSCRIPTIE 🔗
WEBVTT
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But don't be ashamed if you get confused when you talk to your friends or you watch the news.
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They try to tell you where it all went wrong.
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Now you don't need to argue, you just sing this song.
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Rich people stack in the dick.
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Rich people with big fat chicks.
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Rich people to have in a bar.
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Rich people.
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Hello everybody, and welcome to Yeet the Rich.
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I am Emily Walsh, and I am here with my co-host and husband, Danny Moss.
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Bongiorno.
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That's we ate Italian today.
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I think that's the only reason I have it.
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As the rude children on my Instagram say when they don't like one of my jokes, that ain't it.
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That ain't it.
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Fair.
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That ain't it.
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It hurts a lot.
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Yeah, I bet.
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They're not being mean, mean, but it does cut you to the core.
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Oh no, it's this ain't it.
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Oh, this ain't it.
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This ain't it.
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And I just say I don't know what it is, but this is not it.
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Our baby.
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It's been an hour.
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You're right.
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It just feels No, it feels targeted.
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Yeah.
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She's targeting us.
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She's absolutely targeting us.
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Yeah.
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Okay, this is the third time.
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Yeah.
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We're starting this episode.
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I think this is the time.
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I think we're gonna get it.
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This is gonna be the one.
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I think this is gonna be the one.
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I don't know where that that two-minute little blurb left.
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We didn't even start talking about the episode.
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We didn't even do nap talk.
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We didn't do beverage chat.
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I know.
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What are we doing?
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Nap talk is uh chaotic.
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Yeah, you know.
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No.
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She took a great nap, but it was only like 15 minutes long, and it could have could have been a long time.
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Could have been better.
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Could have been better.
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Could and you said 15, it was 50.
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Oh, well, yeah, I meant 50.
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Yeah.
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Right.
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Yeah, right.
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But uh yeah, this is the third time.
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I don't think we're doing anything with the five minutes we recorded the first time, literally at 3 a.m.
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But we tried to record this episode at 3 a.m.
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Yeah, last week, and the second, like the second we were like, oh that everybody, she was like, well, yeah, and then she screamed from 3 a.m.
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to like five.
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It was awesome.
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Um, but yeah, so we uh we're trying this again.
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We're gonna wrap up this series.
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Yeah, here we go.
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This is the ending.
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I'm on my second coffee.
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You're on your third coffee.
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Uh that's right, that's right.
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No big, no big, no big.
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Uh I've also had some coconut water today.
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So she's a hydrated queen.
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We were uh we were up a little late last night.
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A little bit, having big adventures.
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Little bit.
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Uh a little bit.
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I don't know if we want to disclose the.
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I mean, you can't.
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I feel weird bragging about it.
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Oh, okay, okay, okay.
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So uh, you know, no big deal.
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I just happened to be married with somebody that uh performed on the stage at Radio City Music Hall to a sold-out musical.
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Oh sold-out audience.
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It was insane.
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It was a wild, wild thing.
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Uh I was so excited to be there and watch.
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Uh Emily absolutely crushed it.
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It was very fun.
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It was a lot of fun.
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It was very fun.
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I feel very uh lucky to have done it.
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I feel very fulfilled by it, and I feel very tired.
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Yeah, it's part of the reason why um, you know, uh uh with all of these other things that have been happening with Frankie deciding that she needed new teeth and she needed them immediately.
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So bad new teeth.
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Load full transcript
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But we've also been prepping for this show for uh a little while, so it it it took a lot out of us.
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Yeah.
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By we, I mean mostly Emily, because uh I I just was there giving thumbs up and you were the other one.
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I was the other one giving back ribs, giving back ribs, getting coconut waters.
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Yeah, but uh yeah, I am excited to wrap this series up.
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I'm excited to get started with my series.
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Yep.
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So let's go, man.
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Yeah, yeah.
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I guess we should get right right on into it.
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Two coffees, two naps, yeah, and then we're ready to go.
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I full disclosure, uh, this probably didn't need to be a five episode series.
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I um reports, but we're gonna wrap it up.
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So let's wrap it up then.
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And next week we will get into something else.
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Something else, but something exciting.
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Um, okay, so last week we talked about some rumors around John Hopkins.
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We talked about kind of the darker side of uh the black community's fears about night doctors and scientific testing, going all the way back to some like slave owners uh doing some real spooky stuff.
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Uh that is really awful.
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Nothing good, nothing good.
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Nothing good there.
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Um we also talked about the beginning of the debate around ownership of genetic material and cellular cultures.
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So biological matter began being patentable, and so that kind of opened a whole thing.
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It does feel spooky.
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Um and uh yeah, we also discussed John Moore who and his 22-pound spleen.
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Yes, and his doctor kept demanding he come back to another screening.
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Uh yeah, yeah.
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He was er yeah, because he was living in like Utah or Seattle, Seattle, Seattle.
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You're right, you're right, you're right.
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Well, well, look at me.
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Um critical listener.
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There he is.
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Uh yeah, so that was great.
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And uh the doctor was also enriching himself and becoming like having multimillion dollar deals.
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Because that's the thing, and somebody actually commented on our I think first episode on YouTube and was like, I'm a medical student, like I don't see the problem.
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And I'm like, I see where you don't see the problem with the basic premise.
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But she also the commenter did say as long as they get consent, which we've talked a lot about, she didn't give consent to this.
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And they she would the the poster was talking about like the standard at the time, which yes, but also like yeah, but also I don't think that anybody who holds that opinion has a full understanding of this aspect of it, of the like companies born out of it.
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Because I didn't know even knowing what the book was about, knowing the concept of it, being like, oh, you know, these cells, she didn't give consent.
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This is the part that's really to me, the podcast aspect of what we're talking about, like creating these businesses without the consent or participation of the people who contributed their body matter is horrible.
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Yeah, and and you know, it's like we talked a few episodes ago of being like you should go back and just like you know, it's like the sources, like we were like, nobody's ever gonna do that, but uh they should, you know, they should.
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Yeah.
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Um, it's just I think that this case in particular, it's just so starkly like uh that's pretty messed up because it because of how big and how important and how massive scale the the manufacturing of of her cells still is, the fact that like you know, her family was still living without being able to pay for healthcare is nuts.
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Yeah, that's really um yeah, compensate people.
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Yeah, or crazy, crazy thought, pay them for stuff.
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It could be great.
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Like if you're like, oh man, this amount of money feels too good to be true, it probably means you have enough money to give the people that uh you know nobody needs three boats.
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Nobody needs three boats.
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You can convince me you need two.
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Yeah, they have different uses.
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That's right.
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You cannot convince me you need three.
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That no unless one is a kayak.
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Yeah, well, you can have a canoe if you want.
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That'll sign if you do a little bit of man-powered boats.
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You can have as many as you want.
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That's right.
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If you're the man.
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Yeah, if you're the man.
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Or a woman or a person.
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How do you feel about sailboats?
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Too many sailboats?
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Uh that's wind powered.
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But sailboats are immensely expensive to upkeep.
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Yeah.
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True.
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I mean, most boats are that's what I'm saying.
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You don't need three.
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That's what I'm doing.
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If you want a sailboat and a powerboat, those are your two boats.
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Those are your two boats.
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There you go.
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That's a boat law.
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You know, you can have a couple of dinghies.
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Those are just for fun.
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Those don't count.
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Those don't count.
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Dinghies are not boats.
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They float.
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Yeah.
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They're not ships.
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Ships?
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But sailboats are not ships.
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Welcome to nautical talk.
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They don't know what they're talking about.
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I keep seeing this meme and I really agree with it.
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And it was like, the power problem with liberals is none of us have friends with boats.
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Yeah.
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Like we don't have the wealth.
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And the only people we do know with boats that we've gotten on the boat has been people who were like, my parents own the boat.
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Like the Republican, they own the boat.
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I don't own the boat.
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And it's like, yeah, okay.
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Yeah.
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You did um get invited onto a lot of boats at that like towns, you know, oh yeah, but those people do not vote the way we do.
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They certainly do not.
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Yeah.
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Uh we do have friends with pools, so I think that's the like the lower.
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Same good step, but it's it's it's a tear down.
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Yeah.
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That's okay.
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Yeah.
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Um so if you're cool and you have a boat, let us know.
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Let us know.
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We can talk about, you know, why owning one more boat would probably be a problem.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Uh they had two.
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Right, that's what I'm saying.
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I just assumed that our friend with the boat already had two.
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Wow.
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Yeah.
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Um, okay, so after after talking about this doctor who was, you know, sneakily uh harvesting samples from uh from this guy for like seven years, we talked about the years-long legal fight over the ownership of that cell line.
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Eventually, the court ruled that once discarded, a patient no longer has any ownership over uh that matter.
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However, they did say that doctors had the responsibility to disclose any financial upside.
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So uh so even a sample that they the doctor removed for science and said they were gonna discard, but if they used it for money.
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This that law that was okay.
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Said it was okay.
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Wow.
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And then afterwards that lawsuit was basically like, hey.
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So what are we supposed to do?
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Bring Tupperware containers for a doctor's approach, give it all the data.
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Excuse me.
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I I brought my vacuum sealer.
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I would like it.
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Give me whatever you pull out of my body.
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Yeah, I actually have my personal supply for amaldehyde.
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I brought it along with me.
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I've got a creepy jar to store that in.
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Yeah, exactly.
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Please give me my teeth.
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Thank you so much.
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Thank you so much.
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Thank you so much.
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Uh or give me a million dollars right now.
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Yeah, either way, it's fine.
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Yeah.
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But the Where's my elbow?
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Yeah, I don't know.
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We don't.
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We'll never know.
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Yeah, maybe it's maybe your elbow is out there growing more bone all the time.
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It was it it grew some bone.
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It did grow some bone.
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Pretty cool.
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Grew a marble they took out.
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I want that too.
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Yeah.
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Where's that?
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I don't know.
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It's probably cool.
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But uh there are so this actual the the uh and we'll get into it a little at the end of this episode, but the um they there are a lot of lawsuits going on right now uh where the estate of Henrietta Lax is suing various pharmaceutical companies that their business model is based around using uh HELA cells, and they've been they've been walking away with some pretty big settlements.
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I mean they uh they are completely undisclosed, but I can only assume that they are at least reasonable enough that they didn't they were like this is good enough for us.
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We'll take this.
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Um But how the the tough thing about all that is is like I want them to get paid.
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I want them to get their money because they deserve some money.
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However, because it's a settlement, it it doesn't um create any new precedent.
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There's no justice of the city.
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There's no like we're not we're not actually fish fixing the bigger systemic issue.
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Like we need to like paying off the most offended person with the most time and resources to fight the problem.
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And I don't think I don't think it should be their job to fix, you know, to to like go through the fight of making it to h you know, getting it all the way through all of the courts.
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Because once just like we saw with this case, it was like uh the the it finished one way and then they appealed it and it finished the other way and they appealed it again, and then it went all the way up to the California Supreme Court, and that takes years and years and years of money and money and money that you know they didn't they didn't have.
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I mean, now they have more, but um I like I think it's just a thing where it's like it kind of calls upon us as like citizens to actually if we hear somebody trying to make a law to help rectify this or like help make sense of this thing, because I think genetic material ownership, like cell lines, things like that, like the the fact that you can make so much money from genetic material is kind of like the internet, it's kind of like Facebook, it's kind of like social media where we it's moving and changing so fast that we don't know how too hard to legislate.
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The forefathers didn't write it into the thing, and and we now have to go back and and kind of work it in.
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And also the American justice system is based on like sue first.
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Yeah, yeah.
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It's and it's based on like share shareholder uh you know thing above like actual honest, you know, people and and justice and any of that kind of stuff.
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Yeah, that's uh one of our one of our uh one of our uh uh recurring soapboxes.
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Um what else?
00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:53.120
We also talked more about how the family was affected by learning about Henrietta's semi-immortality.
00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:55.440
I mean, I we ended the last episode.
00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:57.840
Uh
I was ready for them to storm the gates.
00:12:58.000 --> 00:12:58.559
What are we doing?
00:12:58.720 --> 00:12:58.799
Yes.
00:12:59.200 --> 00:12:59.440
Let's go.
00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:00.960
Let's storm some gates.
00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:08.320
Okay, so uh our source, once more, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Laxe by Rebecca Sklut, 2010.
00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:11.039
And this is the last episode of the series.
00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:14.240
No matter where we are in 90 minutes, we're gonna stop.
00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:23.919
I also uh read a bunch of articles about the lawsuits that uh are ongoing that I'm I'm gonna put in the show notes, but uh I'm not gonna list them all here.
00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:28.240
Most of them are like Henrietta Lax's relatives, get money.
00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:28.960
Good.
00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:30.960
So yeah, colon, good.
00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:39.840
Um, okay, so now that Henrietta's name is out, uh, more and more articles and books begin exploring Gila and the woman behind the cells.
00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:46.480
So very few of these reporters and writers discuss any of their writing with the actual family uh of Henrietta.
00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:59.759
Uh and either they don't know about them, they don't know that they still exist, like that it's like 50 years later, so the there is an assumption that like, you know, that they just don't have a connection with this woman anymore.
00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:04.559
Uh, or uh they just don't really care as much about the human aspect.
00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:12.960
Because a lot of the a lot of the books are much more like what the science was doing, like based around the you know, the use of the Gila cells for polio and all that.
00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:14.720
Well, because it's brought a lot of advancements.
00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:16.080
So they're talking about the advancements.
00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:26.000
And that's what they, you know, that's what they uh uh the people that know most about Gila cells are also the people most interested in uh like scientific testing.
00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:27.360
Benefiting from unscientifically.
00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:34.799
Because the the the average person uh until like now, until like we've started this has started kind of coming into pop culture in a way.
00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:39.440
Uh most people that know about Gila come from it from a science background.
00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:48.879
So it kind of makes sense, but it's also like there's a lot of stuff that make it into these books that later the the family's like, how did you get those pictures?
00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:51.600
And you were clearly reading the medical records.
00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:53.919
We never gave you access to those medical records.
00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:55.120
How did you get in there?
00:14:55.279 --> 00:15:09.200
Uh, and either that like again, it's like HIPAA didn't exist, and and like there was general sense of ethics around like you know, giving out uh patient information, but uh it was still very nebulous and none of it was on the road.
00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:13.919
It's like any type of thing you're trying to legislate or be the boss of.
00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:17.679
Yeah, we have all these assumptions that people just do the quote unquote right thing.
00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:18.080
Sure.
00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:25.120
That there isn't a law, a rule in place, and also again, it's moving so fast that they can't write these laws and create these rules until they're like, wait a second.
