Unnamed Speaker 6

I too was on the phone throughout much of the debate. My phone really never stopped buzzing throughout. And the universal reaction was somewhere approaching panic. The people who were texting with me were very concerned about President Biden seeming extremely feeble. seeming extremely weak.

Yeah. Do you think I haven't felt cold before? Nice job.

Oh, fuck!

What's your footing?

There's no other way to say this. There's no other way to say this. I don't know how to say this. I'm about to faint.

Now you're just not gonna die!

I just landed my Wyvern in Orgrimmar. I'm gonna jump off the bank for a couple hours. One creature smashes into the front.

Is this a crime? Is this a crime?

Is this a crime?

Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime? Is this a crime

Hold on! Bracer impact!

That hits, literally hits.

Nicely done, Miss Marge.

We have a certifiable feast here.

Yes. Mr. Stabiscotch? What? That was a fine offering.

And here I thought you were getting altruistic on me, Mr. Staviskos. Only half altruistic. Always have a backup plan.

I was about to say, Mr. Fire Blossom.

Mr. Fireblossom, if you wouldn't mind keeping a fire, keeping a flame for light, we'll go in and we'll listen, and we'll be careful.

Ta-da!

Mr. Yorner, give me some leverage on the other side. I'll hop back down. If anyone else wants to help push,

Queenie, can you sense if we're heading towards anything bad?

Don't tell me you're getting seasick, Mr. Yorneir. Get over the back. That is a sheet of ice. This is easy.

It's probably the religious trinket of one of the other tribes that serve the princess.

You swallow enough eggs.

What was that?

Have you heard of any underground trolls? I suppose I have heard of trolls that live underground.

Are they solitary and not in gigantic colonies? I look like a light bulb.

I need to get a chain from Yancor. Queenie, Tyshan, are you alive?

I am going to look at Taishen.

Okay. Hesha?

Real .

That was a single issue for many voters who, yes, realized they had been indoctrinated by the mainstream media when the reality was so clear when it's facing you. And when that person facing you is holding a sword.

You're telling me that who was disqualified was the person who dared to stand up for protecting biological women in sports? Why wasn't that other individual disqualified?

Jess has me shook because now I don't know whether I can say b**** or not.

Don't forget.

Well, I thought that part was funnier. No? Jess has me shook because now I don't know whether I can say bitch or not.

Because Mike Mike was the first of many things. Leslie and Mike's first kid, first nephew of her siblings, first grandkid for her parents and Mike's parents. He was totally indulged. Leslie says he had two of everything. Two car seats, two high chairs, two strollers, two bassinets. Life was good.

Mike Mike was really funny, even as a baby. And one of his early passions was his love for animals.

Mike, Mike, and Spike were always together. He loved his dog.

When junior year of high school started, Leslie's mom watched Mike Mike while Leslie went to school. But eventually, her mom had to prioritize work, which meant Leslie had to figure out what to do with her baby. She decided the best thing would be to move out of her mom's house to live with Big Mike and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Brown. They were incredibly supportive grandparents.

Mike Mike was especially close to Mr. Brown.

With Leslie living with them, Mrs. Brown found someone to watch Mike Mike during the day, allowing Leslie to focus on academics again.

The world knows Mike Brown because of August 9th and the protests that followed his murder. But for Mike Brown's mother, Leslie, May 20th is where she always begins his story.

Leslie had tried her hardest to stay in school and be a good mom. Leslie's mom and the Browns were trying to help her out with Mike Mike, but it just wasn't working. She had to focus on her son because at the end of the day, taking care of Mike Mike and being the best mom possible was the most important thing in her life. It changed her tremendously. Leslie's cousin Kiki again.

Leslie switched her focus from school to looking for work so she could support herself and Mike Mike. She didn't want to live with the Browns forever. Her relationship with Big Mike wasn't going well. They were growing apart as their priorities shifted and Leslie's mental health was floundering.

Big Mike was physically abusive to Leslie on multiple occasions, she says, even in front of his parents. In her book, Leslie says that Big Mike would apologize afterward. He'd hold her in his arms, but she started to view him and their relationship differently.

