Criminal. Delinquent. Offender.
This is how society labels those who break the rules.
Of course, we make our exceptions for inspiring historical figures like Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. But what about the new generation of disobedients, who choose to break the law or other established lines in the sand, in defence of what they believe is right? Where are they?
New podcast 'Law Breakers' highlights this fresh wave of dissidents. Featuring in-depth interviews and profiles, it explores the lengths people go to to uphold their moral code - and occasionally change the rules of society in the process.
FEATURING
AND ANONYMOUS
LAW BREAKERS
THE COUPLES WHO TIE THE KNOT IN A LOOPHOLE
Meet partnerships forged so that one of them can stay in the country
THE DOCTORS WHO EUTHANISE
Meet the doctors who assist terminally ill patients to die, against UK law.
THE UNDERAGE PEOPLE WHO VOTE
Meet young people who commit voter fraud to have a say in elections.
SPILLING TOGETHER
Collections of multiple confessions on the same theme.
ON HEALTH
“I conspired with fellow officers to give one of my sailors two months off after the birth of his son. His boy was born extremely sick, might be gone at any moment, and had no leave left on the books. All of us made sure that if anyone senior was looking for him they ‘just missed him.’
The story ends on a high note as the baby survived and now, 13 years later I still see his pic from time to time on Facebook. I’d do it all over again.”
“I worked at a camp for kids with diabetes. At the end once we had a giant surplus of blood sugar test strips - tens of thousands of dollars worth.
No organization would take them as they'd expire in a few months, and I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away like I was told. So I squirreled them away, basically stealing, and decided to send them to people that needed them. I only asked for shipping costs. I became a nurse to help people, I wasn’t about to let red tape prevent me from doing so.”
ON FOOD
“I used to work at Starbucks. And we’re supposed to throw away the breakfast sandwiches after 2 days. Well I thought that was total bull. So I would put everything in a trash bag and throw it away like normal at the end of the night. But then as I left, I would take them and bring them to the homeless that would always congregate at the Safeway next to where I lived. They were very grateful, and eventually would know be my name. It was the most gratifying feeling. Screw you, food industry.”
“Despite the threat of punishment looming over every encounter with Customs, my parents — and countless other would-be smugglers — recognize how important it is to enjoy foods from their homelands in the U.S. When it comes to flying with food, they’re all Goodfellas: Keep your mouth shut, and never rat on your friends.
My late grandfather used to tell my mom it was not worth bringing food from India to America. But he broke that rule for one thing: the pickles his mom made from the mangoes grown in their front yard in Brahmavar, a small town north of Mangalore.”
ON WORK
“I supervise student workers. I give them their full hours even when I let them go early. They don’t get paid enough and I really depend on them and they’re great people.
I wish I could pay them the what they deserve. I’m working on getting that changed but it’s a slow process.”
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“I used my company’s client’s personal customer data to tell the police where a vehicle was, resulting in a little girl that had been abducted being rescued.
I didn’t think twice, and I fessed up when I got back to work. Everyone told me I did the right thing but not to talk about it.”