The After Show : "Sisters Loved and Treasured”

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Hi there, everybody, and welcome to 2020 The After Show.

I'm Deborah Roberts and typically I am talking about 2020 and true crime in our latest episode, but some of you may know that I have written a new book that has just come out called Sisters Loved and Treasured Stories of Unbreakable bonds and the book was sort of based on my own experience with sisters i grew up in a house full of sisters six sisters we have lost two of them over the years but i have four sisters who are still very a part of my life so i thought it might be fun to turn the tables and they are here with me in new york today so i want to introduce you to my sisters janet benita tina and belinda and they have been hanging out with me this week so we thought maybe um since i'm always asking the questions we might turn the tables and let you all ask the questions.

I don't know if I'm ready for this,

but I like it.

But one of the beautiful things in doing this book was that we actually did put a lot of things on the table and just talked about our lives and growing up and our perceptions of each other and what we felt as children and what we feel as adults.

And it was really just a lot of fun, I think, in connecting us together. And one of the things that makes me so proud is not only do I have my sisters, but I've got a couple of warriors in the bunch.

Janet, who is is a breast cancer survivor and thriver. Tina, who's dealing with her own battle at the moment, but surviving and thriving at this moment.

So I got a couple warriors in the pack and then two other like loyal, dedicated, fierce sisters. So Janet, take it away.

Yeah, well, one thing that I wanted to ask you is, have you always wanted to be in the media, the news area? And when did you know that that was what you wanted to do?

Did you ever feel like you wanted to do something else other than a correspondent? You know, it's interesting because people ask me that, and I think it's always what I wanted to do.

One of our cousins, Debara, said she remembered me always watching the evening news with Walter Cronkite. Everybody else was running around doing things, getting into whatever.

And at the end of the day, I was watching the evening news.

And I remember being sort of mesmerized by the reporters, seeing the changing face of news and, you know, black reporters, female reporters, Connie Chung, Lim Tucker.

And I just thought it was so interesting. And when I was in high school, I was very interested in sort of performance, like television, being in front of camera.

And so I thought maybe it was acting, but then I went off to college. And when I really got a chance to be introduced to journalism, I thought that's what I want, TV journalism.

So you, Janet, watched 2020. Yeah, I was always an avid 2020 watcher.

And

it was interesting because

you were always that kind of person that would ask people questions. And I said, I can just see you sitting there with the cards on your lap.
Yeah.

It is weird because people would come to the house and I would ask all kinds of questions, wouldn't I?

You would. And can I say also that I remember you used to be in the mirror? I don't you remember

yes. You'd be doing your own report in the mirror in the bathroom.

This is Deborah Roberts, yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. With my brush or whatever? Yeah, with your brush.
And Junior, our brother, used to just

brag you about it all the time. Funny.

What are you doing again? You're doing your show again. Yes.
Oh, my goodness.

Do you remember that? She used to be in the middle of the day. I don't remember that.
I did my show in front of the mirror. Yes, you did.
You were always doing your own show.

So I guess I was destined.

I guess it was destined. So I didn't have any other particular talents.
You all sing. I don't sing.
And mom used to say, well, you know, you speak very loud.

So it's okay. She was like, Your talents were.

Exactly. My talents were elsewhere.

Awesome. Oh, who's next? Can you talk about one time when you were very nervous? before one of your interviews.
Oh my gosh, I'm nervous all the time. I'm nervous right now.

I would say people think that we are so comfortable doing what we do. And for the most part, I am comfortable because I've learned to do it.

But I still get very nervous, especially if it's an important interview. I mean, I've had an opportunity to interview Michelle Obama over the years.

I interviewed Jill Biden before they left the White House. I was really nervous about making sure I asked the questions just right.

Or celebrities, you know, if I've interviewed, you know, actors and actresses. I get nervous because I want to make sure I come across well.
I ask good questions.

But even just day to day, particularly if there's a timeline, when I go into prisons because true crime for 2020, I go to interview people and that's serious business because you are behind bars.

Oftentimes, they will talk about the SWAT team that they have set aside just in case something happens. So, I'm nervous about that, and just wanting to make sure.

I mean, in New Jersey, I had to go do an interview once, and I really was very nervous because we were going in this one area, this sort of not holding area, but it was a contained area where all the inmates were housed, and they could see us.

And they said, Don't worry, we've got a SWAT team, you know, ready. But you surrender your phone and your ID and all of that when you come into the prison.

And you know, in the back of your mind, and I do as a journalist, something could happen.

And so I get a little nervous, and I'm happy when it's over and we did it, and there's a good job done, and so forth. So I get nervous a lot, but I think it brings me good energy.

The nerves sort of propel me to think on my feet and to do that. But I was about to say, you don't show it.
No, you have no idea how many times I'm churning inside.

