WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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- [Narrator] Welcome to The Zo,

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a term coined by one prisoner
who felt being incarcerated

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was like living in the twilight zone.

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The Zo is not a place you can point to

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or a system you can fight.

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It's the result of quixotic,

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arbitrary moves by
prison wardens and staff

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that inmates can rarely prove
or defend themselves against.

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Inspired by thousands of
essays and first-hand accounts,

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these stories reveal how
surreal and daunting it can be

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just trying to survive in prison.

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Episode One: Induction.

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When people begin serving
their prison sentences,

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they are cut off from family, community,

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and the outside world.

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They try to learn the
ways of this new life,

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but prison rules often defy reason.

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New prisoners are inducted
into a life that consumes

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and drains them.

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Prison administration and staff members

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can turn even the simplest tasks

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into nearly insurmountable obstacles.

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Daily routines are confusing
and deliberately erratic.

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- [Prisoner] Once a
week an officer arrives

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to distribute fresh linens.

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You must be present in your cell,

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but he never comes at
the same time of day.

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He announces it on the intercom,

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but the sound is often drowned out

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by the noise of the facility.

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If you miss it, you
don't get clean sheets.

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- [Narrator] The problem
seemed mundane at first,

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missing out on fresh
laundry is hardly a crisis,

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but this arbitrary timing is enough

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to drive them to distraction,

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leaving them constantly off balance.

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Prison rules and regulations
are enforced inconsistently.

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Something that is okay one day

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is a punishable offense the next,

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all at the whim of the guards on duty.

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Trying to follow the rules
often seems impossible.

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- [Prisoner] When using the toilet,

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you're not allowed to cover cell bars

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with a sheet for privacy,

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but if you're seen by a female officer,

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it can result in a misbehavior
report for flashing.

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- [Narrator] Prisons refuse
to provide adequate supplies,

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and guards often confiscate
items that prisoners are saving

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for future use.

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- [Prisoner] The facility
will supply five tampons

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and five sanitary pads
for each female prisoner

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during her menstrual cycle.

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This was not enough for many women,

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and some of us couldn't afford
to buy supplemental pads

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or tampons on commissary.

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To adapt to the environment we were in,

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the wing that I lived
on came up with the idea

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to keep supplies available
for everyone on the unit.

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One woman a week would
go ask for supplies,

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if they needed them for themselves,

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they would keep them.

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However, any extra would go into a box

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that all of us could access

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so that none of us would
have to go without.

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To keep the box safe,

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we would pass it around the unit based

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on who had been shook down most recently.

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Sometimes the box would
be confiscated by guards

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and we would just start
over again with a new box

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so every woman would be taken care of.

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- [Narrator] Something as
simple as making a plan

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for the day to study,

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to work or simply go
outside to see the sky,

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is made so difficult that
prisoners are stripped

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of their dignity.

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They are blamed for not obeying the rules

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no matter how hard they try.

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- [Prisoner] A list is taken by a officer

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at 5:30 every morning before
his or her shift ends.

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Inmates are supposed to
be awake to catch the list

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by telling the officer
where he or she intends

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to go during the day.

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In most facilities,

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the officer taking the
list speeds by in the dark

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while people in they
cells routinely state,

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"Mess hall, yard, school,
vocational, hospital."

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As the officer looks straight
ahead and robotically records

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each persons' request.

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If you are still asleep or hesitate

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and therefore miss the
zoom-by by a nanosecond,

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you are outta luck.

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A few hours later,

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when a new officer has begun his shift,

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cells begin to open.

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The inmates who missed
the list begin yelling

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in an attempt to get
the officer's attention.

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The officer normally yells back,

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"You're not on the list."

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Then goes in the office to
write a misbehavior report

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for refusing to attend programs.

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This can be held against the
inmate when seeking release

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at the parole board.

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- [Narrator] It's a disorienting universe

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that seems to defy common sense.

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With each passing day,

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this constant confusion causes prisoners

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to lose their grip on their own identity

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and become reduced to
numbers in the system.

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To hold on to their sense
of self and survive The Zo,

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prisoners have to find ways to adapt

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to this upside down world.