00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:28.480
Like the reason there's a sign that says don't pee in the pool is because enough people pee in the pool.
00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:29.360
Somebody pee in the pool.
00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:30.159
Somebody put that toe to the bottom.
00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:33.440
In the bathtub, yeah.
00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:37.840
Yeah, everybody assumed nobody would ever do that, and then somebody did, and they were like, Well, here's the sign.
00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:38.480
Here's the sign.
00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:40.559
Stop stop putting pee in our ool.
00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:42.960
Yeah, no pee in the ool, please.
00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:48.480
And it and that's uh, you know, what we're doing for we need that sign for genetic testing, the pee in the ool sign.
00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:55.200
Did you ever um as a kid, did you ever hear the like I actually don't know if this is real and I constantly wonder about it?
00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:58.879
The purple, yeah, the dye in the pool that's gonna show if you peed in it.
00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:00.480
Yeah, I don't know if that's real or not.
00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:01.600
Because I've never seen it.
00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:05.120
I've seen it, I feel like on there was like a movie or a TV.
00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:06.080
Okay, but not in person.
00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:09.279
You better have been in a pool and they're peeing.
00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:10.799
Constantly peeing in pools, you know.
00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:12.080
Are you nervous?
00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:17.120
But like people are, and babies and toddlers are like yeah, I feel like I would have.
00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:19.360
I mean, babies and toddlers toddlers totally are.
00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:21.039
There's no there's no stopping them.
00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:23.679
Literally, those diapers don't work for them.
00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:24.159
Yeah.
00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:25.279
I'm just confused.
00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:25.919
I don't know.
00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:29.919
It gets it feels like a myth that somebody spread to anyone's experienced it, let me know.
00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:31.759
Maybe it's a social experiment.
00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:35.279
Sometimes if I'm like a little high in a pool, I'm like, huh.
00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:37.120
I I'm not even thinking about peeing.
00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:39.679
I just literally am like, what if I peed a little bit and everyone saw it?
00:16:39.840 -->
00:16:42.639
Like, what if I like what if there's a spot of pee somewhere?
00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:44.879
And then you get so scared you pee your pants anyways.
00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:45.039
Yeah.
00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:46.080
It's like, oh dang it.
00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:47.679
It's something I think about more than I'd like.
00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:48.480
Yeah, I hear you.
00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:49.519
If I'm being nuts.
00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:57.200
In 1985, a book called A Conspiracy of Cells by Michael Gold was published.
00:16:57.360 --> 00:17:03.279
The book was about the efforts to stop HELA contamination uh of all of the other cellular cultures.
00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:16.880
The book quoted heavily from Henrietta's medical records, and it was inside that book that Deborah, Henrietta's daughter, learned the exact nature of her mother's cancer and like had kind of a more graphic stuff about how her mother passed away.
00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:30.480
Because she's like Deborah is is has been like ever since she found out that she was like semi-alive or like part of her was still alive, she's been really like digging into trying to learn more about her mother, right?
00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:32.240
Um, and like find out as much as she can.
00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:38.319
So she'll like read these books or read these articles, and then uh she just gets surprised with some really graphic, harsh stuff.
00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:51.519
So it's like kind of she wants to learn more about her mother, but she doesn't really like she's looking for like what her favorite color was and and like the things about her mother in these books as opposed to like how excruciating the last days of her life was.
00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:58.000
Yeah, and so like to come across that as one of your like primary sources early on was harsh.
00:17:58.400 --> 00:18:09.920
Yeah, I mean, anybody who's experienced loss, I'm sure if you were told like, hey, there's all these articles and books you might learn something about the person you lost, you're going to read them, yeah, and then you have to deal with the consequences of it.
00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:18.480
Well, and because this is like a medical journal and or a book, you know, that is medical and science-based, they like pretty graphically described the autopsy process.
00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:21.039
And it's just like, Oh, that's very upsetting.
00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:22.240
Yeah, yeah.
00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:27.759
So um that was uh that that was really rough for Deb.
00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:29.119
Not bad for Deborah.
00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:37.359
Um so after reading that that that part of the book, Deborah broke down for days, imagining all of the pain that her mother mother must have been in.
00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:42.960
Um Henrietta's sons up to this point had been pretty mad at like John Hopkins specifically.
00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:46.480
That's specifically where they were pointing their their kind of anger.
00:18:46.559
--> 00:18:48.880
Um, because that's where it all started.
00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:54.720
Yeah, it's where it all started, but they also were like, because it's as big as it is, surely John Hopkins made a lot of money from it.
00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:56.880
Oh and uh you're right.
00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:01.359
You you were saying that they kind of benefited financially the least out of Yeah, exactly.
00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:07.839
The because they didn't patent anything, they gave away all the cells, you know, they uh clearly got a fair amount of rep from it all.
00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:09.039
Sure, some street pressure.
00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:17.839
So they didn't get nothing out of the whole thing, but the the Henrietta's sons didn't really like the the nuance of all of that was kind of be you know beyond their knowledge.
00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:22.480
So they're and also how would they know how again all of this is like pretty complicated.
00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:24.720
Yeah, I don't understand it right now.
00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:41.519
Um also like I I don't know their son specifically, but like it's really whenever we've had these conversations before we had a kid and people would not have time to pursue something or like they didn't really know or whatever, I would always think to myself, like, why aren't they more curious?
00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:47.359
Yeah, and now being a parent, and obviously there's so many things that can consume your yeah, right your mind.
00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:57.920
I'm not saying that this is like only if you have a kid, but just the mat the the amount of time that we have to just spend being like don't don't run down the stairs, don't like fall off.
00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:00.160
Oh, you're gonna be like, please stop trying to eat electricity.
00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:05.440
You lose a little part of your curiosity for a little while, you're just like, I gotta just stay alive.
00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:06.799
You gotta let some of that stuff go.
00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:16.400
Whatever position you're in that's consuming your brain space, I think sometimes you just get it's like why they talk about politics and like low information voters, because they don't have time.
00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:17.519
Like you don't have time, you don't have to be able to do that.
00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:27.759
Well, I also like you know, uh I don't want to make this connection too strongly, but like if you're if you're having a hard time making ends meet, like that's that's the same deal.
00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:30.480
Like if you're constantly trying to think about how to make enough money to make it.
00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:37.759
That you don't have time or or money or ambition to to be like, oh, I I wonder how a clock would be like.
00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:40.640
Let me go to the library and just like look up a steam.
00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:41.839
I think it's a lot of it.
00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:54.079
My frustration, I think, is the reason why
I say it at all is I feel like a lot of people, like pundits and stuff, will talk about people who don't know things, yeah, and they kind of make it seem like it's it's will for willful ignorance.
00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:56.240
Like they're like, I don't want to know, I'm not curious.
00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:58.160
And it's like, no, we're trying to survive.
00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:04.400
Like and like all of you jokers were hired to to do the right thing so that they didn't have to think about it.
00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:10.160
Yeah, you were supposed to figure this out so that they could just go to their jobs and go home and raise their family.
00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:16.240
Assume that you guys are all have their best interests at heart, even though clearly that's not the case.
00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:20.160
No, but we do have a UFC fight on the White House lawn.
00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:20.960
Oh, yeah.
00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:23.759
So that'll put a turkey on every table.
00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:27.279
It's an AI turkey, though.
00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:28.559
So you can't really eat it.
00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:42.480
Uh so up to this point, the sons were pretty angry and like kind of like demanding stuff from you know, John Hopkins specifically and writing pamphlets talking about how John Hopkins owed them for so many pamphlets.
00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:43.839
A lot of pamphlets.
00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:52.319
Uh but up to that point, Deborah had always kind of been really um she'd been like, uh, I just want people to know that it's my mother.
00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:54.400
Like, uh, you know, I I want she's been doing good.
00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:59.680
Uh like the some people still think it's Helen Lane, some people still think it's, you know.
00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:02.000
All of these other pseudonyms.
00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:04.319
Uh, but I just want people to know that it's my mom.
00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:05.440
And appreciate who she was.
00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:06.640
And appreciate who she was.
00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:12.000
But after like reading this book and kind of hearing about how bad it was, she is now also furious.
00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:21.759
Uh and uh is now like really wanting to make sure that full credit is given, uh, and that like people know that she didn't donate the cells.
00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:34.720
Like it's it's a lot of that kind of like opened a bit of like she's always kind of been she's been very interested in this, but this is like now uh all of her spare time is kind of spent consumed.
00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:36.000
Yeah, consumed this.
00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:38.480
So okay.
00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:43.759
Um let's talk a little bit about uh some some some science stuff.
00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:45.680
We're gonna step away from the family a little bit.
00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:52.640
Uh so in 1984, a German virologist named uh Harold Zerhausen.
00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:53.359
Sure.
00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:54.000
Sure.
00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:59.359
Discovered a new strain of the human papillomavirus, HPV 18.
00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:04.559
So he believed that this new strain, along with HPV 16, caused cervical cancer.
00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:18.720
After testing it, it was discovered that these two strains of HPV would insert themselves into the chromosomes of the infected uh, you know, of the person, turning off uh the what's called the P53 tumor suppressor gene.
00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:19.119
Sure.
00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:21.200
Which apparently we got a gene that suppresses tumors.
00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:23.279
And if you turn it off, probably bad.
00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:23.759
Not so good.
00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:24.559
Probably bad.
00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:45.519
So he requested a small sample of the original biopsy taken at John Hopkins, and he wanted to see if Henrietta cells contained either HPV 16 or HPV 18, uh, and wanted to make sure that they weren't contaminated in culture over the years.
00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:50.640
So he wanted like some of the original uh original sample, which he got somehow, I guess.
00:23:50.799 --> 00:24:01.440
Um so not only did those cells test positive for HPV 18, they were once again like super infected by multiple different, you know, sub-variations of HPV 18.
00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:04.880
She had it like she had it like six times or something like that.
00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:16.400
Um so I learned through all of this uh that there are more than 100 known strains of HPV, uh, 14 of them are uh wait, yeah, 14.
00:24:17.359 --> 00:24:19.039
That's what my doctor told me was 14.
00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:24.400
14 of which are confirmed to cause cervical cancer, uh anal or penile cancers.
00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:25.119
Oh no.
00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:25.759
Yeah.
00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:35.119
So um today around 90% of sexually active adults become infected with at least one strain of HPV, which is, you know, great.
00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:39.039
Uh but again, a lot of them clear on their own.
00:24:39.119 --> 00:24:40.480
Your body Yeah, clear on their own.
00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:41.680
It it gets rid of it.
00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:43.039
But there are specific strains.
00:24:43.119 --> 00:24:49.039
And and 16 and 18 are uh particularly virulent and like dangerous as a as a thing.
00:24:49.279 --> 00:25:02.400
Um so uh Zurhausen and other scientists went on to use Hila to study HPV, discovering how and why it caused cancer, uh, and found a way to block its effects, creating the first HPV vaccine.
00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:06.160
Uh, this discovery would eventually earn Zerhausen a Nobel prize.
00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:15.279
Information, cell culturists would eventually learn about different viruses and chemicals that could be introduced in cultures to help create immortal cells in the lab.
00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:33.279
So this is one of the one of the ways that like a cell culture that you want to, you know, uh that is like from a natural that isn't
self-replicating on its own in that way, they can get it to self-replicate by giving it, you know, a s a lot of this virus or or a number of other viruses.
00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:37.920
Um Henrietta's cells are still incredibly special.
00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:43.839
Uh it's very, very, very rare for a cell on its own to become immortal in the way that Henrietta's did.
00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:53.839
So this is it's like still very particularly special and like one specific, like uh so many things had to happen in order to make this make this happen.
00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:59.519
So kind of speaks to the the like fate of it all is uh is interesting.
00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:08.880
Uh yeah, so Zurhausen, you know, and HPV learning about it was uh like a really important step to dealing with cervical cancer, not dealing with it.
00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:23.359
But uh, you know, I was talking to Sarah last night and she was saying that like, you know, the the vaccine back then only uh affected the first two, so the the 16 and 18, but it is like uh increasing in number of of what it can actually cover.
00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:39.519
So I uh recently had this discussion with a doctor, my doctor, and she was saying that the vaccine only covers two uh of the cancer-causing ones out of 14 and two of the non-cancer counting causing ones out of the rest of the hundred.
00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:40.160
Okay.
00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:41.359
And I was like, why is that?
00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:43.839
And she was like, Science doesn't study women?
00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:50.960
Like she basically like alluded to that, and it was kind of she was like, we don't really and it but she uh I love this lady.
00:26:51.119 --> 00:26:53.119
We had a great conversation, she drew me a lot of dietary.
00:26:53.279 --> 00:26:54.160
Did you tell her about the podcast?
00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:54.960
Maybe she'd be a fan.
00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:56.640
I should have, maybe if I have to go back.
00:26:56.799 --> 00:27:10.880
But she um she told me one of the most upsetting things uh about all of this is um back when I was in my 20s, the HPV vaccine started getting more popular, but healthcare only covered it until you were 26.
00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:11.440
Oh, okay.
00:27:11.680 --> 00:27:13.200
And I missed it somehow.
00:27:13.359 --> 00:27:16.319
I think maybe I turned 26 before, or maybe I didn't have healthcare.
00:27:16.480 --> 00:27:19.039
I didn't have healthcare for like a year or two because Obamacare didn't exist.
00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:19.519
I don't know.
00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:19.839
Whatever.
00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:22.480
I didn't I couldn't go to the doctor for a minute, I didn't get the vaccine.
00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:24.960
Then I was 27 and they were like, it's too late.
00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:29.920
You could still do it with money, but there was a period where I think maybe you couldn't even do it.
00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:31.680
Now it's offered to 45.
00:27:31.839 --> 00:27:33.519
I think you can always ask for it.
00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:33.920
Yeah.
00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:47.759
But the reason that healthcare made it age 26 is that some man at the vaccine company, I don't think this man, but a different man, said that women should get it by 26 because they should be with their last sexual partner by then.
00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:49.039
Oh, okay.
00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:49.359
Yeah.
00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:50.880
So that's pretty sexist and weird.
00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:51.200
Yeah.
00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:53.359
And if there aren't, then they get to die.
00:27:55.359 --> 00:27:57.119
They get to get cervical cancer.
00:27:57.279 --> 00:28:00.240
Like, that's just like who uh Yeah, yeah.
00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:02.960
I love those like arbitrary things together by that.
00:28:03.279 --> 00:28:07.039
And that like probably didn't get resolved until the last like five years.
00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:10.720
Also, all the other men there were like, Yep, sounds right to me.
00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:14.160
My wife was 25 when I married her.
00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:15.200
This seems great.
00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:15.680
Yeah.
