889: There’s Something About Hail Mary
Jun 21, 2026 · 1 hr 6 min · 13 segments
We spend an hour in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, behind and desperate, with people trying any damn thing they can think of. Visit…
Jun 21, 2026 · 1 hr 6 min · 13 segments
We spend an hour in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, behind and desperate, with people trying any damn thing they can think of. Visit…
Ira GlassHostAyesha Wallace-PalomaresGuestAuraGuest
Ramona DismukesGuestGreg WarchakGuestIt's in a pretty desolate spot, surrounded by industrial parks and mountains with off-roading trails.
I think when I actually, when I first walked up, I think Kiss was playing.
And, um, you know, I just remember very cozy, very friendly, very positive, you know? Even though this was, you know, across, you know, you're looking at this detention center that has beige walls and two layers of fence with barbed wire.
It was a whole group of people, about 150, who brought their dogs and kids.
They wanted the people inside to know they were there, which is kind of a puzzle because of the fences.
Hence the music, which they played pretty loud.
They also flew kites, and the kids blew bubbles, hoping to get some of them over the detention center's walls.
Ayesha watched a pastor walk up to a microphone and speaker that was set up.
And he turned around and faced the detention center, and he said, "All right, everyone, I want you guys to, like, yell, 'You are not alone.'"
You are not alone.
Let's say it to the hostages behind us.
You are not alone.
Two more times.
You are not alone.
There are more than 1,300 detainees inside Otay Mesa, and a lot of them don't have a good reliable way to communicate with the outside world.
In theory, they should be able to make phone calls.
There are these tablets they can use to text or do video chats.
But the reality is that they have to pay to do any of that, and a lot of people land in detention without any money.
And sometimes their families have no idea where they've been taken.
They can try to look it up online in ICE's detainee locator, but that's not always accurate or up to date.
And if you're wondering, don't people have a right to a free phone call, the answer is no.
And then I just kind of start to notice that they're, like, calling over the fence.
It's in a pretty desolate spot, surrounded by industrial parks and mountains with off-roading trails.
I think when I actually, when I first walked up, I think Kiss was playing.
And, um, you know, I just remember very cozy, very friendly, very positive, you know? Even though this was, you know, across, you know, you're looking at this detention center that has beige walls and two layers of fence with barbed wire.
It was a whole group of people, about 150, who brought their dogs and kids.
They wanted the people inside to know they were there, which is kind of a puzzle because of the fences.
Hence the music, which they played pretty loud.
They also flew kites, and the kids blew bubbles, hoping to get some of them over the detention center's walls.
Ayesha watched a pastor walk up to a microphone and speaker that was set up.
And he turned around and faced the detention center, and he said, "All right, everyone, I want you guys to, like, yell, 'You are not alone.'"
You are not alone.
Let's say it to the hostages behind us.
You are not alone.
Two more times.
You are not alone.
There are more than 1,300 detainees inside Otay Mesa, and a lot of them don't have a good reliable way to communicate with the outside world.
In theory, they should be able to make phone calls.
There are these tablets they can use to text or do video chats.
But the reality is that they have to pay to do any of that, and a lot of people land in detention without any money.
And sometimes their families have no idea where they've been taken.
They can try to look it up online in ICE's detainee locator, but that's not always accurate or up to date.
And if you're wondering, don't people have a right to a free phone call, the answer is no.
And then I just kind of start to notice that they're, like, calling over the fence.
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