The Basement Talks

Season 1

A shooting spree, a trial, and secret conversations between pro-choice and pro-life leaders captured on cassette tapes. There's the public story and then there's the basement talks.

Where to Watch Season 1

6 Episodes

  • The Crime
    E1
    The CrimeAbortion rights has turned Boston into a powder keg. As a liberal city with a highly Catholic population, it is quickly taking center stage in the national debate. A man walks into the Planned Parenthood clinic in Brookline and opens fire.
  • The Two Sides Meet
    E2
    The Two Sides MeetThe man is captured and the trial descends into a media circus. The facts of the case are quickly abandoned in the public square as pro-choice and pro-life activists jockey for publicity and try to control the narrative. Away from the cameras and under a strict confidentiality agreement, six opposed leaders in the abortion debate meet in a windowless basement to address the hostile environment that fed the violence.
  • The Trial
    E3
    The TrialWhat were the shooter's motives? His defense team attempts to show it wasn't about abortion. His writings show a deeply schizophrenic man lost in delusions and conspiracy theories. Defense attorneys explore the possibility of a puppet master directing a sick man to the clinics with a gun. The shooter's lawyer calls the defendant to the stand, but the Judge won't let him testify.
  • The Verdict
    E4
    The VerdictThe shooter planned, rehearsed, and fled the scene. The day before the shootings he went to a range for target practice. The day after he cut his hair to avoid recognition. The prosecution seeks the highest penalty. The jury takes two days to come to an agreement. Finally, the verdict is announced. The six abortion activists are left to do what the criminal proceedings could not.
  • The Meetings
    E5
    The MeetingsThe Abortion Talks take a turn. Operation Rescue, a militant anti-abortion group, threatens violence to anyone who participates in the dialogue. The six activists debate going public, but there's a hold out. The president of Mass Citizens for Life fears the ramifications within her organization for having cooperated with the enemy.
  • The Way the World Ends
    E6
    The Way the World EndsThe activists make a splash, but it is quickly overshadowed by a new tragedy. The scandal in the Catholic church drives the six women's remarkable accomplishment out of the news cycle. The dialogue ends in a whimper. They meet again in a post-Roe world. Can they make a difference today?

 

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