00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:19.359
Uh HPV can affect everybody, get vaccinated.
00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:20.160
Yeah.
00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:20.880
Yeah.
00:28:21.119 --> 00:28:21.599
That's it.
00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:34.799
I mean, there's also like the the polio vaccine being so heavily focused on like on the kids, there's that aspect of it too, where they were just like, get it to the children first, and then like, you know, eventually everyone will be vaccinated.
00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:37.680
But all the people that are like, I could still get polio over here.
00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:39.119
If they're like, well, I don't know what to do.
00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:40.160
I didn't know about that.
00:28:40.319 --> 00:28:40.559
Yeah.
00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:45.920
I mean, I think eventually it did open up, but uh, because of the the epidemic of it all, they were like spending all of the resources.
00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:48.480
I think that kind of happens with I mean that happened with COVID.
00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:53.359
They were like everybody old and young and sick at first, which is what should happen.
00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:53.839
Right.
00:28:54.079 --> 00:28:58.000
But it is uh it takes a while to make to make them.
00:28:58.160 --> 00:29:01.039
But yeah, short version, get get vaccinated.
00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:02.000
Get vaccinated.
00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:06.480
And also again, let's just look back through those uh the reasons.
00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:06.960
Yeah.
00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:16.880
Oh, the thing that that was really um that really un irked me when you told me about this was that like the 26th thing is also has to do with insurance.
00:29:17.200 --> 00:29:18.880
No, they don't pay for like they won't pay for it.
00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:24.160
Now I think I don't know what's happening now.
00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:27.279
That was that was 15 years ago, but that's what was happening.
00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:37.039
And so of course I'm not gonna spend six hundred dollars at the time on something that doesn't like you that again, a lot of HPV clears your body anyway.
00:29:37.119 --> 00:29:38.799
So it's like, Well, I don't have this money.
00:29:38.880 --> 00:29:40.400
That is rent at that time.
00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:43.119
That was more than what I was paying for rent in a month.
00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:43.599
Right.
00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:45.440
That was not money that I had to get a mix.
00:29:45.839 --> 00:29:49.200
Public safety thing of like you could just give them the vaccine too.
00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:51.200
Yeah, and then less people will get it.
00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:52.400
Yeah, cool.
00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:53.759
Wouldn't that be cool?
00:29:54.559 --> 00:30:01.440
My doctor was also very intense, and she was like, at this point in America, cervical cancer shouldn't kill anyone.
00:30:01.599 --> 00:30:05.200
Like she was like, we have the resources, like this is very frustrating.
00:30:05.279 --> 00:30:05.599
And I'm gonna do it.
00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:13.279
Well, I wonder whether like so women under 26 could get it over not unless you pay for it out of pocket.
00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:17.279
But like, are they do they ensure any men getting this?
00:30:17.359 --> 00:30:26.400
Because it's like I understand that many, most men, other than the the ones that get penile and or anal cancer, yes, uh uh are unaffected, but like they're the carrier.
00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:37.920
I know that when you now I'm pretty sure that most medical offices do offer it when you're a parent to teenage boys to just be like, hey, then you can help stop spread it.
00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:52.400
And also you don't necessarily know your kid mustn't necessarily know their orientation at that age, but gay men can get um HPV, but it also I think what my doctor told me, but I guess not because that's penile cancer is happening to men.
00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:56.400
But I I thought she'd said that mostly just causes warts for gay men.
00:30:56.480 --> 00:30:58.960
So again, an adult might not be like, Let me go get this.
00:30:59.279 --> 00:31:06.400
Well, maybe it's it's still maybe I don't know enough about the the other forms of cancer formed by HP, but let us know, and we'll tell the world.
00:31:06.559 --> 00:31:09.920
And by the world I mean several thousand people.
00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:11.039
There you go.
00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:14.319
Um cool.
00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:16.480
Well, learning new things every day.
00:31:16.720 --> 00:31:17.200
Every day.
00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:18.160
Some of them are bad.
00:31:18.319 --> 00:31:19.200
All of them are bad.
00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:20.799
Learn them together with us.
00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:24.799
And we just uh, you know, kind of grin through it all, and then it's fun.
00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:25.359
Fun.
00:31:25.759 --> 00:31:28.000
Then you get an ice cream and you say, just a little treat.
00:31:28.400 --> 00:31:28.960
Just a little treat.
00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:30.160
Just need a little treat.
00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:35.359
Okay, so Gila was also used to study HIV.
00:31:35.440 --> 00:31:42.319
So normally HIV could only infect blood cells, but they inserted a specific DNA sequence from blood cells into Gila.
00:31:42.640 --> 00:31:45.039
They were just like, I'll just nook that in there.
00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:48.400
And then HIV was like, yeah, okay, I'll infect that.
00:31:48.559 --> 00:31:59.440
And then they because of how fast HIV or not HIV, uh Hila replicated, they would were able to study the virus at like a much faster scale than they were able to do.
00:31:59.519 --> 00:32:02.160
Like you moved on to HIV or you having a time.
00:32:02.400 --> 00:32:03.039
I moved on to HIV.
00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:03.599
Okay, I'm sorry.
00:32:03.680 --> 00:32:04.400
I was just like listening to the stuff.
00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:05.599
I moved on to HIV.
00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:08.079
I uh put you know Zero transitions.
00:32:08.319 --> 00:32:09.839
Yeah, zero transitions in there.
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:13.359
I was I was just getting right back into the no transitions, no crowd work.
00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:16.319
Just I did say we learn new things every day.
00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:19.200
Does that not count as a segue?
00:32:22.160 --> 00:32:22.720
You know what?
00:32:22.880 --> 00:32:25.519
You know, just we'll we'll roll back the tape later and check that out.
00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:27.119
But I'll do it.
00:32:27.279 --> 00:32:30.640
I edit the video and cut out everything that makes me sound dumb.
00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:34.240
Well, if anything makes me sound dumb to you, maybe cut that out.
00:32:34.319 --> 00:32:34.880
Nope, leave that in.
00:32:35.440 --> 00:32:35.759
Leave that in.
00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:37.519
That's fair.
00:32:38.400 --> 00:32:41.039
What you were supposed to say was you never sound dumb.
00:32:41.200 --> 00:32:41.759
Well, that's right.
00:32:41.920 --> 00:32:43.519
And then I would have cut out your stuff for you.
00:32:43.839 --> 00:32:44.799
Could you cut this out?
00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:47.519
And then I'll be like, Emily, you never sound dumb.
00:32:47.599 --> 00:32:49.759
So it's probably pretty easy because you don't have to put anything in.
00:32:53.759 --> 00:32:55.119
Oh boy.
00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:56.319
Okay.
00:32:57.039 --> 00:32:59.920
So uh we're talking about HIV now.
00:33:00.079 --> 00:33:01.440
Uh it's a different acronym.
00:33:01.680 --> 00:33:04.160
Different that is also really similar to what you're saying.
00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:05.680
You know, dangerous virus.
00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:06.240
Yeah.
00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:08.880
Um, so this one, HIV.
00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:13.680
Uh again, the the that virus affects blood cells.
00:33:13.839 --> 00:33:14.000
Sure.
00:33:14.160 --> 00:33:20.559
Uh
HILA is not a blood cell, it's a you know, cervical cell, uh slash cancerous cervical cell.
00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:36.240
And so they tricked the virus into infecting Gila, and that allowed them to do a lot of studying of HIV very fast because you know, because it just kept replicating and they they kept tr testing possible like cures, possible antigen testing things, all of this stuff.
00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:56.240
So the the the viruses or sorry, the Gila cells that were infected with this virus actually became kind of a resource because they were able to collect the like antigens from it, allowing them to make a much more uh like accurate antigen test to make sure to see whether anybody had it.
00:33:56.480 --> 00:34:05.519
Uh um it helps, you know, the testing process made it a lot easier because of the they just had a ready source of antigens from from Gila.
00:34:05.759 --> 00:34:06.559
So that was good.
00:34:06.720 --> 00:34:09.360
Um we're doing another segue here, hard segue.
00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:12.719
Grinding those gears.
00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:14.000
Grinding the gears, yep.
00:34:14.159 --> 00:34:21.840
Uh so in 1996, a BBC producer named Adam Curtis began making a documentary about Henrietta Lax and the Gila cell line.
00:34:22.000 --> 00:34:25.199
Finally, someone was interested interested in the human side of the story.
00:34:25.360 --> 00:34:36.480
So they showed up in Baltimore with like a full production team, cameras, microphones, like an army of assistants just like rolled into uh, you know, this small section of Baltimore.
00:34:36.639 --> 00:34:45.599
Um at first, Deborah and the family were very excited that someone was finally taking interest in their mother and uh that the whole world would finally get to know the actual story behind it.
00:34:45.840 --> 00:34:50.159
Um so there's just hours and hours of footage directly with the family.
00:34:50.320 --> 00:34:59.119
Many of it, many of the filmed interviews were taken in front of the home house home house in front of the home house down in Clover, Virginia.
00:34:59.280 --> 00:35:06.880
Um so the the place where uh Henrietta like when Henrietta's dad was like, that's okay, I'm gonna drop you off with the family.
00:35:07.199 --> 00:35:09.760
I'm gonna leave you here with her with her grandfather.
00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:19.440
Um so it's a little strange because uh, you know, most of these people's lives uh was were lived in in Baltimore, but you know what are you gonna do?
00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:20.159
What are you gonna do?
00:35:20.559 --> 00:35:21.760
Need a nice visual, I guess.
00:35:22.000 --> 00:35:22.400
Yeah.
00:35:22.559 --> 00:35:32.960
Uh and Henrietta did go back and continue like working, you know, uh the tobacco fields periodically in the in the you know, through those years.
00:35:33.119 --> 00:35:39.519
But during the documentary filming, Henrietta was being recognized in Atlanta at Morehouse School of Medicine.
00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:42.239
A man named Roland Patilli Patillo.
00:35:42.400 --> 00:35:43.280
Yeah, I think that's right.
00:35:43.440 --> 00:35:47.039
A man named Roland Patillo, one of George Guy's only black students.
00:35:47.119 --> 00:35:50.960
Uh so George Guy was that the guy who's the guy the guy.
00:35:51.119 --> 00:35:59.440
Uh and uh Roman uh Patillo was uh really wanted to honor Henrietta's contribution to science.
00:35:59.519 --> 00:36:18.000
So he was like, you know, uh was at least had had some direct knowledge of like who uh Henrietta like I don't think she he was there for the the this like he's not that old, he's not old enough to have been there, but he did study under George Guy and and then from there kind of got got more actual direct knowledge.
00:36:18.159 --> 00:36:23.519
So on October 11th, 1996, he organized an annual Gila Cancer Control Symposium.
00:36:23.760 --> 00:36:27.199
So that's I I should have checked whether it's happening today.
00:36:27.280 --> 00:36:36.239
It has happened multiple multiple times, but he also petitioned Atlanta to name October 11th Henrietta Lacks Day and invited the family down to accept on her behalf.
00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:36.960
That's nice.
00:36:37.119 --> 00:36:37.599
Yeah.
00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:46.400
So Deborah was so excited that her mother was finally going to be recognized and uh that the world was gonna learn about her.
00:36:46.559 --> 00:36:49.039
Um, the trip was a bit of a mixed bag, however.
00:36:49.119 --> 00:36:58.079
The family rode down to Atlanta in an RV that Patillo, which I think is kind of fun that he was just like, I rented you an RV to drive on down.
00:36:58.639 --> 00:37:06.800
Um and you know, I don't know when RVs were first uh I mean it's not we're talking 1996, so RVs have been around for a little bit.
00:37:08.320 --> 00:37:15.679
The BBC film crew that was uh was uh you know learning learning about them just followed them down to Atlanta and like filmed them on the road trip.
00:37:15.760 --> 00:37:17.920
So there's a lot of like road trip footage as well.
00:37:18.079 --> 00:37:19.519
Um we love a montage.
00:37:19.760 --> 00:37:20.000
Yeah.
00:37:20.159 --> 00:37:26.400
For the first time, the lax laxes were being treated as celebrities, so they're staying in uh like a fancy hotel.
00:37:26.559 --> 00:37:28.320
People were asking for all of their autographs.
00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:30.880
Deborah gave us that to get their DNA somehow.
00:37:31.280 --> 00:37:36.000
I definitely uh the I feel like the family was like looking at them sideways.
00:37:36.320 --> 00:37:37.599
Not not, you know?
00:37:38.079 --> 00:37:38.559
Not not.
00:37:38.880 --> 00:37:39.360
Not not.
00:37:39.760 --> 00:37:42.960
They're they very distrustful for good reason.
00:37:43.199 --> 00:37:43.840
For great reasons.
00:37:44.000 --> 00:38:06.639
Um so Deborah gave a speech, she talked about uh the surprise of the news, like learning that her mother was some part of her mother was still alive, saying that it
was about time that the world knew who Henrietta Lax was, and uh then kind of uh ending her speech by talking directly to her mother and mother and telling her how much she loved her, missed her, and was proud of her, like very uh touching, very touching stuff.
00:38:06.719 --> 00:38:10.719
And she, you know, Deborah made a number of speeches over the years uh for her mother.
00:38:10.960 --> 00:38:13.840
Um I just I don't know, I think it's nice.
00:38:14.079 --> 00:38:22.000
Um so after making it back home, the BBC film crew went to Turner Station to talk to the extended Lax family.
00:38:22.159 --> 00:38:26.239
Uh there they met a woman named Courtney Speed, the owner of Speed's grocery.
00:38:26.400 --> 00:38:35.119
She just so happened to be the co-founder of the Turner Station Heritage Committee, and their mission was to bring attention to black people from Turner Station who had brought good things into the world.
00:38:35.199 --> 00:38:37.199
And she was like, oh, this is a big one.
00:38:37.679 --> 00:38:38.320
This is perfect.
00:38:39.039 --> 00:38:56.719
Um, so the the people that living in uh Turner Station up to this point that they had recognized were a former congressman who had become president of the NAACP, an astronaut, uh a man who had won several enemies as the voice of Elmo on Sesame Street from Turnstation.
00:38:57.360 --> 00:38:59.920
Um and now Henrietta Lacks.
00:39:00.079 --> 00:39:06.559
So, you know, am I there's a documentary about the Elmo voice man?
00:39:07.039 --> 00:39:07.920
Is it Bad Man?
00:39:08.400 --> 00:39:12.960
Maybe is it Batman or is it a what I said bad.
00:39:13.199 --> 00:39:13.920
Oh, I don't know.
00:39:14.000 --> 00:39:22.000
I don't know the flavor of Allegations of sexual impropriety with minors.
00:39:22.559 --> 00:39:22.719
Okay.