After Leslie enrolled Mike-Mike in preschool, Leslie moved out of the Browns' house and back in with her mom. Leslie was ready to move on, physically and emotionally. But just as she was starting to feel she could, Leslie learned she was pregnant again. At age 19, Leslie gave birth to a girl, Deja, the second kid between her and Big Mike.

Deja was born on April 22, 1999. Leslie was overwhelmed with love. Mike was almost three and jumped all around the day his new sister was brought home, making sure she was okay.

Leslie managed to catch up with him and take Deja from his arms before anything bad happened. She scolded him for scaring her, but Mike, with his sweet, sweet eyes, responded by saying how much he loved Deja. From that day on, Mike was always protective of Deja, and the two of them were inseparable.

But a new kid couldn't fix what was broken in Leslie's relationship with Big Mike. When Deja was one, Leslie attempted to get her own apartment and really distance herself from Big Mike.

Leslie didn't want to live with Big Mike, but she needed the money. And they agreed that when Leslie went to work during the day, Big Mike would watch the kids. The arrangement didn't actually work very well.

Leslie could no longer live with Big Mike, free rent or not. And he eventually moved out. Throughout all of this, the moving, having another kid, the emotional and physical ups and downs, Leslie always did everything she could to take care of her kids. And that meant working. Since Big Mike wasn't adding to the pot, she says it was up to her to bring home a paycheck.

Mike Mike stepped up at home to support his mom. He was good at taking instructions over the phone when she was at work. In middle school, he helped clean and cook for the family, doing laundry sometimes or making dinner. Mike Mike also perfected cooking Saturday breakfast, which was a spread of pancakes, eggs with cheese, sausage, and deep-fried bacon.

For work, Leslie did a little bit of everything. She did passenger transportation at the airport, worked at a nursing home, a fancy hotel, a few fast food jobs, home health care. She even worked at grocery stores like the St. Louis-based chain Schnucks.

Straub's is a fancy gourmet food store. Leslie worked in the deli. She made dips and salads, and she was good. So good, they named a roast beef sandwich after her. The Leslie.

It was at Straub's where Leslie met longtime friend Belinda.

In the same way that Ms. Sanders was Leslie's school mom, Belinda was Leslie's work mom. She remembers Leslie working so hard while juggling parenthood.

Leslie eventually gave up the other jobs, and Straub's became her full-time gig. She was a hard worker, but her kids remained the priority. If the school called because something was wrong, she didn't hesitate to step away from work.

Like when the nurse at Mike Mike School called Leslie and said he was complaining about a headache. That was the start of multiple health episodes at school. And at age 14, Mike Mike was diagnosed with hypertension or high blood pressure, which, when left untreated, can lead to other serious problems like heart attack or stroke. Leslie was scared.

From Lemonada Media and Campaign Zero, you're listening to Still My Baby. This is the story of Michael Orlandis Darion Brown.

Leslie helped Mike Mike get his diet and hypertension under control. This meant he had to give up cooking his Saturday morning breakfast spread for his family. As Leslie was managing all of this and work, she met another man. Though she had been able to end things with Big Mike when the domestic abuse got really serious, cycles aren't easy to break.

The man she was in a new relationship with also put his hands on her. When they first got together, he made her feel important. In her book, Leslie said he was attentive, caring, and giving. Most importantly, he also looked out for Mike Mike and Deja. She went on to have two more children with him, Andre and Jazzy. And sometimes things were really good, but often they were not.

Sadly, domestic abuse was not new to Leslie. Growing up, she witnessed her mother and other women in her family endure abuse. And even at one point thought that's just what a relationship was.

Leslie did everything she could to shield her kids from the abuse she experienced with their fathers. She didn't want that to affect their relationships with them. For that reason, Leslie sometimes sent the kids away to stay at their grandmother's house for a few days so her injuries could heal. She was embarrassed and ashamed, and she didn't want anyone to know what was going on.

After years and years of accepting the cycle of abuse she was born into, she was ready to finally take control.

And Leslie did find that something better. That's after the break.

Leslie met her husband Louis at Straub's. They worked there together. Belinda remembers that time fondly.

To tell the story properly, though, we have to go back to the beginning. It all began before Louis' job at Straub's even started.

Leslie was not used to that kind of attention. Someone incapable of looking away when she was nearby? For that reason, she vividly remembers Louis' first day of work. She was, as usual, at the deli where things got busy at lunchtime.

