Lives of Crime | 4. Then You Get Got - The Burden

Podcast Summary: The Burden – Lives of Crime | Episode 4: “Then You Get Got”

Podcast: The Burden
Season/Episode: Season 4 – Lives of Crime, Episode 4
Title: Then You Get Got
Host: Steve Fishman (Orbit Media)
Guest: Mike Yard
Air Date: April 14, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of "Lives of Crime" features comedian Mike Yard recounting, in his own voice, how he was driven by family loyalty, desperation, and survival instincts into a life of armed robbery. The story swings between moments of humor, heartbreak, and raw honesty, diving into Mike’s upbringing, the collapse of his family’s stability, and his calculated decision to rob drug dealers. Presented in a first-person style, the episode is intimate and direct, examining the roots of criminality, the complexity of familial bonds, and the blurred lines between villain and victim.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mike’s Early Life & Family Collapse

Background: Mike moved from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, to New York City at age 13. His father was once a respected scientist, fluent in three languages, “a brilliant dude...my hero when I was a kid.”
- Quote: “Before he started smoking crack, my father was my hero.” (02:52)
Downfall: After losing his job, Mike’s father relocates the family to NYC, expecting support that fails to materialize. They experience homelessness, living in the basement of an office building, often sneaking into a bathroom upstairs.
- Quote: “We were homeless for a while. That was one of the worst things, being homeless. Not having a home to go to…that was tough.” (03:47)
Family Split: Mike’s mother and sister relocate to Houston for shelter, leaving him and his father behind in New York.

2. The Toll of Addiction

Father’s Decline: The instability breaks Mike’s father; he begins using crack cocaine heavily.
- Mike recalls never confronting his father about his addiction: “I never felt like I needed to have a conversation with him about it...I just knew he was doing it. And it made me hate crack dealers.” (08:47)
Family Violence: Tensions escalate; a violent confrontation erupts between Mike’s brother and his father over alcohol, culminating in Mike’s brother choking out their dad.
- Quote: “Nobody wants to be the kid that choked out his fucking dad. That was a sad day.” (10:28)

3. The Logic of Crime: Robbing Drug Dealers

Rationale: Seeking a way out, Mike rationalizes robbing those who preyed on families like his—drug dealers flaunting wealth in impoverished neighborhoods.
- Quote: “I weighed all the odds...And I decided that it was worth it to get my family out of the situation that we were in. I'm gonna go stick up these motherfuckers, ‘cause we need money, we need to get the fuck outta here.” (12:14)
Tactical Planning: Mike meticulously watches his targets, learning their routines, exploiting predictability for the “element of surprise.”
- Quote: “These motherfuckers are very predictable, man. They do the same thing every day...If you pay attention and do your research, then you don’t have to shoot anybody.” (13:45)

4. The First Robbery

Execution: Mike and his brothers target a familiar drug dealer. Using a .357 Magnum (“my gun of choice”), they approach from three angles, brandish weapons, and walk off with a bag of money.
- Quote: “The minute you pull out a big ass gun, people get nervous, so they’re gonna just give it up.”
Aftermath: No celebration—just a count of the haul: $4,000, which is used to reunite their mother with the family.
- Quote: “That money was used to bring my mom from Houston to New York. And that’s when our family was finally whole again.” (20:47)
Moral Math: Robbing drug dealers is framed as both an act of vengeance (for what dealers did to his father) and community service.
- Quote: “There were so many people that weren’t gonna get crack today, you know what I mean? Because I took it. I took their shit.” (21:13)

5. Escalation, Arrest, and Consequences

Success and Temptation: Robberies become lucrative—some yielding up to $15,000 in a day. Mike dreams of using the windfall for college and a fresh start.
The Bust: After a stick-up and police chase, Mike and his brothers are caught. They try to dispose of their weapons, but the police recover both guns and hidden drugs:
- Quote: “I threw the first gun and it hit a lamp post…They pulled us over…searched the car so hard, and they didn’t find anything. But my brother had the drugs in the speaker.” (23:50)
Reflection at Arrest: Mike protests, “But I robbed a drug dealer. Like, I’m on your side!” but the officers are unmoved.
- Quote: “They was like, ‘Nah, motherfucker.’ And I never got to finish college because I ended up going to prison.” (25:10)

6. Aftermath, Redemption, and a New Path

Prison Experience: Mike serves a year, decides then and there to change his life.
Turning Point: He pursues comedy, turning pain and street smarts into material for stand-up and screenwriting.
Closing Reflection: The episode ends with a hint at Mike’s ongoing success in comedy and the lasting impact of his past.