00:39:23.119 --> 00:39:27.119
So maybe dismissed due to the expiration of the Statue of Limitations.
00:39:27.440 --> 00:39:28.480
I don't love that.
00:39:29.039 --> 00:39:30.639
I didn't think we liked it.
00:39:36.079 --> 00:39:36.960
What else happened?
00:39:37.920 --> 00:39:38.800
The cosmic.
00:39:47.920 --> 00:39:48.719
Oh, I forgot.
00:39:49.280 --> 00:39:49.920
Yeah, yeah.
00:39:50.320 --> 00:39:51.039
Not great.
00:39:51.679 --> 00:39:54.880
I bet they honored him before they found out about the allegations.
00:39:55.199 --> 00:39:56.800
Yeah, I think that's probably true.
00:39:57.119 --> 00:39:58.400
I'm sorry to do derail.
00:39:58.719 --> 00:40:00.719
I just always get a little spidey sense when I'm pretty sure.
00:40:01.280 --> 00:40:02.639
Is it this guy Kevin Kevin Clash?
00:40:02.800 --> 00:40:03.360
Kevin Clash.
00:40:03.440 --> 00:40:04.239
All right, where's Kevin Clash?
00:40:04.400 --> 00:40:06.000
He's not currently elmoing.
00:40:15.280 --> 00:40:16.239
Oh crud.
00:40:17.199 --> 00:40:18.079
It's the same guy.
00:40:18.159 --> 00:40:18.320
Yeah.
00:40:18.559 --> 00:40:19.199
Yeah, no, it is.
00:40:19.280 --> 00:40:19.760
Yeah, same guy.
00:40:19.840 --> 00:40:20.159
Same guy.
00:40:20.800 --> 00:40:21.360
I looked it up.
00:40:21.440 --> 00:40:22.079
It's right here.
00:40:22.320 --> 00:40:22.559
Okay.
00:40:22.719 --> 00:40:25.840
Uh yeah, well, uh there you go.
00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:27.840
So there's a you know there's that.
00:40:28.079 --> 00:40:31.519
There's that as well as a as a piece of the piece of the story.
00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:32.719
Uh no, it's okay.
00:40:33.119 --> 00:40:36.639
Sorry to add a bummer to this bummer fucking sandwich.
00:40:37.199 --> 00:40:41.599
Sorry, I keep bringing bummer fucking sandwiches to the to the table, but you know.
00:40:42.000 --> 00:40:43.440
That's all you've had on offer.
00:40:43.679 --> 00:40:44.320
Yeah.
00:40:44.559 --> 00:40:47.119
I need uh I need a less bummery of a sandwich.
00:40:47.360 --> 00:40:51.679
Also, it seems like you have a lot of pages left, and it's been 42 minutes already.
00:40:52.639 --> 00:40:52.960
Okay.
00:40:53.679 --> 00:40:57.440
Um okay, let's uh let's uh we'll kick on through.
00:40:57.519 --> 00:40:58.639
No, it's okay.
00:40:58.880 --> 00:41:05.599
Um uh Courtney Speed and her other co-founders jumped uh at the news.
00:41:05.760 --> 00:41:11.360
So they wrote letters to Congress uh and the mayor's office demanding recognition of Henrietta Lacks' contribution to science.
00:41:11.599 --> 00:41:18.800
Pretty soon Turner Station Heritage Committee founded the Henrietta Lacks Health Museum Foundation uh with Courtney Speed as president.
00:41:18.960 --> 00:41:24.559
They planned events, they raised money, they made Henrietta Lacks pens and t-shirts uh with Henrietta's face on them.
00:41:24.719 --> 00:41:34.480
They began raising money uh to uh hopefully build a proper Henrietta Lacks Museum right there in Turner Station, uh, hoping to raise uh seven million dollars.
00:41:34.719 --> 00:41:34.960
Wow.
00:41:35.119 --> 00:41:39.920
Um, you know, I don't think they got all the at least early on, they definitely didn't get all the way there.
00:41:40.079 --> 00:41:49.840
But um one of their first goals was having a life-sized uh wax statue of Henrietta made that they were like very excited about this as a concept.
00:41:50.320 --> 00:41:54.079
First, be like, first of all, first thing, first things first, wax figure.
00:41:54.320 --> 00:41:54.719
Wax figure.
00:41:54.800 --> 00:41:55.760
I think start there.
00:41:55.920 --> 00:41:59.519
Yeah, I mean that one picture, very striking.
00:41:59.599 --> 00:42:00.800
So if you waxify that.
00:42:01.360 --> 00:42:02.400
I'm not saying don't make it.
00:42:02.480 --> 00:42:02.960
I'm just gonna be able to do it.
00:42:03.119 --> 00:42:04.320
Less expensive than a bronze statue.
00:42:05.039 --> 00:42:06.559
Fair, yeah, very fair.
00:42:06.800 --> 00:42:13.840
Um, so Deborah was not included in the board of the museum, uh, but was asked to come and speak at various events uh honoring her mother.
00:42:14.079 --> 00:42:23.840
At some point, someone suggested
to Deborah that she donate Henrietta's Bible and the locks of her mother's hair and her sister's hair that Henry Deborah had in safekeeping.
00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:29.920
Uh they were like, oh, you should donate them to the museum because like what if your house burned down?
00:42:30.159 --> 00:42:31.280
They would be destroyed.
00:42:31.519 --> 00:42:35.760
Uh but this uh made Deborah so incredibly anxious.
00:42:36.000 --> 00:42:37.440
That makes me feel very strange.
00:42:37.679 --> 00:42:40.639
And like, first of all, we don't know, I don't know if Deborah has kids.
00:42:40.880 --> 00:42:44.079
Maybe she wants to keep it in the family or give it to a sibling or give it to whoever.
00:42:44.400 --> 00:42:45.840
These are the only pieces of her mother's.
00:42:46.239 --> 00:42:47.039
But that's what I'm saying.
00:42:47.119 --> 00:42:51.599
Like, even if she was gonna donate them, ask her to leave them when she passes.
00:42:51.760 --> 00:42:52.000
Right.
00:42:52.159 --> 00:42:58.239
Be like, hey, would you put it in your I don't know how you asked that in a polite way, but like, would you consider leaving them to the museum?
00:42:58.480 --> 00:43:03.199
But to be like, hey, we we'll take them just in case you burn your house down feels crazy.
00:43:03.599 --> 00:43:10.239
I I think I suspect that this is probably like a casual remark made to her of being like, oh, this it'd be cool to have her Bible.
00:43:10.639 --> 00:43:12.239
But if we had that, wouldn't it be nice?
00:43:12.480 --> 00:43:14.159
It was like a real turning point.
00:43:14.239 --> 00:43:23.039
Uh and uh and for Deborah, like, you know, the she was she got very paranoid about someone trying to come and take them after this moment.
00:43:23.199 --> 00:43:29.119
So she, you know, somebody was just kind of like, oh and she was like, Whoa, what what are we doing?
00:43:29.199 --> 00:43:31.039
You're you're coming for my mother's belongings.
00:43:31.199 --> 00:43:34.000
So she like immediately went ran home and hid them.
00:43:34.239 --> 00:43:43.280
And then uh after that, she kind of like was much more suspicious of the the the like museum foundation generally, of all of them.
00:43:43.440 --> 00:43:52.400
And like she uh found out about the bank account and like that was made in her mother's name, uh, and she was you know furious about that.
00:43:52.480 --> 00:43:59.760
And she was like, We shouldn't be spending money on big wax statues, we should be spending money, you know, like if if if you're raising money, we should be giving.
00:44:04.559 --> 00:44:05.519
I agree with that.
00:44:05.760 --> 00:44:08.239
So uh healthcare before wax statues.
00:44:08.400 --> 00:44:09.519
I've always said that.
00:44:09.840 --> 00:44:18.559
Um Deborah did continue working with Speed and the museum committee, but mostly at this point as a means to an end to learn as much to learn more about her mother.
00:44:21.679 --> 00:44:24.559
They were doing more research and learning more stuff,
and she wanted to know those things.
00:44:24.639 --> 00:44:26.159
So okay.
00:44:26.320 --> 00:44:37.360
So the next big blow to Deborah's confidence and this whole process came after she was contacted by a man claiming to be a doctor and a lawyer, and he could help her family get the money that they deserved.
00:44:37.519 --> 00:44:38.880
So this is like a clock.
00:44:43.760 --> 00:44:44.480
Oh yeah.
00:44:45.679 --> 00:44:47.280
He called himself Dr.
00:44:47.519 --> 00:44:49.679
Sir Lord Keenan Kester Cofield.
00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:50.079
Nope.
00:44:50.159 --> 00:44:50.880
Too many names already.
00:44:51.039 --> 00:44:51.119
Yeah.
00:44:51.440 --> 00:44:51.920
Too many names.
00:44:52.239 --> 00:44:52.320
Nope.
00:44:52.559 --> 00:44:53.199
Immediately no.
00:44:53.360 --> 00:44:54.719
I've seen what I needed to say.
00:44:55.360 --> 00:45:03.440
So he told Tebra that her and her family needed to copyright their mother's name to protect themselves from fraud, which is he is fraud.
00:45:03.519 --> 00:45:04.880
So if that's why he is fraud.
00:45:05.119 --> 00:45:05.840
Fraud is he.
00:45:06.559 --> 00:45:14.800
And he also said that he believed that Hopkins was guilty of medical malpractice and that they should sue for a portion of all of the money made from the Gila cells.
00:45:14.960 --> 00:45:24.159
So Kofiel made the generous offer that the family would pay him nothing but a percentage of what they were able to earn.
00:45:24.320 --> 00:45:28.639
So like they didn't pay him anything up front, and that like got his foot in the door.
00:45:29.360 --> 00:45:34.960
So Deborah didn't understand how or why they would, you know, be able to copyright her mother's name.
00:45:35.119 --> 00:45:37.920
Uh, but they did believe that they were owed money.
00:45:38.079 --> 00:45:44.880
Her and her brothers believed that they were owed money, and they were like, okay, this seems like a a lawyer that we can afford, and she was motivated.
00:45:44.960 --> 00:45:46.159
So sure.
00:45:46.480 --> 00:45:50.960
So they begin introducing Cofield as the family lawyer.
00:45:51.119 --> 00:45:53.679
He got to work fast, mostly spending money.
00:45:53.760 --> 00:45:59.760
Oh wait, he got to work fast, mostly spending his time pouring through the archives at Johns Hopkins doing research.
00:45:59.920 --> 00:46:07.119
Um he would come back to the family and then tell them what he had quote unquote found, conveniently confirming the family's worst fears.
00:46:07.280 --> 00:46:13.440
So uh he said that he discovered that one of Henrietta's doctors who treated her was didn't even have a medical license.
00:46:13.519 --> 00:46:16.159
Another had been expelled from the American Medical Association.
00:46:16.320 --> 00:46:22.960
He told them that the family uh that they had misdiagnosed her mother and may have killed her with an overdose of radiation.
00:46:23.199 --> 00:46:24.079
Oh boy.
00:46:24.559 --> 00:46:30.079
So, you know, uh the the the the license thing wasn't real.
00:46:30.159 --> 00:46:32.960
Uh they they you know had their licenses.
00:46:33.519 --> 00:46:44.480
She did uh the the radiation did not help cure the cancer and did uh I'm pretty sure substantively, you know, uh kill her help kill her faster.
00:46:44.719 --> 00:46:54.000
But that was also like the way he was painting it, he was basically just telling them what they had kind of assumed about the world uh in order to pull them into his confidence.
00:46:55.280 --> 00:46:55.440
Yeah.
00:46:55.760 --> 00:47:11.519
As opposed to ignorantly, like yeah, and like, you know, again, I still I have a lot of um uh uh I do not like how this the the sample cell sampling and all of this stuff was was handled at the time.
00:47:11.760 --> 00:47:19.920
But the these these allegations that Cofield was making were specifically to um, you know, it's uh it's like cult stuff.
00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:30.880
It's it's like bring bring them into further into his confidence and make only access to real information uh by like feeding into their worst fears.
00:47:31.039 --> 00:47:32.559
Um so not good.
00:47:32.960 --> 00:47:45.119
So he started demanding to see Henrietta's medical records um and to further document examples of malpractice for the the upcoming lawsuit that he was you know suggesting.
00:47:45.360 --> 00:47:49.360
The medical records were the one thing that he couldn't access without permission at John Hopkins.
00:47:49.440 --> 00:47:51.440
So he needed an ext of kin to get those files.
00:47:51.679 --> 00:48:03.039
Deborah agreed to go with him to Hopkins, but luckily when she rescued uh luckily when she requested the copy of files for Cofield, the copy machine happened to be in need of repairs.
00:48:03.119 --> 00:48:04.960
So they were like, sorry, can't do it today.
00:48:05.440 --> 00:48:06.800
We're getting copy repaired.
00:48:06.880 --> 00:48:07.840
You know, you have to come back later.
00:48:08.000 --> 00:48:13.440
So Cofield tried to come back on his own to get the documents, but the hospital refused, needing the family member.
00:48:13.599 --> 00:48:18.800
Um he tried to push the issue, making this the staff kind of suspicious and kind of leery of him.
00:48:18.960 --> 00:48:28.000
So they looked into his background, and far from being a doctor or a lord or a lawyer, it seemed that Cofield was a con artist who made his money by pushing frivolous lawsuits.
00:48:28.239 --> 00:48:38.400
He spent years um behind bars for just other types of fraud, uh, for doing like fraudulent checks and that, you know, counterfeiting checks and things like that.
00:48:38.559 --> 00:48:43.599
So he spent much of his time in jail taking law courses to prep prepare for his next scheme.
00:48:43.679 --> 00:48:54.800
So I mean, anybody what do you think the percentage of people studying law in prisons is to evade the law versus to get their own justice?
00:48:55.119 --> 00:49:01.519
Yeah, I I I would hope that a lot of it is uh is to to to get, you
know.
00:49:01.920 --> 00:49:05.199
But if you if you hope that, that means that they were wrongly imprisoned.
00:49:05.280 --> 00:49:05.760
Yeah, that's right.
00:49:05.920 --> 00:49:06.559
So do you hope that?
00:49:06.880 --> 00:49:07.840
Well, I guess I don't hope that.
00:49:08.000 --> 00:49:15.599
But I also do know that there are so many people that are uh wrongly uh racial for a very good reason for bias and a number of other reasons.
00:49:15.760 --> 00:49:16.000
Yeah.
00:49:16.239 --> 00:49:18.239
Um so that's that's tough.
00:49:18.320 --> 00:49:22.639
And uh I guess 50-50 for shenanigans and for um Yeah, you know.
