6 chapters across the catalog
Archival audio captures the shock of the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis. Dr. Cornel West comments on the spiritual death felt by the black community following the loss of their non-violent leader. The hosts discuss the subsequent riots and the shift in the youth's mindset toward more radical action.
Mo critiques the hypocrisy of artists and platforms being offended by Rogan's words while Spotify profits from "drill rap" that promotes real-world violence and the killing of Black men. He argues that the "death culture" in modern rap is far more damaging to the Black community than a podcaster's out-of-context remarks.
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. The official narrative identified James Earl Ray as the lone gunman who fired from a nearby rooming house bathroom. However, the hosts introduce skepticism regarding this account, noting that Ray's "three names" fit a typical pattern for alleged lone assassins in American history.
Judge Joe Brown asserts that the rifle on display at the Civil Rights Museum was not the weapon used to kill Dr. King. Brown claims a two-man hit team fired from a fire station dormitory, not the rooming house. He further explains that James Earl Ray never actually confessed to the murder but entered an "Alford plea," which allows a defendant to maintain innocence while accepting a plea deal in their best interest.
In 1999, a civil trial in Memphis concluded with a jury finding that multiple government agencies were involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Martin Luther King Jr. The jury heard from 70 witnesses, including Lloyd Jowers, who claimed he participated in the plot. The verdict officially cleared James Earl Ray of being the shooter, though the hosts note that this significant legal outcome is rarely reported by the mainstream media.
The hosts analyze the iconic photograph of civil rights leaders pointing from the balcony of the Lorraine Motel immediately after the shooting. They argue that Jesse Jackson and others were pointing in the wrong direction based on the findings of the 1999 civil trial. This discrepancy is used to suggest that the immediate reaction was either confused or part of a staged narrative to misdirect attention from the actual sniper's location.