Yeah, you come across naturally.

Yeah, I think that's the trick, trying to mask that so people don't know when i'm doing live television you know occasionally i fill in on good morning america and i'm like totally nervous before you don't want to say the wrong thing you don't want to you know blow it and so forth so i'm nervous on a regular basis but i think i've learned how to deal with that and to use it sometimes to help me do a better job maybe

who's next

when we were children this was always the case but was always like uh is it my turn exactly i hated my mind in those themes for some reason. So I'm like,

what I love is that our roles remain the same. I mean, you know, we still make jokes and laugh about little things and little quirks that we have.
Same roles.

Okay, so I want to know if you have a particular story that you worked on, you know, over the years. I know there have been many, but that you were particularly proud of.
Oh, wow. Well, I have a lot.

And I think it changes all the time because I continue to do stories that now and again touch me. But I still think about the story that I did.

I was on maternity leave and I got a call from one of the senior producers and said, There is this story about this African woman who lives in America, Ethiopian-American woman, but she wants to go back to Africa to find her roots.

She was given up as a child because she was injured and her parents couldn't care for her.

And she was raised elsewhere and made her way to the United States, but she wants to go back and it's this journey. But the thing of it is, she's leaving like in three days.

Could you possibly do the story? And I was, I was like, I'm, I'm on maternity leave. And I, I, I,

and um, Al, my husband said, you know, you should do this. You should do this.
What a great way to get back into it.

So I, you know, had to stop breastfeeding and I had to get all my shots and so forth. And I thought, okay.
And this was a story that we were just sort of going out on a lark.

We didn't know if she would find her, her mom and we didn't know where the story would take us.

So it was just such an amazing story of by the seat of your pants, you don't really know what's going to happen.

And then she did eventually, the mom was told in this village, and they walked and they made their way, and she was reunited with her mom.

And that remains one of my most memorable stories because, you know, as a black woman, connecting with Ethiopia and all the people who were there, that was really meaningful.

But also, just this beautiful story of discovery. And then we won an Emmy Award.

So I was just, that's a story that I still remember to this day. Obviously, there are plenty of other stories that we've done that are memorable.

Just a recent true crime story I did with 2020 about a young mom who was abducted and

killed, and the 911 system failed her.

And that was a story that was really touching because she was so young, and there were so many opportunities to save her, and they didn't.

So, there are many stories that we do now that still stick with me, but that one was just memorable for a lot of reasons. Yeah.

Up next, the lessons we share with the next generation: our nieces and nephews, dreaming big despite any circumstance. Stay with us.

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We are back with a special edition of 2020 The After Show. Typically, I bring in a 2020 producer or correspondent, but today

I have my sisters with me.

What would you like for your legacy to be in our family? And what would you say to all of the young people in our family and elsewhere, friends? What would you say to them about following your dreams?

Because they certainly look to you,

you know, and look up to you for following your dreams. That's very sweet.
Well, for those who don't know, we are from a large family, nine children growing up together.

and I have a lot of nieces and nephews, like 20,

five, I think. I don't even know.

And, you know, we joke, Janet, all the time about how they seem to,

your kids seem to get very nervous about what I think. And, you know, I weigh in on,

I didn't quite realize that. But I think more than anything else, and I know I can be a little pushy.

I can be a little judgmental now and again. Me? No.
No, me, never. But only in a good way.
On a a good way.

I think because I was so demanding and ambitious myself growing up, you talk about I had these dreams. I just, I want my nieces and nephews to have dreams and I want them to think beyond.

I mean, we grew up in small town Perry, Georgia, like 10,000 people post-segregation. And we really experienced life in a very small way.

But I had dreams beyond the small town, and I wanted to do something bigger. And I just imagined that I could do it.

And I think more than anything, I want to convey to all of my nieces and nephews to imagine, to think bigger. Don't just think about this particular career that would be nice and lovely.

Maybe take it a step above. But I'm always that type of person and I do it to my own kids.
What about the next thing? So I just,

I like to encourage, and I do this when I go to colleges or high schools, to dream and don't deny yourself the opportunity to imagine that you could do more because of your circumstances and your surroundings, but to think that maybe I can make my mark in a bigger way.

So I don't know. I mean, I guess sometimes people see that as being a little, I guess, pushy, but.

Well, you know, I can say to add to that, I remember, so, you know, growing up, as you said, in a southern town, small town,

you know, we spoke country. And you, you encouraged me and you influenced me to, you know, stop splitting verbs.
And so now, you know, I've become this grammar fanatic. Yes, you are.
You're grammar.

And with reading, you also encouraged me to used to buy me books or, you know, tell me me to read and whatnot. And I used to hate it when I was growing up.
Oh, stop it.