It's the story of his family, as they were before he died, and as they are today, still piecing things back together through their grief. And it's the story of his mom, Leslie, or as many call her, Nettie Poole.

And they stayed happy. So they talked about taking things to the next level.

Well, those three years passed by and Lewis didn't forget what they agreed on. He was ready to do something about it.

Because it was a courthouse wedding, Leslie and Louis talked about eventually having a reception, throwing a big party to actually celebrate. What they didn't know is that three months later, Mike would be murdered and everything would change. It's been more than 10 years and they still haven't celebrated that special day. Two weeks after Leslie and Louis tied the knot, Mike Mike turned 18.

Before his birthday barbecue, Louis cut Mike's hair in the kitchen.

That day, they talked about Mike's future. Mike asked Louis how long he would have to go to school to become a computer programmer. And when the haircut was done, Lewis assured Mike that even though he had married his mom, Mike was still the man of the house. Lewis also said that he'd always be there for Mike, no matter what. The two of them had a connection, and Lewis said Mike made him laugh.

Lewis brought a calm to the household. He was never abusive and helped carry the financial load, two things Leslie hadn't ever experienced in a serious relationship. He fit seamlessly into their family, and Leslie loved that Lewis connected so well with her kids. After Mike turned 18, he was nearing the end of his senior year in high school.

Leslie had always emphasized the importance of education and graduating, even though she didn't get the chance to do that herself.

Here's the thing. We shouldn't actually know Leslie's name or her nicknames. Same with Mike Brown. Because they should both be living life as normal, everyday people. That's all Leslie wanted. But her life veered far from normal on August 9, 2014, when her son was murdered.

A lot of Mike's academic struggles stem from having a learning disability and ADHD. He received extra help and resources through an Individual Education Plan, or IEP. But Leslie says Mike was also gifted in his own way. He was a techie and often tinkered with electronics and computers.

He could fix a computer by taking out all the parts.

And Mike Mike loved making videos.

At school, Mike was part of an alternative program that allowed him to catch up on the credits he needed to graduate. While in this program, Mike was staying with his dad and didn't go to school for two weeks, leading to Leslie being charged with truancy. When she found out, she took matters into her own hands and made sure that she got Mike back on track.

Leslie doubled down on her expectations. She remembers talking to the principal, Ms. White.

Mike Mike graduated from Normandy High School in the spring of 2014. Leslie was beyond proud. Things were finally starting to feel right, to feel good. Leslie was married, working a job that she enjoyed doing, that she was good at. Her kids were thriving. Mike's health issues were under control. And he had just graduated from high school.

That summer, after he turned 18, an official high school graduate, Leslie let him stay at her mom's house on Canfield Drive and just hang out, which is not something he normally did, but she thought he deserved the free time. After the summer, he'd start the next chapter of his life. On August 7, 2014, Leslie spoke to Mike on the phone.

More than 10 years later, with the world having moved on, Leslie is still Mike's mom, fighting to bring him justice and longing for the normalcy they once had, those everyday mundane moments.

Leslie didn't know it at the time, but that utterly mundane conversation was the last time she would ever speak to her firstborn child alive. Their final conversation was totally commonplace and devoid of anything sentimental or meaningful.

In many ways, this unremarkable final conversation sums up their story, or the story they should have been able to live. In reality, Mike Mike was special in the way that your kid is special, the way that most kids are special, in the most ordinary ways that only your own family really appreciates. And if it was up to Leslie, she would have preferred their lives remain that way. Ordinary.

Uneventful. Mundane. Because what makes their family stick out, what makes their family exceptional, the reason we all know them, is the absolute worst reason in the whole entire world. Next week, you'll hear about the tragedy of that day, directly from Mike's family.

Thanks for listening to Steal My Baby. Now is a great time to subscribe to Lemonada Premium. You'll get bonus content like unheard clips from Leslie and some of her closest friends. Just hit the subscribe button on Apple Podcasts or for all other podcast apps, head to LemonadaPremium.com to subscribe. That's LemonadaPremium.com.

