11.24-The Trial of the Earthworms

May 5, 2025·28 min·2 clips

Kinder James accuses Mabel Dorr of plotting to hand Mars back to Omnicore in a desperate plea deal.

1. Revolutions, episode 11.24, covers the trial and execution of Mabel Dorr and other Martian defendants labeled 'earthworms' by the Redcap faction, running from May through July 2251. 2. The episode is narrated by Mike Duncan in his solo format, drawing primarily on the in-universe secondary source The Trial of the Earthworms by Blanning Salam and Duncan's recounting of Dorr's final statement. 3. The episode's central argument is that the trial of the earthworms was structurally compromised from the beginning — legitimate legal mechanisms were exploited by political actors to produce predetermined guilty verdicts. 4. The 14 Martian Guard members who fired on protesters at the Fields of Earth faced charges of murdering all 156 people killed in the resulting stampede; the defense argued the guards' weapons were set to stun and they acted in self-defense against a menacing crowd. 5. Kenji Gru, now posting around the clock on stimulants, introduced a conspiracy theory during the trial: that Omar Ali had been killed in 2249 to prevent him exposing Mabel Dorr's alleged plot to hand Mars back to Omnicorps. 6. This conspiracy theory was introduced directly into the tribunal proceedings by the prosecution, shifting the trial of individual guards into a platform to build a grand betrayal narrative implicating Dorr. 7. Two of the three tribunal judges harbored Red Cap sympathies and repeatedly ruled in ways that Marcus Leopold — who had designed the tribunal system — called out-of-bounds and prejudicial. 8. All 14 guards were found guilty on 156 counts of murder; sentence pending. 9. Kinder James, who actually attempted to hand Mars over to Omnicorps and 'did it, everybody knew he did it,' nonetheless deployed his trial to give perjured testimony against Mabel Dorr in exchange for a promised — and ultimately fictitious — lenient sentence. 10. James testified that Dorr directed his every action, that she wanted Mars returned to Omnicorps, and that Omar Ali was murdered at her direction; the host states plainly that 'none of it was true.' 11. When James was sentenced to death despite his cooperation, he screamed in open session that 'it was all a put-up job' and that he had been promised leniency if he lied, a confession that received no attention because 'nobody really cared what he said.' 12. Dorr's advocate Tsunari Gan, whose revolutionary credentials included joining the Society of Martians in 2245, denounced the proceedings as a farce: 'they have no real proof Mabel Dorr had done anything treasonous because no such proof existed.' 13. The prosecution's strongest actual evidence consisted of Dorr's private chat log venting, in which she called Leopold 'a pedantic pest,' Darby 'a loudmouth blowhard,' Calderón 'that fracking lunatic,' and wrote 'I miss Timothy Werner' — a line Gru used out of context. 14. In a private prison visit, Alexandra Clare offered to testify as a character witness for Dorr, who declined: 'It's hopeless. It's rigged. If you put your authority on the line for me, it won't save me. It will ruin you.' 15. Dorr urged Clare to preserve her credibility to stop Calderón and Gru 'from taking the revolution in their toxic direction' — a piece of political calculation that the host implies was correct. 16. The sentencing debate split political factions unexpectedly: some Red Caps wanted Dorr confined rather than executed, some Black Caps believed she should die, while a few publicly defended her innocence while wearing vintage 'Mabel Dorr in 44' merchandise. 17. The sentencing decision also caused an irreparable rift between Alexandra Clare and Zhao Lin over whether to publicly defend Dorr, ending their relationship; Clare accepted a posting to Alicia and never saw Zhao again. 18. The tribunal sentenced all convicted earthworms to death on June 30, 2251; Dorr waited a full extra day after her husband and associates were executed before being taken to the execution chamber on July 23. 19. The host's tone is explicitly eulogistic in the episode's closing section, calling Dorr the defining figure of the Martian Revolution while acknowledging her real mistakes around the Gemini vids and Convoy Group 11. 20. Those who want a deep portrait of revolutionary show trials, political persecution, and the costs of factional paranoia within a liberation movement will find this episode essential; newcomers to the arc will struggle without knowledge of Dorr's prior story.

As heard by us

A sharp political-trial episode about Mabel Dor, revolutionary panic, and the line between failure and betrayal.

The Martian revolution turns inward just as its navy departs for Earth, with Mabel Dor pushed into a trial that has the shape of law and the smell of political necessity.

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Why you'd press play

You will know this verdict is wrong before the prosecution finishes -- and have to watch it happen anyway.

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