Notable Quotes & Moments (By Timestamp)

“Before he started smoking crack, my father was my hero.” (02:52) — Mike Yard
“We were homeless for a while. That was one of the worst things, being homeless. Not having a home to go to…that was tough.” (03:47) — Mike Yard
“I never had a conversation with my pops about why he smoked crack...It made me hate crack dealers.” (08:47) — Mike Yard
“Nobody wants to be the kid that choked out his fucking dad. That was a sad day.” (10:28) — Mike Yard
“...It was worth it to get my family out...I’m gonna go stick up these motherfuckers.” (12:14) — Mike Yard
“If you pay attention and do your research, then you don’t have to shoot anybody.” (13:45) — Mike Yard
“The minute you pull out a big ass gun, people get nervous, so they’re gonna just give it up.” (19:25) — Mike Yard
“That money was used to bring my mom from Houston to New York. And that’s when our family was finally whole again.” (20:47) — Mike Yard
“There were so many people that weren’t gonna get crack today...Because I took it. I took their shit.” (21:13) — Mike Yard
“I threw the first gun and it hit a lamp post…They pulled us over…They was like, ‘Nah, motherfucker.’” (23:50–25:10) — Mike Yard

Timestamps for Key Segments

[02:32] – Mike’s childhood and family in St. Croix
[03:47] – Homelessness in New York
[08:03] – Life in “Vietnam” (the building/neighborhood); father’s addiction and family violence
[12:14] – Decision to rob drug dealers
[13:45] – Planning and rationale for targeting
[19:25] – First robbery description
[20:47] – Using crime proceeds to reunite family
[23:50] – Arrest and the end of the spree
[25:38] – Turning point: prison, comedy, and redemption

Episode Tone and Style

Intimate and Honest: Mike’s narration is raw, direct, and unvarnished; he’s often blunt, sometimes wryly funny, but never self-pitying.
Reflective: The episode neither glamorizes nor excuses crime but invites empathy and understanding for how circumstances shape choices.
No Judgment: True to the series premise, Mike’s story is presented without verdict—listeners are left to draw their own conclusions about morality, justice, and redemption.

Transcript

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Mike Yard (0:27)

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

Podcast Narrator (True Crime or Girlfriends Podcast) (0:30)

When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands.

Mike Yard (0:38)

I vowed I will be his last target.

Podcast Host or Advertiser Voice (0:41)

He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves.

Mike Yard (0:45)

We always say that. Trust your girlfriends.

Podcast Narrator (True Crime or Girlfriends Podcast) (0:49)

Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast, I got you.

Podcast Host or Advertiser Voice (1:01)

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Steve Fishman (1:32)

To listen all at once Ad free. Subscribe to True Crime Clubhouse on Apple Podcasts. Welcome to Lives of Crime. True Crime from True Criminals. I'm Steve Fishman from Orbit Media. Today's episode is the story of Mike Yard. Mike is now a successful comedian and headlining shows around the country. But before that he spent some time as a stick up man toting around a big ass gun. Mike chose crime for very specific reasons. Some might call them laudable. Those reasons involved his dad. We call this episode then you get caught.

Mike Yard (2:32)

I moved to New York City when I was 13 years old. St. Croix, U.S. virgin Islands. And that's where I was born. My pops was like really well respected in the Virgin Islands. He was a scientist. He did like experiments on moon rocks and stuff like that. He was a brilliant dude and I love that about him. I love that he was an intelligent black man. He spoke like three different languages, French, Spanish, English. So yeah, I looked up to him. I wanted to be like him when I was growing up. And he was always there whenever I needed him. I would be at home at night sometimes and if he wasn't home, I couldn't Go to sleep, you know, like, that's what he meant to me. Like, my pops was my hero when I was a kid, you know, like, before he started smoking crack, My father lost his job in St. Croix. So he decided because his friends were urging him to move to New York, they would help us out until we got on our feet. He made that choice, and he moved to New York. And it was very hard for him to get work. It was hard to find a job as a scientist just coming out of nowhere. When you have that level of education, most people feel like you're way too overqualified to work at whatever bullshit job you tried to get. People that he thought were, like, his friends were telling him, like, you could stay with us. You know, we'll make sure that you're good. And then they all shitted on him. When we got. We were homeless for a while. That was one of the worst things was being homeless. Like, not having a home to go to. That shit was. That was tough. I used to stay in a basement. One of my father's friends had a maintenance company. He worked for the building. He would go, like, clean offices and stuff like that. He'd let us stay in his maintenance office in a basement. There was only one bathroom that we could, like, jimmy open with a. A butter knife. We would have to go upstairs in the building. It was a gay photo studio, so they had, like, naked dude pictures on the wall. But that was the only bathroom that we could get into. My mom couldn't even be with us. She had to go to live with her sister in Houston because we had nowhere to stay, and we weren't going to have my mom and my sister be homeless. I think that's when my pops really, like, kind of lost it, living in a damn basement in Manhattan and having Jimmy the bathroom door open so he can go use the bathroom. And that's when I really saw him, like, start, like, getting detached.