00:49:22.960 --> 00:49:23.360
I don't know.
00:49:23.599 --> 00:49:24.800
Yeah, hard to say.
00:49:25.119 --> 00:49:31.599
So uh while in jail, he sued the jail, the guards, the warden of the prison.
00:49:31.679 --> 00:49:35.280
Uh he sued McDonald's and Burger King for contaminating his body with poisons for the biggest thing.
00:49:35.519 --> 00:49:36.480
I mean, we should all do that.
00:49:36.719 --> 00:49:37.360
Yeah.
00:49:37.760 --> 00:49:45.280
He threatened to sue uh restaurants all over the country for food poisoning, all while he was still behind bars and unable to eat any of that food.
00:49:45.440 --> 00:49:48.320
He was just like using a lot of his commissary for stamps.
00:49:48.639 --> 00:49:49.599
Oh, too much of it.
00:49:49.679 --> 00:49:50.000
Yeah, yeah.
00:49:50.320 --> 00:49:51.760
He's got some stamp money somewhere.
00:49:52.239 --> 00:50:03.039
Um so he got a local newspaper to run an obituary of him and then immediately sued the newspaper for libel and damages of up to$100, which I think is a bold move.
00:50:03.519 --> 00:50:07.039
Also, newspapers are not like I guess the New York Times has money.
00:50:07.199 --> 00:50:07.519
I don't know.
00:50:07.679 --> 00:50:11.199
I don't think of newspapers as like the company that you need to get money from.
00:50:11.519 --> 00:50:11.679
Yeah.
00:50:11.760 --> 00:50:14.159
He's you know, he's throwing anything against the wall to see what would stick.
00:50:14.800 --> 00:50:17.360
So his next target was Deborah and the Lax family.
00:50:17.440 --> 00:50:21.119
Uh so he desperately wanted to get his hands on the medical records.
00:50:21.199 --> 00:50:30.800
I'm not 100% sure what he was planning on doing with them after the fact because eventually he got to the point where it felt like he was willing to burn his relationship with the family to get these records for the driver.
00:50:30.960 --> 00:50:36.079
And then it's like, how do you how do you sue on behalf of them without their involvement and then take the money?
00:50:36.239 --> 00:50:37.119
I don't know.
00:50:37.599 --> 00:50:41.199
But I've never done law research in a prison, so yeah, no.
00:50:41.280 --> 00:50:41.840
Nor have I.
00:50:42.079 --> 00:50:42.639
What are you gonna do?
00:50:42.800 --> 00:50:43.280
Yeah.
00:50:43.679 --> 00:50:47.760
Again, some people in there probably doing, you
know, trying to figure stuff up.
00:50:48.079 --> 00:50:48.800
That's right.
00:50:49.039 --> 00:50:50.480
Uh Did he do that?
00:50:50.719 --> 00:50:50.960
No.
00:50:51.280 --> 00:50:51.519
No.
00:50:51.760 --> 00:50:52.880
He just started taking it.
00:50:53.039 --> 00:50:58.800
But there are uh he did help people learn how to read uh that would then go on to uh get themselves out.
00:50:59.039 --> 00:51:00.000
Yeah, try to get themselves up.
00:51:00.159 --> 00:51:00.320
Yeah.
00:51:00.559 --> 00:51:10.159
But he couldn't because uh he was doing crimes for the warden, and so they were right, you know, they they were like, even if you found out that you were you were innocent, I don't care.
00:51:10.559 --> 00:51:11.039
Let you leave.
00:51:11.199 --> 00:51:12.960
Yeah, which is why that one guy got unalive.
00:51:14.639 --> 00:51:15.280
Yeah.
00:51:16.079 --> 00:51:18.239
Check out Sha Shank Redemption, my favorite movie.
00:51:18.559 --> 00:51:19.760
Weirdly Danny's favorite movie.
00:51:20.159 --> 00:51:21.119
And from when I was a child.
00:51:21.360 --> 00:51:23.920
He has a twinkle in his eye, that's his favorite film.
00:51:24.480 --> 00:51:24.960
Yeah.
00:51:25.440 --> 00:51:25.760
I don't know.
00:51:25.920 --> 00:51:26.800
I just think it was a good movie.
00:51:26.960 --> 00:51:28.400
Yeah, it's like it was a great movie.
00:51:29.519 --> 00:51:31.679
Um so nah.
00:51:32.800 --> 00:51:35.119
And I could go for a Take Me Away.
00:51:35.280 --> 00:51:35.599
Yeah.
00:51:36.639 --> 00:51:45.760
Um, I also just like a little like scavenger hunt in a rock field in the middle of like California, where you gotta go find a little tiny box from your friend.
00:51:46.320 --> 00:51:48.639
Go to the tree and find this note to yeah.
00:51:48.800 --> 00:51:49.280
That's nice.
00:51:49.519 --> 00:51:50.000
That's nice.
00:51:50.320 --> 00:51:50.880
A red.
00:51:52.159 --> 00:52:03.760
Um so when the staff at John Hopkins learned who Cofield was, they uh took immediate steps to protect the family, barring Cofield from the premises and getting Deborah to sign a document, refusing all access to him for sensitive files.
00:52:03.920 --> 00:52:06.159
So when Cofield found out about this, he was furious.
00:52:06.239 --> 00:52:14.400
He immediately turned around and then started suing the family, suing Deborah, the whole Lax family, uh, as well as a long list of John Hopkins officials.
00:52:14.559 --> 00:52:19.280
So piles and piles and piles of legal documents began ending up on Deborah's door.
00:52:19.440 --> 00:52:20.400
She like panicked.
00:52:20.559 --> 00:52:31.760
Like this is, you know, one, this like the this hopefully silver bullet that was gonna help her family get money and help kind of get to the bottom of some things was clearly uh a fraud and a mistake.
00:52:31.920 --> 00:52:37.360
And now like she was inundated with all of this stuff that she didn't understand and like really stressed her out.
00:52:37.440 --> 00:52:46.639
And like like
her the after the Bible thing, like her paranoia and like skepticism of the world kind of ratcheted up.
00:52:46.719 --> 00:52:52.079
And this is like another tick-up on the on the scale of like you know what to do.
00:52:52.320 --> 00:53:05.199
Um so uh she went to Courtney Speed, believing that uh the the woman from the Heritage Society, uh believing that she was working with Cofield to take her mother's records and her belongings from her.
00:53:05.360 --> 00:53:10.320
So she demanded that they immediately turn over any information about her mother and shut down the foundation completely.
00:53:10.480 --> 00:53:19.199
Uh by this time, the BBC documentary had aired, and her phone was ringing off the hooks with other reporters and and people demanding for more information about her mother.
00:53:19.440 --> 00:53:27.119
So Deborah decided it was time for her at least to actually see whether mother's records uh held at John Hopkins.
00:53:27.199 --> 00:53:28.239
So she went there to get a copy.
00:53:28.400 --> 00:53:31.039
While there, the staff at John Hopkins told her not to worry.
00:53:31.199 --> 00:53:38.320
They were going to fight Cofield on her behalf as well as uh theirs and would make sure that he never got access to her mother's records.
00:53:38.400 --> 00:53:39.039
And they did do that.
00:53:39.119 --> 00:53:46.559
They they like so like the family, as as far as I know, didn't didn't pay legal fees to kind of deal with Cofield stuff.
00:53:46.639 --> 00:53:47.519
The hospital kind of did that.
00:53:47.679 --> 00:53:48.719
Well, that's uncovering that.
00:53:51.679 --> 00:53:59.280
John Hopkins as an institution um does not want to get pulled into this like as a storyline.
00:53:59.440 --> 00:54:02.159
They don't want their their name kind of kind of dragged into it.
00:54:02.400 --> 00:54:10.239
But there's so many people within John Hopkins that want to like over the years want to honor and help and and kind of protect the Lax family.
00:54:10.400 --> 00:54:16.079
So like there are a lot of like you know pieces of it that um I think are really really nice.
00:54:16.239 --> 00:54:20.639
And but as an institution, John Hopkins was like no comment, which I think is kind of rough.
00:54:20.719 --> 00:54:23.360
But yeah, there's somebody in some office being like, don't talk to them.
00:54:23.599 --> 00:54:24.159
Yeah, yeah.
00:54:24.400 --> 00:54:32.400
So um yeah, eventually the cases were all finally dismissed, but the whole affair really left a sour taste in everyone's mouth.
00:54:32.559 --> 00:54:47.360
So before Cofield had uh, you know, but started suing John Hopkins, there were some people within the hospital that were trying to properly honor their contributions at John Hopkins, but that all got like when this all started happening, when it really blew up, they were like, we're gonna scrap that.
00:54:47.599 --> 00:54:51.280
And they never went back to that as an idea, as far as I know.
00:54:51.519 --> 00:55:08.000
Um Deborah really couldn't shake the paranoia, so she believed that like Cofield or one of his agents would show up any day to steal her mother's records or her Bible or uh maybe even her own cells to see whether they were useful in like scientific testing.
00:55:08.079 --> 00:55:09.519
Like it all feels possible.
00:55:09.679 --> 00:55:12.960
I know that we're tell saying she's paranoid, but she has fantastic reasons.
00:55:13.199 --> 00:55:14.480
Yes, fantastic reasons.
00:55:14.559 --> 00:55:28.719
And I just think that like you know, uh the the there were a lot of like myths and things about about doctors and and science and all of this stuff that were damaging and dangerous to you know the black community and specifically the Lax family.
00:55:28.880 --> 00:55:34.719
And like after you learn that your mother is somehow still sort of alive for 50 years, you're like, what is true anymore?
00:55:35.199 --> 00:55:39.599
Literally what's real because that sounds like science fiction, also like it all yeah.
00:55:39.920 --> 00:55:45.039
And then on top of that, you start getting like con artists kind of getting into the mix and kind of stir stirring everything up.
00:55:45.119 --> 00:55:46.880
It's just like, oh boy, trust no one.
00:55:47.039 --> 00:55:59.920
I like I I I feel very strongly for for Deborah and the the whole family, but like um the the book focuses a lot around Deborah because her and the author became incredibly close.
00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:00.320
Yeah.
00:56:00.559 --> 00:56:04.400
Uh and like they kind of work together to to uncover a lot of these things.
00:56:04.559 --> 00:56:21.760
Um, but they their whole relationship the entire time was was a a it would vacillate very quickly between like full trust and real excitement about like the the the chase of learning more information about her mother and her uh her older sister who is is part of this story as well.
00:56:22.000 --> 00:56:27.199
Um but then she would like all of a sudden be like, wait a minute, are you one of Cofield's people?
00:56:27.360 --> 00:56:28.719
Are you here for my mother's records?
00:56:29.360 --> 00:56:31.760
Like it's all kind of really tragic.
00:56:31.840 --> 00:56:38.320
And also all of it led to Deborah's like anxiety being incredibly high, her blood pressure being incredibly high.
00:56:38.480 --> 00:56:51.440
She, you know, did eventually suffer a stroke and and have like uh it's she had a very hard, you know, hard part of all of this, and a lot of it was because of the distress and anxiety that uh she felt.
00:56:51.599 --> 00:56:55.280
I mean, also her childhood was not yeah, it was also very hard.
00:56:57.920 --> 00:57:15.039
So a few weeks after she got back from that she was able to leave the hospital from that event was when uh Roman Patillo, the the guy who started the the Gila convention, he got contacted by uh a woman who wanted to write a book about Henrietta Lax.
00:57:15.360 --> 00:57:19.679
Uh, and that was no none other than uh
Rebecca Sklut, the author of our source material.
00:57:19.920 --> 00:57:20.559
There you go.
00:57:20.880 --> 00:57:36.000
So again, I wouldn't normally talk so much about the author of one of these books because uh you know they're not normally as like part of the story in the way that that she is, but I feel like she had substantive contribution to like Deborah's journey and the story in you know as a whole.
00:57:36.239 --> 00:57:44.079
So the author first learned about Henrietta Lacks in 1988 while taking a college biology course at a community college to get high school credit.
00:57:44.159 --> 00:57:47.760
So she was uh uh you know trying to get some.
00:57:48.239 --> 00:57:56.800
I think there was something weird where she like didn't pass a class in high school, so then she did summer school to, and in order to get that class, she like went to a community college.
00:57:56.960 --> 00:58:10.239
Uh, and she was so she was 16 at the time, at a, you know, uh listening to a professor lecture and began speaking about cancer and cancer research, and he told the class one of the most important advances in medical science was the discovery of the Gila cell line.
00:58:10.400 --> 00:58:17.519
He told them all about the Gila cell line, how uh it was used in science, and that it came from a young black woman named Henrietta Lacks.
00:58:17.679 --> 00:58:27.360
Um, the professor talked a lot about like the science of it, about the polio, about all those things that we've already kind of kind of talked about, but there was almost nothing about Henrietta herself.
00:58:27.440 --> 00:58:30.400
And Rebecca stayed after class wanting to know more.
00:58:30.480 --> 00:58:34.320
Uh, but the professor told her very sadly that not that much was known about her.
00:58:34.480 --> 00:58:46.079
So from there on, Sklut went on to get a biology degree and then a graduate school degree for writing, hoping to become a uh reporter specializing in like scientific journalism.
00:58:46.239 --> 00:58:49.760
Um, all the while the idea of like Henrietta Lax never really left her mind.
00:58:49.840 --> 00:58:57.920
So in her spare time, she would continue doing more research on her, eventually uh getting the idea to write a book that was a biography of both the cells and the women that came from.
00:58:58.159 --> 00:58:58.880
There you go.
00:58:59.119 --> 00:59:11.039
Um so the fact that they she heard Henrietta Laxe's name at all was was something of a miracle because even though it was like well known uh by that point, it was not consistently known.
00:59:11.199 --> 00:59:15.440
Yeah, consistently taught, it's probably not wasn't in curriculums necessarily.
00:59:15.760 --> 00:59:16.559
Yeah, exactly.
00:59:16.719 --> 00:59:24.159
Um and it was still common in textbooks for it to be the you know the the the fake name that they created to kind of hide the family.
00:59:24.239 --> 00:59:26.880
So I always forget the textbooks are just simply not updated.
00:59:27.440 --> 00:59:28.800
Simply not updated, no.
00:59:29.039 --> 00:59:37.840
Um so eventually years later, Sklut stumbled upon uh a collection of scientific papers from a Gila cancer control symposium held at Morehouse College.
00:59:38.000 --> 00:59:46.000
She then contacted the organizer of the symposium, Roland Patillo, uh, and asked him what he knew about Henrietta Lax.