Still My Baby is a Lemonada original podcast series created in collaboration with Campaign Zero, a nonprofit organization that develops data-driven policy solutions to end police violence in America. Learn more about this series and the work of Campaign Zero and the Michael O.D. Brown We Love Our Sons and Daughters Foundation at www.stillmybaby.org. I'm your host, Yvette Nicole Brown.

Lisa Fu is our lead producer. Bobby Woody and Ivan Korayev are our audio engineers. Story editing by Jackie Danziger, our VP of Partnerships and Production. Production support by Hannah Boomerschein and Muna Danish. Our music is by Hannes Brown and APM. Executive producers are Stephanie Whittles-Wax, Jessica Cordova-Kramer, and Leslie McSpadden.

Series consulting and editorial support by our partners at Campaign Zero, DeRay McKesson and Rachel Hislop, with additional support from Jaron Longmire, Kelly Davis, and Kiana Ford. If you like the show and you believe what we're doing is important, please help others find us by leaving us a rating and writing a review. And most importantly, tell your friends.

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So we're tracing her journey as a young mom who struggled to build a stable, typical life for her family, only to see it torn apart on a public stage. And as an advocate and a mother today, rebuilding after unimaginable loss. Leslie McSpadden grew up in St. Louis, Missouri in the 1980s and 90s and spent a lot of her childhood at her grandmother's house on Acme and Albertine Avenues.

Of all her cousins, Leslie's favorite was Kiki. They're only a year apart, and they always clicked.

That's the culture Leslie, her siblings, Kiki, and all her cousins were raised in. Granny was the matriarch of the family, and she was always in charge.

Leslie always had her family. And even though she wasn't raised with a lot of money, Leslie says her mother always kept a roof over their heads and the lights on. And Leslie knew she could rely on Kiki to give her shoe advice when she got to buy a new pair once a year. All the togetherness happened at their granny's house.

And it was from her house that Leslie and her siblings waited early in the morning for the first of two buses to take them to Ladue School District. So early, it was dark out. Ladue was part of the DSEG program, short for desegregation. Though the district was predominantly white, Leslie didn't feel out of place.

There were a lot of other Black students, and she had teachers she felt close to and connected with, including one very special teacher in high school.

Leslie says Ms. Sanders really cared for her while also keeping Leslie on her toes.

When Leslie was 14 and just a freshman, she met a boy, Mike Brown, who we will be calling Big Mike. Kiki, Leslie's favorite cousin, is actually the one who introduced the two of them.

It wasn't just any party. It was Kiki's Sweet 16 birthday jam, and the basement was packed. Big Mike was an upperclassman. In Leslie's 2016 book, Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil, she describes him as tall, with a deep voice, wearing dickies and a t-shirt. They danced at the party, and she gave him her number.

Later that night, when she was home, she laid in bed excited, thinking about Big Mike maybe becoming a real boyfriend. In the weeks and months that followed, the two of them talked on the phone for hours. Sometimes Leslie would wake up tangled in the phone cord. He met her mother, she met his parents, and they became girlfriend and boyfriend.

Even though Leslie's mom knew they were together, Leslie says she never got the sex talk, so she didn't really know how to protect herself. When Leslie was in 10th grade and missed her period, she turned to her good friend April, who brought a pregnancy test to school for her.

Her mom picked up the phone and April broke the news.

As Leslie and Kiki remember it, no one in the family really took the news of Leslie's pregnancy seriously at first.

She knew what she wanted, but being pregnant was hard. Leslie felt sick during her entire pregnancy, but continued to go to school. Her belly grew bigger and bigger, so no formal announcement was needed. She says the school let her go to the nurse for first period and gave her a key for the elevator.

Though her mom initially didn't want her to keep the baby, she ended up being supportive throughout the pregnancy and took Leslie to all her doctor's appointments.

Leslie knew she wanted to name her firstborn after his father. She also knew that she wanted to honor her sister or brother, depending on the sex. And since it was a boy, her brother got the nod.

On August 9th, 2014, police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown on Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Missouri, setting off a 400-day uprising that captured the world.

After his quick delivery, it felt like Leslie's whole family was at the hospital. She says it was really joyous.

The first order of business for their new life, a visit to Granny's.

And that was Leslie's plan.

Leslie returned to high school her junior year a teen mom. As you can imagine, it wasn't easy. That's next after the break.