14 episodes
Mother Country Radicals Crooked Media
-
- Society & Culture
-
-
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
-
Zayd Dohrn was born underground - his parents were radicals and counter-culture outlaws, on the run from the FBI. Now Zayd takes us back to the 1970s, when his parents and their young friends in the Weather Underground Organization declared war on the United States government. They brawled with riot cops on the streets of Chicago, bombed the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol, broke comrades out of prison, and teamed up with Black militant groups to rob banks, fight racism - and help build a revolution.
-
Chapter 1: The Most Dangerous Woman in America
In 1970, a former law student named Bernardine Dohrn declared war on the United States government. Decades later, her son Zayd Ayers Dohrn tells the story of how his mother was radicalized, and became the most wanted woman in America.
For more of the story, check out:
Students for a Democratic Society, The Port Huron Statement (1962)
Revolutionary Youth Movement, "The Weatherman Paper" (1969)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Chapter 2: Days of Rage
Zayd’s father Bill Ayers joins the Weathermen, and he and his friends teach themselves to be revolutionaries, gearing up to build bombs and brawl with police on the streets of Chicago.
For more of the story, check out:
Gillo Pontecorvo, The Battle of Algiers (1966)
Carlos Marighella, The Mini-Manual of the Urban Guerrilla (1969)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Chapter 3: I Am A Revolutionary
Jamal Joseph is radicalized at 15, and joins the New York Black Panthers. And a deadly attack by Chicago Police puts both Panthers and Weathermen on a path towards violent revolution.
For more of the story, check out:
Jamal Joseph, Panther Baby: A Life of Rebellion and Reinvention (2012)
Stanley Nelson, The Black Panther Party: Vanguard of the Revolution (2016)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Chapter 4: Bring the War Home
The Weathermen decide to bring the horrors of the Vietnam War back to America’s doorstep, planning an action that will change the future of the organization, and Zayd’s family, forever.
For more of the story, check out:
Bill Ayers, Fugitive Days: Memoirs of an Antiwar Activist (2001)
Cathy Wilkerson, Flying Close to the Sun: My Life and Times as a Weatherman (2007)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Chapter 5: New Morning
The Weathermen go underground, and become famous - and infamous - as counter-culture outlaws.
For more of the story, check out:
Thai Jones, A Radical Line: From the Labor Movement to the Weather Underground (2004)
Timothy Leary, The Psychedelic Experience (1964)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Chapter 6: The Belly of the Beast, Part I
The FBI targets the Weather Underground, and a split in the Black Panther Party gives rise to a new, more militant organization - the Black Liberation Army.
For more of the story, check out:
The Weather Underground, Prairie Fire: The Politics Of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism (1974)
Federal Bureau of Investigation, The Declassified FBI Files on the Weather Underground Organization (2010)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Customer Reviews
It’s fantastic.
There’s so many reasons why these stories are captivating. Thanks for creating this. Listen to this!
Tone deaf
In an attempt to showcase multicultural support for civil rights, we somehow created a whole series glorifying white contributions (some of which were terrorist acts) that supported of the downfall of the Black Panthers. A masterclass in saviorism, I left disappointed to have listened to this podcast. This did not address the harm done to Black communities by the radical protagonists highlighted, nor did it address the privileges of white supremacy they benefitted from making it possible to even tell this story. Blindspots everywhere. Two stars for the writing and production team. Good story-telling, lame and incomplete story.
Thank you
Amazing podcast. I knew some of this but not much. If I’d had access to this info as a young white activist, it would have changed my life. It still will!