00:59:46.239 --> 00:59:54.719
She told him she was writing a book about her, uh, and he quickly told her that the Lax family would not talk to her because of the difficult time that they had with the press and the Gila cells.
00:59:54.880 --> 00:59:55.119
Yeah.
00:59:55.280 --> 01:00:05.599
Um too excited though that she finally found like a real connection that was that he clearly knew the family and was asked, anyways, whether he could he could put her in contact with her.
01:00:05.760 --> 01:00:07.760
He uh said he could, but he wouldn't.
01:00:07.920 --> 01:00:12.480
So not until he made sure that she was like her intentions were good and that she wouldn't hurt the family further.
01:00:12.800 --> 01:00:14.639
I mean, that's nice of him to just want to be.
01:00:15.199 --> 01:00:16.880
And he did like days of grilling.
01:00:16.960 --> 01:00:22.000
He basically was like, got her on the phone and was like, what do you know about uh about uh the Tuskegee event?
01:00:22.159 --> 01:00:25.679
What do you know about like um the forced sterilizations?
01:00:25.760 --> 01:00:32.159
He was like really went through all of it because he was like, I can tell by your name and your voice that you were a white woman, and she was like guilty as charged.
01:00:32.320 --> 01:00:36.000
I was gonna ask, I didn't know how to ask, but I was like, I need to know, yeah.
01:00:36.320 --> 01:00:40.800
Um so uh yeah.
01:00:41.199 --> 01:00:42.320
Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.
01:00:42.960 --> 01:00:56.559
Patello finally agreed to put Rebecca in contact with with Deborah, but he warned that because of the Gela Cell lawsuits and and all of the press attention and all of these things that happened, uh, Deborah had been recently hospitalized and nearly had a stroke.
01:00:56.639 --> 01:01:06.320
So he gave her a strict list of guidelines to follow when talking to Deborah, mostly about being compassionate to the woman and not talking down to her because she hated being talked down to, have patience with her.
01:01:06.559 --> 01:01:21.119
She also uh is uh somewhat deaf, um, which is like a thing that a lot of the Lax family has, and it's feels like it's a genetic thing that comes from probably two cousins uh you know having having kids together together, perhaps.
01:01:21.440 --> 01:01:31.360
Also, there was a lot of uh you know, the effect of syphilis in like you know, babies and and and children could lead to uh partial deafness.
01:01:31.599 --> 01:01:32.159
Partial deafness.
01:01:32.239 --> 01:01:33.360
So that was also a big thing.
01:01:33.440 --> 01:01:35.280
And they didn't get hearing aids for a very long
time.
01:01:35.440 --> 01:01:37.760
Like they didn't even get t their hearing tested for a very long time.
01:01:38.079 --> 01:01:40.719
So um because I couldn't afford it.
01:01:42.400 --> 01:01:43.599
Yeah, yeah.
01:01:43.920 --> 01:01:49.199
Um so Rebecca thanked him profusely, calling Deborah the next day.
01:01:49.360 --> 01:01:53.360
At first, Deborah was confused and then cautious, and then she opened up fully.
01:01:53.519 --> 01:02:04.079
She was like so excited to talk about her mother, and she was excited that somebody was finally wanted to like focus on her mother and not, you know, all of this other stuff and uh get the real story behind it.
01:02:04.159 --> 01:02:11.920
So she talked excitedly for about 45 minutes, not taking any breaks at all for Rebecca to and Rebecca was just like frantically uh scribbling things down.
01:02:12.159 --> 01:02:18.239
Um that more than anything, she wanted to learn about her mother and what she had done for science.
01:02:18.480 --> 01:02:22.159
And uh she never got to know her mother and was defer desperate for information.
01:02:22.320 --> 01:02:35.920
So she told Rebecca that she had her work cut out for her, and then she abruptly had to go, telling her uh that to call her back on Monday, you know, she got some mail in it was probably a pile of these uh, you know, of legal documents and it stressed her out, and she was like, I gotta go.
01:02:36.079 --> 01:02:36.480
Yeah, I can't.
01:02:36.639 --> 01:02:37.840
Um can't be doing this.
01:02:38.480 --> 01:02:46.559
But then uh So Rebecca called back that Monday, but it was like she was talking to a completely different person.
01:02:46.719 --> 01:02:49.440
So Deborah seemed exhausted, possibly sedated.
01:02:49.760 --> 01:02:51.360
She said no interviews.
01:02:51.519 --> 01:02:56.880
Uh if Rebecca wanted to know more, she would have to get permission from her her her brothers and her father.
01:02:57.199 --> 01:03:02.719
Uh they they then she gave Rebecca their phone numbers and then hung up.
01:03:03.360 --> 01:03:08.400
And um Rebecca wouldn't talk to Deborah again for nearly a year.
01:03:08.639 --> 01:03:19.119
Um, so she just like followed a very loose path of breadcrumbs that would eventually lead back to her, but uh she had to like go travel through Henrietta's like entire past first.
01:03:19.199 --> 01:03:21.599
So she started calling all of those numbers.
01:03:21.760 --> 01:03:28.960
Um those numbers, but no one answered.
01:03:29.039 --> 01:03:34.000
After a few days, someone finally picked up uh at Henry and uh Henrietta's husband's house.
01:03:34.320 --> 01:03:41.840
But after eventually being connected with Day, um he gave her almost no information and then hung up on her, telling her to leave him alone.
01:03:42.480 --> 01:03:49.119
After her conversation with Day, Sonny Lax, one of Henrietta's sons, finally called her back saying that he was tired of seeing her number on his pager.
01:03:49.280 --> 01:03:50.480
He was like, just
what do you want?
01:03:50.719 --> 01:03:51.119
What do you want?
01:03:51.280 --> 01:03:51.920
What do you want?
01:03:52.159 --> 01:04:00.000
Uh he agreed to meet, but once Rebecca made the trip from Pittsburgh to Baltimore, Sonny never showed up uh at their meeting and didn't return any of her calls.
01:04:00.079 --> 01:04:10.000
So, not wanting to waste the trip, she looked up an old article she had read listing Henrietta's Turner Station address and then decided to go there and start knocking on doors to see, you know, who's around.
01:04:10.320 --> 01:04:19.360
So the article that had the address also quoted a local woman named Courtney Speed uh and talking about her dream of starting the Henrietta Lacks Museum.
01:04:19.440 --> 01:04:21.519
So she decided to start at Speed's grocery.
01:04:21.679 --> 01:04:24.400
But once she got to Turner Station, uh she couldn't find it.
01:04:24.480 --> 01:04:25.280
She couldn't find anything.
01:04:25.360 --> 01:04:29.519
I mean, even Turner Station itself was like not on a map.
01:04:29.760 --> 01:04:32.159
Like it just there was there was something that happened with it.
01:04:32.960 --> 01:04:37.599
Yeah, it was basically like in every atlas, it was in the crease in the middle, and you could never find it.
01:04:37.760 --> 01:04:42.880
It was one of those things that were like felt almost like a conspiracy that was like, no one's ever gonna find Turner Station.
01:04:46.320 --> 01:04:55.280
Yeah, and then you had to go through a like spooky, uh like gauzy kind of fog, and then you pop in there and you're like, huh, what do you know about Henrietta Lack?
01:04:57.840 --> 01:04:59.199
We've only seen the first two episodes.
01:04:59.280 --> 01:04:59.760
I don't actually know.
01:05:00.000 --> 01:05:00.400
We enjoyed it.
01:05:00.719 --> 01:05:01.519
So far, we're good.
01:05:02.239 --> 01:05:10.480
Um so she drove around town for like multiple times, just like looping around, and everybody was like, that crazy white lady.
01:05:10.800 --> 01:05:11.360
What is she doing?
01:05:11.840 --> 01:05:13.440
Insane white lady in a rental Honda.
01:05:14.000 --> 01:05:20.159
Eventually, she stopped at the new Shiloh Baptist Church, one of the bigger churches in in the middle of the town.
01:05:20.320 --> 01:05:26.880
Uh and she was just like peering in through the windows, and then like uh the reverend just showed up and like, how can I help you?
01:05:27.199 --> 01:05:28.239
What do you want?
01:05:28.559 --> 01:05:32.159
She uh asked him about Henrietta Lacks, and he was like, I don't know who that is.
01:05:32.320 --> 01:05:33.840
Never heard of her, couldn't couldn't help you.
01:05:33.920 --> 01:05:37.360
But then she asked about speed, and she was like, Oh, I know speed, yeah, I'll take you on over there.
01:05:37.440 --> 01:05:41.119
Yeah, and took her, took her back to the grocery that which was unmarked.
01:05:41.360 --> 01:05:53.039
Um Speed was pretty suspicious of Rebecca at first, demanding to know
uh who sent her, why she was really there, uh thinking that she was sent by Cofield to weasel more information out of her.
01:05:53.199 --> 01:05:59.760
So after showing her the like crumpled up article that, you know, had it was like, I just I'm looking to learn more about Henrietta Lacks.
01:06:00.159 --> 01:06:00.719
Your name is here.
01:06:00.880 --> 01:06:02.239
I d I don't know what to tell you.
01:06:02.559 --> 01:06:14.000
Um she got so uh Speed then was like she got a little nicer, but she was basically like, I I can't tell you anything unless you get approval from from the family.
01:06:14.239 --> 01:06:21.360
Because like I think Courtney Speed really uh did duh I don't know if so long.
01:06:22.000 --> 01:06:44.159
Uh she really was motivated to like the the Henrietta Lax Museum was a passion project that she like still kind of held on up to this point where uh Rebecca was talking to her and like really wanted the world to know more about Henrietta, but also like because of the Cofield thing, she was like on such rocky ground with the family that she was like unwilling to not to kind of risk it at all.
01:06:44.400 --> 01:06:55.360
Um so the one thing that she did do uh was give her a copy of the BBC documentary made about Henrietta that uh uh that Rebecca had been trying to find for months but couldn't find.
01:06:55.440 --> 01:06:56.639
So I didn't realize it was.
01:06:56.719 --> 01:07:00.880
I mean, I guess it's before the internet really is showing movies.
01:07:01.199 --> 01:07:09.360
So uh she basically was like, took her to a place where she could watch the movie, was like, watch it two times, leave that movie in there, you write down your notes and then get out of here.
01:07:09.519 --> 01:07:09.840
Okay.
01:07:10.079 --> 01:07:16.800
So um the documentary interviewed a lot of Henrietta's family, including her cousins.
01:07:16.880 --> 01:07:21.199
So since the immediate family wouldn't talk to her, Rebecca decided to go to Clover and meet the cousins.
01:07:21.360 --> 01:07:21.519
Sure.
01:07:21.760 --> 01:07:24.239
So she's you know, really dozens of cousins.
01:07:24.320 --> 01:07:27.360
So she's really like doing like an odyssey to make her way back to her.
01:07:27.519 --> 01:07:28.159
It's a lot of legwork.
01:07:28.719 --> 01:07:28.960
Yeah.
01:07:29.360 --> 01:07:32.719
Henrietta's cousin Cliff took her to the homehouse.
01:07:32.800 --> 01:07:35.679
She was like, Oh, you uh you want to know about Henrietta?
01:07:35.920 --> 01:07:37.039
Let's we'll go to the home house.
01:07:37.199 --> 01:07:38.960
Then we went it took her to the grave.
01:07:39.119 --> 01:07:46.000
Uh, he told her that the exact grave was unmarked and she knew she was buried near her mother, so it's just like somewhere roughly around here.
01:07:46.159 --> 01:07:53.119
But um from Cliff, Rebecca learned that the the basically the whole family history.
01:07:53.199 --> 01:08:03.199
And she she continued to kind of come back to Clover multiple times, talking to different members of the family, really like kind of um putting in the work, putting in the work, learning as much as possible.
01:08:03.360 --> 01:08:14.400
Uh every few days, uh, she would send, like whenever she w left, basically, left Clover, she would send Rebecca or no, she would send Deborah messages telling her about what she had learned.
01:08:14.480 --> 01:08:15.599
She was like, Hey, I'm in Clover.
01:08:15.679 --> 01:08:16.079
I met your cousin.
01:08:16.319 --> 01:08:19.520
She says, Hey, this is these are the things that I learned about your mother.
01:08:19.600 --> 01:08:20.720
Isn't that cool?
01:08:21.039 --> 01:08:21.279
Interesting.
01:08:21.680 --> 01:08:22.079
Interesting.
01:08:22.319 --> 01:08:27.439
Um, partially to lure Deborah back, but I think partially also to like as a as a show of goodwill and a show of the city.
01:08:27.600 --> 01:08:28.800
Yeah, but it was like, I'm I promise.
01:08:29.199 --> 01:08:30.720
I am trying to learn about her.
01:08:31.600 --> 01:08:38.640
Um so eventually, after nearly a year of silence, Deborah called her back abruptly saying, Fine, I'll talk to you.
01:08:38.800 --> 01:08:39.760
Two conditions she had.
01:08:39.840 --> 01:08:49.680
One is that she needed to make sure that everybody knew who Henrietta Lax was, uh, convincing everyone that the Helen Helenly was made up and have them like never speak that name again.
01:08:49.840 --> 01:08:52.880
Uh and five children, not four.
01:08:53.119 --> 01:08:57.600
Uh, and Rebecca needed to help Deborah find out what happened to her older sister.
01:08:57.680 --> 01:09:00.079
Um, she ended the call by saying, get ready, girl.
01:09:00.159 --> 01:09:01.920
You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into.
01:09:02.560 --> 01:09:04.399
I'm gonna start adding every phone call like that.
01:09:04.880 --> 01:09:06.079
Yeah, get ready, girl.
01:09:06.800 --> 01:09:08.640
Yeah, that'll be fun.
01:09:08.880 --> 01:09:12.640
I uh I'm assuming all of our conversations will phone conversation will in that way too.
01:09:12.800 --> 01:09:13.600
Yeah, get ready, girl.
01:09:13.760 --> 01:09:14.079
I love that.
01:09:14.479 --> 01:09:16.079
No idea what to get yourself into.
01:09:17.520 --> 01:09:24.079
But yeah, because the because you know, uh her older sister had been like kind of committed pretty young.
01:09:24.239 --> 01:09:25.840
Yeah, like a lot of people didn't know about it.
01:09:26.000 --> 01:09:32.880
Like they didn't even like uh Deborah didn't even know she had an older sister until she saw it in the medical records, which is like crazy.
01:09:33.039 --> 01:09:34.239
So this woman.
01:09:34.560 --> 01:09:34.880
I know.
01:09:34.960 --> 01:09:38.079
She's really stoof.
01:09:38.399 --> 01:09:42.000
Yeah, she's she's been through a lot, but yeah, she's a tough lady.
