Host Van Newkirk opens the episode by acknowledging a three-year gap since Floodlines, citing the pandemic, the 2020 election, an insurrection, and ongoing racial reckoning as the backdrop of that time. He pivots immediately to mourning Miles Poitras, a fellow at The Atlantic who was from New Orleans and served as fact-checker, script guide, and sounding board on Floodlines. Miles died in September 2022 at age 25. Van describes him as a prolific and brilliant writer and a kind and generous friend whose empathy and wisdom exceeded his years. He reads a passage Miles wrote early in his tenure — a meditative reflection on swamps, soil, water, and the ability to reimagine history by drawing one's own maps. Van describes water as Miles's 'redeeming ethos' and says the new show is dedicated to him. The episode then pivots to preview material for Holy Week, the new series from The Atlantic. An archival voice clip opens the preview: a speaker states that if they were willing to shoot King, they would shoot anyone. Van explains that April 4, 1968, the date of King's assassination, has been treated by many as the end of the Civil Rights Movement. Eyewitnesses describe the grief and anger that followed, particularly among Black communities taught about lynchings, school bombings, and Rosa Parks. Van argues that grief can warp the historical lens, trapping people in a single moment and overshadowing what came after. What came after King's assassination was a week of uprisings across American cities that has largely been forgotten. Eyewitnesses describe going to 14th Street in Washington, D.C., and finding 2,000 to 3,000 people, with most buildings already burned. Van introduces himself as senior editor at The Atlantic and says he has spent the past year interviewing people about King's assassination and the ensuing unrest. He describes what he heard as a story about a break in time — one that completely changes his understanding of the end of the Civil Rights Movement and the entire trajectory of modern America. The series is framed as being about the limits of racial reckonings, about how trauma lives through time, and about hope, grief, dreams, and dreams deferred. A closing quote from an unnamed speaker states that if King had been able to do what he was planning to do, America would look different today. Van announces Holy Week will launch March 14th with all eight episodes available at theatlantic.com/holyweek.
