14 episodes

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.

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

    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)



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    • 56 min
    Chapter 2: Days of Rage

    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)

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    • 50 min
    Chapter 3: I Am A Revolutionary

    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)

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    • 47 min
    Chapter 4: Bring the War Home

    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)

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    • 42 min
    Chapter 5: New Morning

    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)

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    • 44 min
    Chapter 6: The Belly of the Beast, Part I

    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)



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    • 32 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
1.3K Ratings

1.3K Ratings

pitateet66 ,

Reminds me of my father

What a great show, it brought back so many memories. My father worked for the “Citizens Action Committee”, he helped poor people of all races to get housing and jobs in the late 60s early 70s. He was also from Chicago and was familiar with some of the revolutionary people spoken about in this podcast. When I was a child he had a sticker that said “impeach Nixon”, I was too young to know what it meant. Thank you for this wonderful podcast, it’s a reminder we are still in the fight.

Temple Run = Really fun ,

Excellent show

Loved it and have everyone I know listening to it

hot-potato2000 ,

So well done

I have recommended this to so many people

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