01:09:42.319 --> 01:09:46.479
Um so Deborah and Rebecca finally met in person once, or no.
01:09:46.640 --> 01:09:49.359
Uh Deborah and Rebecca finally met in
person in Baltimore.
01:09:49.520 --> 01:09:51.279
Rebecca brought a small gift with her.
01:09:51.439 --> 01:09:59.520
She had been talking to John Hopkins researcher named Christoph Langhauer, who had read one of Rebecca's articles and contacted her.
01:09:59.600 --> 01:10:05.359
He said that he'd been working with Gela cells his entire life and uh couldn't get the story out of his mind.
01:10:05.520 --> 01:10:13.680
Uh as a student, he had developed a technique called fluorescence in situ hybridization, aka fish, which is fish is way easier to say.
01:10:13.760 --> 01:10:14.000
Yeah.
01:10:14.239 --> 01:10:21.439
Uh so scientists would apply fluorescent dyes to different chromosomes and then they would fline brightly under ultraviolet light.
01:10:21.600 --> 01:10:27.920
This allowed scientists to better see what happened inside each chromosome, but from the untrained eye, it just looked very pretty.
01:10:28.079 --> 01:10:39.279
You know, it was uh, you know, so a Langhauer had used fish on some Gila cells and then sent photos of the chromosomes to Rebecca as kind of like a piece of art to be like, if you meet the family, give this to the family.
01:10:39.520 --> 01:10:40.720
Yeah, this is a thing I would like to do.
01:10:41.920 --> 01:10:51.359
Um so Deborah excitedly examined the gift, wondering uh about how beautiful it was, and was like very excited to have this as a piece of her mother.
01:10:51.600 --> 01:10:53.039
Um so they started talking.
01:10:53.199 --> 01:10:55.439
Deborah under Yeah.
01:10:55.760 --> 01:10:56.000
Yeah.
01:10:56.239 --> 01:11:07.840
Deborah's understanding of what happened to her mother was uh a mix of good information with a flair of science fiction and like kind of uh you know, her own interpretations of what she was hearing in in the news.
01:11:08.079 --> 01:11:12.319
So uh yeah.
01:11:13.920 --> 01:11:19.279
Just like we talked about earlier, where like once she learned that her mother's cells were alive, like anything kind of became possible.
01:11:19.520 --> 01:11:25.439
So like and a lot of these news articles were like flashy and like uh misleading and kind of confusing.
01:11:25.520 --> 01:11:35.199
So she had heard of British scientists cloning Gila cells and uh believed that that meant that like there were just hundreds of copies of her mother walking around London at all times.
01:11:35.279 --> 01:11:35.600
Oh my god.
01:11:35.840 --> 01:11:38.079
And was kind of talking to Rebecca a lot about all of this stuff.
01:11:38.319 --> 01:11:46.560
And then when Rebecca was like, that's not what happened, then like she she showed her all of the reasons why she believes that it was true and was like, You're the naive one.
01:11:46.720 --> 01:11:46.960
Wow.
01:11:47.199 --> 01:11:50.800
Which like I I totally support and understand where she's coming from.
01:11:50.960 --> 01:11:51.279
Wow.
01:11:51.439 --> 01:11:57.680
But um But she no, it just shows the level of like confusion and like well and like how little information that like was given.
01:11:58.079 --> 01:12:11.680
This is all of these other reporters, there were some of them that gave the family some information, but like Rebecca was like, Oh god, let's like we gotta like uh try to give you as much of this stuff as as you can and kind of help interpret it all.
01:12:11.760 --> 01:12:32.079
But there was also like Deborah heard about the the the splicing between like uh animals, like the mouse man, the mice man, and the plant cells and all of this other stuff, and was like, oh god, there's like weird uh monsters out there that are half my mother, and like that she got shot into space, and that she was like uh given all of these illnesses.
01:12:32.479 --> 01:12:35.199
That movie, I didn't see it, so maybe I'm completely incorrect.
01:12:35.279 --> 01:12:36.560
But Mickey 17.
01:12:36.800 --> 01:12:38.479
Yeah, like they've Mickey 17 to her.
01:12:39.119 --> 01:12:41.680
She just thinks her mom is experiencing pain every day.
01:12:42.239 --> 01:12:47.920
Yeah, that is that is she's that is not out of the realm of possibilities for what what Deborah was was worried about.
01:12:48.159 --> 01:12:56.079
And like she also like was worried that even though her like mother was not alive, that she could still feel this stuff happening to her.
01:12:56.239 --> 01:13:08.720
Because it like Deborah and the whole family is very religious, and they like have an interpretation of of the way that like you know her mother uh embodies her spirit kind of embodies this whole story.
01:13:08.880 --> 01:13:27.439
Because, like we talked about, there were a lot of moments that are like really weirdly coincidental, like the the the one reporter, his like car breaking down on the way in and like him almost dying, his like all of his records being burned, the the like heel contamination, the Turner Turner station being like hidden from the world.
01:13:27.680 --> 01:13:35.039
Like all of this stuff is like, you know, they they're like, This is this is like don't turn your back on Henrietta because she's she's a tough lady and she'll get you.
01:13:36.079 --> 01:13:54.239
Uh but um it's just like a lot of that kind of stuff where she did have some some very very good and and factual information, but then a lot of like worries and fears that were really kind of blown blown up because she didn't really have anybody to bounce her ideas off of because her brothers were not like her brothers and her father really didn't want to talk about it anymore.
01:13:54.479 --> 01:13:56.880
They were like, We've heard enough, we don't want any more of this.
01:13:57.039 --> 01:14:02.239
Uh like unless you're talking about us getting money from from these people that took from us, then that's all I want.
01:14:02.319 --> 01:14:06.560
So it's just kind of like an echo chamber of she's learning more things, but only little pieces of it.
01:14:06.720 --> 01:14:24.880
So um so slowly but surely over the years that this is this is
happening, the like um distrust between the the like fits of d distrust between the women start decreasing.
01:14:25.039 --> 01:14:30.000
Um the the two got very, very close.
01:14:30.239 --> 01:14:38.640
Um like Deborah used to call her like my researcher, and whenever like one of the other family members would talk to me and be like, don't you try to take my research, my, my like my reporter.
01:14:38.800 --> 01:14:39.680
She that she's with me.
01:14:39.840 --> 01:14:40.159
She's mine.
01:14:40.239 --> 01:14:42.880
She's my and then sometimes they would go out together.
01:14:42.960 --> 01:14:54.319
Uh like I don't think I don't think ever actually, but they uh Deborah refused to like ride in the same car with her because she was still like part of her was still worried that she was gonna get like kidnapped or something.
01:14:54.479 --> 01:14:54.880
Oh wow.
01:14:55.039 --> 01:15:00.239
So they they would always drive in separate cars, you know, uh wherever they were going behind each other wherever they were going.
01:15:00.399 --> 01:15:04.479
But every now and then she would she would show up like dressed, like Rebecca wore a lot of black.
01:15:04.560 --> 01:15:10.079
Uh just and she would like Deborah would show up and she was like all in all in black and was like, look, I got my reporter uniform on.
01:15:10.159 --> 01:15:11.760
Let's go find some news and let's go be better.
01:15:12.000 --> 01:15:13.119
I love this lady.
01:15:13.680 --> 01:15:18.479
Rebecca took Deborah and her brother brother uh Zachariah.
01:15:18.640 --> 01:15:25.920
So his name, he changed his name from from Joe to Zachariah uh after that that kid.
01:15:26.000 --> 01:15:28.479
He was the the Did they pr it's pronounced?
01:15:29.039 --> 01:15:31.840
It is because it's written uh Oh right, you listen to your books.
01:15:32.079 --> 01:15:32.800
I was like, are you sure?
01:15:33.119 --> 01:15:33.520
No, no, no.
01:15:33.600 --> 01:15:38.560
It and and it's but it's very specific that it's Zachariah because uh a lot of people try to call him Zachariah.
01:15:38.720 --> 01:15:40.239
Yeah, it's like that is not my name.
01:15:40.399 --> 01:15:40.720
Huh.
01:15:40.880 --> 01:15:42.479
Uh and he changed his name specifically.
01:15:42.560 --> 01:15:48.720
It was like I'm uh he uh took on, you know, uh uh he had a very tough life.
01:15:48.800 --> 01:15:51.520
He was um got into a lot of fights young.
01:15:51.840 --> 01:15:55.359
He was the the um the youngest child.
01:15:55.600 --> 01:16:02.159
So this the son that was born while Henrietta like had uh you know the the the the cancer kind of growing.
01:16:02.399 --> 01:16:11.199
Um and uh got in a lot of fights as a kid and then went off to like fight in the war and then was dismissed because he was too violent and then got home.
01:16:11.359 --> 01:16:11.600
Wow.
01:16:11.840 --> 01:16:14.880
Uh he ended up killing someone and then going to jail.
01:16:15.039 --> 01:16:16.560
Oh wow uh and then getting out.
01:16:16.720 --> 01:16:33.039
It was like that the the the man that he killed was threatening to kill him, but it was it was pretty premeditated and and kind of um uh anyways, the the again the whole family, the whole all of the children had a very, very hard life.
01:16:33.279 --> 01:16:39.279
And uh this the he kind of turned a lot of things around while in prison.
01:16:39.359 --> 01:16:48.399
He you know, once he got out of jail, he was he was much more um uh uh more measured, but he was still prone to you know aggression.
01:16:48.800 --> 01:17:04.960
So like the Rebecca and and uh uh Deborah, like he they they brought her brought her over to meet uh Zachariah, and like it was it was tense and uh the the multiple times that they talked, it was hard.
01:17:05.119 --> 01:17:09.439
Um, you know, it was it was clearly like he did not trust her and did not did not want to trust her.
01:17:09.600 --> 01:17:19.840
But this trip was actually kind of a turning point for them because uh Rebecca took Deborah and her brother to John Hopkins to meet Christopher Langhauer and see her mother's cells in person.
01:17:20.000 --> 01:17:28.720
So they the he had that that was another thing uh Langhauer had had kind of offered was like, hey, I'd like to show them Pila and I'd I'd like them to see it.
01:17:28.800 --> 01:17:34.239
So and he was the one that made that um the kind of picture of the chromosomes under the fluorescent light.
01:17:34.319 --> 01:17:43.119
So they went there and like saw um, yeah.
01:17:43.199 --> 01:17:51.439
He they went there and just got to see you know what was left of their mother and see how it was used and really kind of talk about it and see all of the different uh things.
01:17:51.840 --> 01:17:53.680
Um I heard a baby.
01:17:53.920 --> 01:17:54.239
Yeah.
01:17:55.039 --> 01:18:01.279
So he also told uh Deborah and uh Zachariah that he believed that John Hopkins had screwed up.
01:18:01.439 --> 01:18:09.439
He he thought that they should have never hid the origin of the cells, that they deserved a piece of the profits, and that he worked at John Hopkins uh wait.
01:18:09.680 --> 01:18:18.880
He worked at John Hopkins, who didn't own any of the rights to Gila, but he still believed that the massive biotech companies that owned the Lax, you know, owed the Lax family money for their contribution.
01:18:19.039 --> 01:18:35.119
So um he also assured both children that he knew what caused Henrietta's cancer and that it wasn't genetic based, that it was caused by the you know multiple variations of HBV and that they didn't need to worry about getting the same cancer that killed their mother.
01:18:35.199 --> 01:18:43.840
And that was like a huge relief because Deborah was was constantly worried that she was gonna like all of a sudden, you know, turn around and have the same cancer.
01:18:44.000 --> 01:18:52.640
So um uh her blood pressure once again spiked and and she was like sent back to the hospital worrying that she would have a
stroke.
01:18:52.880 --> 01:19:02.800
Um so then Rebecca had to kind of do a lot of the research from that point on by herself, but she just kept calling back and like giving giving Deborah more updates and more information.
01:19:04.399 --> 01:19:28.399
So uh Deborah was asked to speak at a like a really big um convention that uh was gonna honor her mother, and like again, it was another another place was like uh like I think it was maybe nationally trying to become a uh Henrietta Lax Day, or or at least a you know bigger communities, I don't remember exactly.
01:19:28.560 --> 01:19:34.479
But uh the that was like her doctors were really worried about the speech, but Deborah felt very passionately about it.
01:19:34.720 --> 01:19:36.159
Yeah, she was like, I'm gonna make this speech.
01:19:37.039 --> 01:19:41.600
And um that speech was scheduled for September 11th, 2001.
01:19:41.920 --> 01:19:43.039
Oh boy.
01:19:43.199 --> 01:19:44.000
Yeah, yeah.
01:19:44.800 --> 01:19:48.239
So uh needless to say, uh the speech did not happen.
01:19:48.640 --> 01:19:52.800
The convention uh was was postponed uh and indefinitely.
01:19:53.119 --> 01:19:58.800
Um and that was like that was a big kind of a blow for for Deborah.
01:19:58.960 --> 01:19:59.920
She was really depressed about it.
01:20:00.079 --> 01:20:04.079
But it also like again, it's just like this this story feels like a forest gump.
01:20:04.159 --> 01:20:08.720
You know, it's just like everything is everything that could happen is happening is connected.
01:20:08.880 --> 01:20:11.600
And if you wrote it as a movie, you'd be like, that's not real.
01:20:11.840 --> 01:20:14.000
Yeah, but it is real, yeah.
01:20:14.479 --> 01:20:32.000
So sadly, uh on the Sunday morning, five days after uh the 9-11 attack, Deborah went to church to pray at uh a conference to be wait, to Deborah went to church uh to pray that the conference that she was gonna speak at was gonna be rescheduled.
01:20:32.159 --> 01:20:39.199
Um and then during the sermon, she slumped in the pew and was unable to move her arm.
01:20:39.359 --> 01:20:43.119
So um the the like worried about stroke happened.
01:20:43.359 --> 01:20:47.039
Uh she ended up living for another like ten years.
01:20:47.199 --> 01:20:50.319
Um, but she was, you know, uh not going on adventures anymore.
01:20:50.479 --> 01:20:52.159
Yeah, not going on adventures anymore.
01:20:52.479 --> 01:21:07.279
Um but uh eventually, you know, again, nine years after after the stroke, uh she finally succumbed to complications related to a heart attack in May of 2009.
01:21:07.520 --> 01:21:09.039
She died at 59 years old.
01:21:09.760 --> 01:21:10.159
Oof.
01:21:10.479 --> 01:21:10.720
Yeah.
01:21:11.119 --> 01:21:12.319
That's far too early.
01:21:12.720 --> 01:21:13.279
Yes.
01:21:13.520 --> 01:21:14.079
Yes.