Stop saying things about how I speak. But then I grew to love it.
Yeah.

And you've had such an impact on your kids too in the way you think. But remember when I used to, I would come home with all these ideas of things that were just exciting.

And I trapped you and Bonita and said, let's do yoga.

And you kept giggling and grinning. And I was so upset.
I was like, you're not taking this seriously. We're doing downward dog.
What is wrong with you two? And you were like, yoga, who cares?

Who even knows what yoga is? And I always came up with these ideas.

And now I hope you don't think I was completely crazy, but

we would appreciate it. Yes.

We would correct you on the spot.

So, if you split that verb,

it was, and she would say no, it's

that is so funny. Coming up, we're hosting our own after-show murder mystery dinner party.
Who plays the best detective or the best prosecutor? More laughs laughs ahead.

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Welcome back to 2020 The After Show. This has been so fun.
It's been so great having you guys here and getting a chance to share my world and television because you all know it.

You've been here various times. You've seen little things, but to be able to see behind the scenes and to join this podcast, it means so much.

Okay, so since we are a true crime show at 2020, and Janet, you have always been a true crime fanatic, I think.

I know you've always liked the show, but even when we started doing crime, let's talk about who might be a sleuth.

Because when we do a lot of stories at 2020, there are a lot of citizen sleuths out there who follow true crime and will offer their thoughts to police.

So who in the group would be the true crime sleuth, do you think? I think it might be me.

I know Kristen and I, and

she's a police officer now, but I remember we sit and watch the

true crime shows and look at the, you know, as the story would unfold. We'd say, they might want to talk to that guy.
They're gonna, because he's probably gonna end up being the one.

And true enough, the guy would be the one that would go back to the guy, and we're like, yeah, the one who was in the background

in the background, he was actually being interviewed by the

news person or whoever, and talking about the person. It's like, he looks a little suspicious.
I think they're going to need to kind of circle back and go to him.

And sure enough, they went back and circled back to him, and he was actually the one that committed the crime. So you, so we find that if you're going to be able to do that, yeah,

we try and figure out who,

as they start unraveling what happened, it's like, oh, I think maybe that person might have done it.

And it's interesting, you know, sometimes where you feel like you went wrong and why you felt that way.

But yeah, I like trying to unravel the

think Janet? Yeah.

If we were to have a scripted true crime murder mystery show, who would most likely be like the lead detective amongst us? You wouldn't be asking. Why so? Well, I'm just always into the details.

You've said since we've been here, you don't miss a thing. You know.
But my children, Asia particularly, and Ben, because they were probably the most challenging.

But, you know, they always said, Mom, you should have been a detective.

You're always looking for stuff. You can find stuff.
You do notice. I notice that you do notice a lot of details.
What about medical examiner? Who would have the stomach for that? Ooh, not me.

Not me and Nita.

You get your high hydroways.

Oh, really? It's like a body and being able to sort of take a look at gory gooey, gory things.

Yeah, in my career, I mean, I think you hear about a lot of

things.

Yeah, you do hear a lot of things and you just

kind of get used to it. So you've become a little bit more accustomed to hearing the gruesome, heinous kinds of stories.
Okay.

Prosecutor, who's going to be the one to nail the suspected bad person in trial? I say me. Yeah, I think you too.
I think you too. You'd make your case.

I'm not sure why you say that, but anyway, yeah, you make your case. No, because

have an analytical mind, I think, but you also get an idea about people. I've noticed that you seem to sum people up pretty quickly, and you have an idea, like, is she really, or did you think?

So I could see that.

And what about DNA analyzer, the whole forensics and getting deep into that kind of thing? I don't know.

That's kind of, it seemed, well, I don't want to say tedious, but you have to have the patience to. That's true.
Because when we're watching something,

it gets wound up in an hour. But you know that it took them way longer to analyze everything.
And I don't know why.

I say beneath the bottom of the bottom. You would have the patience, probably.

You're meticulous. In my job, there are a lot of tedious things, and attention to detail is very important.

And some things that they're not necessarily hard, but you just have to have the patience and the attention to detail to do them. So I could see.
You could probably do that.

Wow, we've got everything covered here. Wow.

Well, ladies, this was fun. It was also.

What do you think? Yes. Not bad.
It was fun, yeah.

Not bad at all. Well, we'll have to bring you back to town sometime soon.

Well, as I said, my new book is called Sisters Loved and Treasure: Stories of Unbreakable Bonds. And these ladies helped spark the idea because what better thing to have in your life than a sister?

And there's actually research that says sisters are good for your mental well-being. And I think we have had a mental health boost

this last week.

So thank you all for doing this. It was great.
It was a different kind of a podcast. It's kind of nice to take a little detour from the true, true crime for a change.
Thank you all for joining us.

Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you.

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