{"id":14198,"date":"2022-04-21T15:31:49","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T13:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1629898"},"modified":"2022-04-21T15:54:09","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T13:54:09","slug":"ben-fogle-meets-terrified-couple-living-in-slab-city-in-new-doc","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/ben-fogle-meets-terrified-couple-living-in-slab-city-in-new-doc\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Fogle meets \u201cterrified\u201d couple living in Slab City in new doc"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Patrick Cremona\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 21 April 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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For his latest Channel 5 documentary, Ben Fogle has headed to Slab City \u2013 an off-the-grid, alternative lifestyle community in California that\u2019s billed as the \u2018last free place in America\u2019.<\/p>\n

And in a first-look clip exclusive to RadioTimes.com<\/a>, the presenter can be seen chatting to a couple who share their experience of moving to the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a pretty confident individual, I\u2019ve seen most things, but I know there are dark places to avoid \u2013 it\u2019s very, very obvious,\u201d Fogle says before we see him chat with the couple, Ryan and Jessie.<\/p>

\u201cI am terrified here, absolutely terrified,\u201d Jessie begins.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was somebody who saw us initially and thought that we looked like we wouldn\u2019t do very well here,\u201d Ryan adds. \u201cSo they were like. \u2018Hey, you guys need to be careful out here because there\u2019s child rapists and dog rapists and murderers.\u2019 And we\u2019re like, \u2018Yeah, we figured.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, they exist, they\u2019ve got to go somewhere,\u201d explains Jessie. \u201cThey\u2019re not just going to evaporate into the Earth. When they get kicked out of society, they come here. And as much magical creativity as there is in Slab City, that\u2019s the true heart of Slab City: felons, frankly. You know, people that just can\u2019t make it anywhere else, by and large.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Channel 5<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

We then hear Fogle explaining that he\u2019s \u201cbeginning to understand the very different side of Slab City\u201d before he meets another new arrival in the community, Jacob, who\u2019s moved into a recently abandoned trailer.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you get to hear why the last person left, or last people left?\u201d Fogle asks him.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, they just left,\u201d is the response. \u201cThey left all their stuff, literally everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacob later shows him some graffiti on the trailer that he says \u201cmight be one of the examples as to why the last guy left\u201d. It reads: \u201cWomen beater, get out or we will use fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what I understand, I can\u2019t imagine somebody would warn someone about that,\u201d he explains. \u201cI feel like out here they\u2019d probably just light the camper on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can watch the clip in full below.<\/p>