Hello, all. This is Sarah Koenig, writing one last time to let you know that “The Idiot,” our newest series by M. Gessen, is out now and available to everyone for two more weeks. After that, you’ll need to be a Times subscriber to hear it. So either listen soon, for free, or else subscribe to The Times to hear “The Idiot” and all our other shows whenever you want — and help keep our journalism going, to boot. Either way, we’ll all be happy. Here’s a trailer for “The Idiot,” which is about M.’s least favorite cousin, Allen. The show has been topping the charts since its release last month. I’ve been reading the listener comments: One person called it “ … a beautiful weaving of the complexities of family ties. It required no frills or hyperbolic notions in its telling, because the bare truth was outrageous enough on its own.” That about sums it up. My favorite: “Just a perfect little podcast.” And: “Thought it was fascinating but I want to know what happens when he gets out of prison!” So glad you asked, listener. Because that’s the topic of this, our final “Idiot” newsletter. M.’s cousin Allen, who tried to hire someone to kill his ex-wife, wants to maintain a relationship with their two children. M. doesn’t quite know how to feel about that. So M. sought out an expert on this very thing: How do you deal with a family member who’s done something horrible? And specifically, what kind of relationship can and should develop between children and their incarcerated parents? M. spoke to their friend Harriet Clark, who had answers. Harriet has a novel coming out called “The Hill.” It’s a coming-of-age story about a girl whose mother is in prison serving a life sentence — a situation rooted in Harriet’s own life. Her mother, Judith Clark, was part of the May 19th Communist Organization, a far-left group. In 1981, when Harriet was still a baby, Judith drove a getaway car during a botched robbery of a Brink’s truck in New York. Three people died in the ensuing shootout. In her conversation with M., Harriet describes how hard her own torn-apart family worked to make sure she never lost contact with her mother, and about what it was like to spend almost every weekend of her childhood visiting her in prison. What’s interesting about their conversation is how M. and Harriet challenge each other. M. wants Allen to earn back the family’s trust by admitting what he did. Harriet argues, convincingly, that M. might be thinking about psychological repair a little too rigidly. To me, their conversation is not just a perfect companion to the series; it also provides a framework for anyone dealing with harm within their family. Which is pretty much all of us. It was recorded by our colleagues over at “The Opinions” podcast. You can find the episode here. But it does contain spoilers, so you might want to listen after you’re done with “The Idiot.”
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