01:21:14.319 --> 01:21:22.399
Um but i you know, to to some extent she did get to see, you know, her mother's name, you know, I'm glad that she met Rebecca.
01:21:22.560 --> 01:21:24.319
I'm glad that they had that they had that relationship.
01:21:25.119 --> 01:21:25.279
Yeah.
01:21:25.520 --> 01:21:34.319
It really uh it felt like something that needed to happen for um if she could have found any peace or any trust, yeah, like that's the uh sadly.
01:21:34.399 --> 01:21:46.960
So the the sh Rebecca finished the book, sent her a copy, and like she couldn't really read well in general, but couldn't read especially because of because of uh the aftermath of the stroke that well.
01:21:47.119 --> 01:21:50.159
And Rebecca was like, just wait, I'm gonna come, I'm gonna read it to you.
01:21:50.319 --> 01:21:50.640
Yeah.
01:21:50.800 --> 01:22:00.399
Uh and like she was like making the trip, like trying to figure out how to do the trip, and like Deborah wasn't calling her back, and and it had turned out that she had passed away.
01:22:00.640 --> 01:22:03.279
Um Yeah, I know.
01:22:03.600 --> 01:22:04.159
I know.
01:22:04.319 --> 01:22:22.239
But um the so though the author, I guess because of ethics, was barred from giving any profits directly to the subject of her books, she did start a Henrietta Lax Foundation to help pay for the education and living expenses for Henrietta's grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
01:22:22.560 --> 01:22:23.520
That's really beautiful.
01:22:23.760 --> 01:22:30.560
Um so like the some of the proceeds and the book was sold very well and is continuing to sell sell pretty well.
01:22:30.720 --> 01:22:39.439
Uh, and but a portion of the proceeds are are still going to um, you know, help pay for yeah, to this foundation for the grandchildren and great grandchildren.
01:22:39.600 --> 01:22:47.199
Uh a movie was eventually produced by HBO, released in 2017 based on Rebecca's book, starring like Oprah Winfrey as Deborah Last.
01:22:47.520 --> 01:22:57.439
I knew that Oprah was starring in it, and I was really confused this whole time because I didn't know she was Deborah, and I was like, Henrietta died at the the very old pointed out, age of 31.
01:22:57.680 --> 01:22:59.760
So I was like, how is she?
01:23:00.399 --> 01:23:03.279
You were like, oh my god, she's barely, she was on Death's Door anyway.
01:23:03.359 --> 01:23:05.520
I don't know why we're telling the story, she was already 31.
01:23:05.920 --> 01:23:09.520
That's a a a huge mischaracterization of what happened.
01:23:09.920 --> 01:23:11.520
Well, you did say she was old.
01:23:11.760 --> 01:23:17.039
Uh so I was just confused because Oprah is not 31.
01:23:17.199 --> 01:23:17.359
Right.
01:23:17.520 --> 01:23:19.359
But it makes sense that she was Deborah.
01:23:19.760 --> 01:23:20.880
Um I'm not sure who else is.
01:23:21.119 --> 01:23:29.920
I definitely want to watch the movie because I'm I'm interested, but um it was, you know, uh I have not watched it yet, so we'll get into it at some point.
01:23:30.239 --> 01:23:36.000
Um so the movie was produced in 2017.
01:23:36.159 --> 01:23:45.279
Um once again, the
family was not able to get direct profits from the movie, but uh three of the remaining sons were hired by the movie as paid consultants, so they got a little bit of money there.
01:23:45.840 --> 01:23:46.159
A little bit.
01:23:46.399 --> 01:23:57.199
Uh and then Rebecca donated a large portion of her profits from the movie once again to the Henrietta Lacks Foundation to further, you know, help pay uh pay and fund.
01:23:58.000 --> 01:24:04.479
In 2021, the Henrietta Lax Enhancing Cancer Research Act was signed into the Enhancing Cancer Research.
01:24:05.039 --> 01:24:05.920
Important last word.
01:24:06.399 --> 01:24:06.640
Research.
01:24:06.800 --> 01:24:08.640
Yeah, no, they were not enhancing cancer.
01:24:08.960 --> 01:24:12.000
Uh no, Enhancing Cancer Research Act was passing a law.
01:24:12.159 --> 01:24:29.840
The law was mostly just a federal acknowledgement of Henrietta's contribution, but also included uh directions for government accountability office to specifically look at the barriers for minorities in participating in cancer studies, like uh in experimental cancer studies to help further science on minority health.
01:24:30.000 --> 01:24:48.239
So uh, you know, a lot of people, like if you're w wealthy enough or if you have the right connections and and like all all other paths have failed, you're able to like get into some of these experimental tests, test groups, which like is a crapshoot because it could be But if you want to take that risk and it could have good results.
01:24:48.640 --> 01:24:52.960
However, a lot of minorities were barred from uh being able to be a part of that.
01:24:53.119 --> 01:25:01.840
So this act was specifically you know helping kind of realign and give opportunities for you know uh possibly life-saving treatments for for these people.
01:25:02.000 --> 01:25:14.000
So um in October of 2021, the Laxa State began a legal battle with a landmark case against a biotech a biotechnical company called Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
01:25:14.319 --> 01:25:15.359
out of Massachusetts.
01:25:15.680 --> 01:25:16.000
Hey there.
01:25:16.239 --> 01:25:16.479
Uh-huh.
01:25:21.520 --> 01:25:32.159
The suit was based on the idea of unjust enrichment, saying that the initial sales were taken without her consent, and therefore any profit made based off of that genetic material was unjustly obtained.
01:25:32.399 --> 01:25:35.520
Um the case eventually settled out of court in 2023.
01:25:35.600 --> 01:25:49.359
The Laxic state quickly got to work with their next case on the same grounds against a Swiss pharmaceutical company called Novartis and a global and the global uh healthcare corp VRTs.
01:25:49.760 --> 01:25:52.159
Sorry, I mean people are definitely going to be using this to be a very important thing.
01:25:52.319 --> 01:25:54.960
They gotta know for the book reports.
01:25:57.840 --> 01:25:59.439
So make sure you get all these details right.
01:25:59.760 --> 01:26:03.439
So uh both of those companies also settled out of court in 2026.
01:26:03.520 --> 01:26:07.680
Um and there's currently an ongoing lawsuit against UltragenX.
01:26:08.319 --> 01:26:10.640
That sounds like the company that made Principal Park.
01:26:10.960 --> 01:26:11.279
Yeah.
01:26:11.439 --> 01:26:16.640
Uh you know, uh you can look it up too.
01:26:16.720 --> 01:26:18.560
You know, it'd it'd be fine if you want to.
01:26:18.720 --> 01:26:19.840
If you don't want to, it's fine.
01:26:20.159 --> 01:26:21.920
Um so uh in the U.S.
01:26:22.000 --> 01:26:25.039
District Court of Baltimore, uh, and I feel like this is just the beginning.
01:26:25.119 --> 01:26:45.359
I think they're they're gonna continue kind of um going after some of these people, and the family is getting money, and it's probably all, or at least for the most part, I bet some of it is going back to the the still living uh relatives that are that are there, but uh a lot of it is probably going into this foundation to hopefully really help the you know the descendants of the Lax family um kind of go through it.
01:26:45.520 --> 01:26:58.159
So uh, you know, this I'm very excited that this is happening because it if in in one way, um, it's unfortunate that it isn't like going all the way through the court process to create new precedent and create new law.
01:26:58.319 --> 01:27:11.359
Um, but it does signal a shift in in the tone and the and the fact that like these these are the the pharmaceutical companies are caving like they are means that they know that the like that kind of their their time is numbered.
01:27:11.439 --> 01:27:14.399
So it's again if you're hiding what you're doing, you might know it's a bad thing.
01:27:14.640 --> 01:27:15.199
You might know it's a bad thing.
01:27:15.279 --> 01:27:15.760
You shouldn't be doing it.
01:27:16.000 --> 01:27:16.560
You shouldn't do it.
01:27:16.800 --> 01:27:35.439
So, you know, hopefully, you know, if this keeps going forward, eventually we can kind of base some real make some real litigation kind of covering and protecting people's like genetic, you know, makeup and identity and their genetic matter if it's going to be used in a commercial venture or because capitalism do be uh taking advantage of people.
01:27:35.680 --> 01:27:36.079
Yeah.
01:27:36.319 --> 01:27:37.840
So there you go.
01:27:38.000 --> 01:27:43.920
You know, we did a you know uh 12 hours worth of podcasting for a 15-hour book.
01:27:44.000 --> 01:27:44.560
I'm sorry, everybody.
01:27:46.399 --> 01:27:49.439
I feel like we might have surpassed, but I guess we're just a little bit under.
01:27:49.760 --> 01:27:56.880
Yeah, uh, yeah, because I listen, I it's it's like a 12-hour book at 1.75 speed because I'm a psychopath.
01:27:57.359 --> 01:27:58.479
I hate that.
01:27:59.199 --> 01:28:01.840
I was listening at 3.5 speed for a little while.
01:28:02.640 --> 01:28:04.159
No, nope.
01:28:04.479 --> 01:28:06.079
Yeah, because I had to get those names.
01:28:06.319 --> 01:28:07.039
Nope.
01:28:07.439 --> 01:28:08.000
Nope.
01:28:08.239 --> 01:28:08.640
Bad.
01:28:09.359 --> 01:28:10.479
I'm gonna get better at researching one day.
01:28:11.600 --> 01:28:21.119
Or if anybody uh wants to be a um a loved but uh modestly compensated researcher to help us out until we start making more money, that would be great.
01:28:21.359 --> 01:28:22.399
That would be so helpful.
01:28:22.560 --> 01:28:22.960
Yeah.
01:28:23.199 --> 01:28:25.119
But uh yeah, that's the story.
01:28:25.279 --> 01:28:28.880
Next week, we will get into my series on the potato famine.
01:28:29.119 --> 01:28:30.560
We've already spoiled that, I believe.
01:28:30.800 --> 01:28:31.119
Yeah, yeah.
01:28:31.279 --> 01:28:31.439
Yeah.
01:28:31.760 --> 01:28:34.479
I think unless we spoil no, I think we're in the fourth episode.
01:28:35.520 --> 01:28:40.079
I don't remember maybe that that five-minute blurb from the time the the first three times we tried to record this.
01:28:40.560 --> 01:28:44.560
This episode and this series feels like it's what we've been doing for the past 17 years.
01:28:45.039 --> 01:28:46.960
Um I learned a lot.
01:28:47.119 --> 01:28:48.560
I've had a lot to think about.
01:28:48.720 --> 01:28:53.279
I have a lot of um anxious feelings in my tummy about a lot of these things.
01:28:53.439 --> 01:28:53.680
Yeah.
01:28:54.000 --> 01:28:56.880
Just because everybody in this story is anxious and sad and it's so.
01:29:02.079 --> 01:29:02.399
Yeah.
01:29:03.520 --> 01:29:12.079
I uh next one I'm gonna try to do something that is more uh you know less medical related.
01:29:12.399 --> 01:29:15.760
Yeah, just more people getting hot coffee burns, I think.
01:29:15.840 --> 01:29:16.880
Something of of the like.
01:29:17.279 --> 01:29:19.760
That was an old lady who got third degree burns.
01:29:20.000 --> 01:29:20.399
I know.
01:29:20.560 --> 01:29:21.760
And I want people to know more about it.
01:29:21.920 --> 01:29:22.479
Still a bummer.
01:29:22.640 --> 01:29:23.600
I still want people to know more.
01:29:24.880 --> 01:29:25.600
Are you sure she's old?
01:29:25.680 --> 01:29:26.640
Maybe she was in her 30s.
01:29:26.800 --> 01:29:28.000
She's in her 80s.
01:29:28.720 --> 01:29:29.279
I think.
01:29:29.600 --> 01:29:29.920
I don't know.
01:29:30.000 --> 01:29:31.119
I'm gonna find out more soon.
01:29:31.359 --> 01:29:32.560
We're gonna find out more.
01:29:32.880 --> 01:29:35.039
But next week, yeah, we're back to me.
01:29:35.199 --> 01:29:36.239
Yeah, watch out worlds.
01:29:36.560 --> 01:29:42.239
A crisp, you know, a tighter tighter information and more puns.
01:29:42.640 --> 01:29:43.279
Yes.
01:29:43.600 --> 01:29:44.960
That's what the people want.
01:29:45.199 --> 01:29:45.680
Is it?
01:29:45.840 --> 01:29:46.479
I don't know.
01:29:46.720 --> 01:29:47.119
We don't know.
01:29:47.199 --> 01:29:48.479
The people don't really tell us much.
01:29:48.880 --> 01:29:51.359
They've been telling us more, though, which I we really appreciate.
01:29:51.439 --> 01:29:55.039
And uh getting those emails are a highlight of our days.
01:29:55.119 --> 01:29:56.880
So get the rich bot at Gmail.
01:29:57.039 --> 01:29:57.520
Thanks.
01:29:57.760 --> 01:29:59.119
Um, but yeah, that's it.
01:29:59.199 --> 01:29:59.520
I think.
01:29:59.920 --> 01:30:00.720
Catch you next week.
01:30:00.880 --> 01:30:01.520
Yeah, we're back.
01:30:01.600 --> 01:30:02.479
We took that little break.
01:30:02.560 --> 01:30:02.800
We're back.
01:30:02.960 --> 01:30:04.560
Yeah, thank you guys for your patience.
01:30:04.720 --> 01:30:07.920
Uh, and gals, and they's and thems.
01:30:08.960 --> 01:30:09.840
Failed it.
01:30:12.640 --> 01:30:13.520
Failed it.
01:30:13.680 --> 01:30:16.159
I'm the most inclusive person in the world.
01:30:16.479 --> 01:30:18.800
Um good golliness, Molly.
01:30:18.880 --> 01:30:19.520
We gotta stop.
01:30:19.680 --> 01:30:20.399
Yeah, we gotta do that.
01:30:20.560 --> 01:30:22.560
Uh, this is the epi.
01:30:23.439 --> 01:30:24.079
Goodbye.
01:30:24.319 --> 01:30:24.880
Goodbye.
01:30:26.399 --> 01:30:30.159
Thanks for listening, and a big thanks to Carsi Bland for the theme music.
01:30:30.399 --> 01:30:33.680
You can follow the podcast everywhere at Eathe Rich Pod.
01:30:34.079 --> 01:30:39.279
You can email us your suggestions for future episodes at eatherichpod at gmail.
01:30:39.520 --> 01:30:45.039
You can follow me at thefunnywalsh, and you can follow Danny at DMoss315.
01:30:45.439 --> 01:30:46.960
See you next week.