E06 True Detective (season 2) by Gladio Free Europe • A podcast on Anchor
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True Detective season 2 is pretty good. We don’t really talk about it. Instead we delve into the real life stories that inspired the show, and some events that remind us of what we watched. Topics covered in this episode: Vernon, California, Political corruption, Voter suppression, Child abuse, Suspicious deaths, Satanic panic, Prostitution, Jeffrey Epstein, “Suicide,” and Bryan Singer. Would you like to know more? ☛ https://gladiofreeeurope.github.io/episodes/2021-06-16-true-detective/ Hosted by Liam and Abram.

In this week's episode of Gladio Free Europe, we look at HBO’s groundbreaking crime drama True Detective and the lurid California scandal that inspired its second season. While critics mostly disregarded this season because it lacked the gravitas and finesse of the original, it serves as an interesting exposé of the real-life town of Vernon, an industrial city near Downtown Los Angeles that’s been a source of corruption and controversy for more than a century. Co-hosts Abram and Liam take a deep dive into the history of this strange city and the people who have tried to overthrow or uphold its unique and unethical system of government.

Why does a city in the heart of LA county only allow 100 people to live there? Why didn’t Vernon hold any real elections in almost 30 years? Who is benefiting from this system, and how far will they go to keep it in place?

We go into all of these questions while drawing parallels with the overlooked TV season that tried to bring these secrets to light. In the final section of this mega-episode, Abram and Liam also discuss real-life networks of abuse that mirror what exists in this series. Some of this stuff is pretty rough, so discretion is advised.