Shoe Leather

Columbia Journalism School
  • 4.9 (93)
  • HISTORY

Shoe Leather is an investigative podcast that goes behind the scenes of forgotten stories that shaped New York City. Go along with the team as they knock on doors and track down the people who were at the center of the news. This season, we're going to 1970 Greenwich Village. A townhouse suddenly explodes. And authorities find out that it’s ground zero for the operations of the Weather Underground: a radical group of young revolutionaries who use violence to "bring the war home." Three members are killed in the explosion, two others escape. Police would later describe the townhouse as a “bomb factory.” What pushes a protest movement toward violence? What makes a group of mostly middle-class, college-educated young men and women decide to build a bomb?

  1. MAY 14

    Episode 6: The Survivor

    It’s been 56 years since the Greenwich Village townhouse exploded. Three people died. The rest vanished. The only one left alive to tell the story is Cathy Wilkerson, now 81—still wrestling with what she did, what she believes, and what, if anything, she truly regrets. Episode 6: The Survivor was reported, written, and produced by Chloe Stein and Eleanor Barzun.

    31 min

  2. MAY 14

    Episode 5: The Prisoner

    Kathy Boudin is the fourth member of the Weatherman. After running from the flames of the townhouse, she goes into hiding for over a decade. That’s until one day, when she resurfaces in a way that will define the course of her life. Kathy’s revolutionary ideals eventually land her in prison. Was she a hopeless idealist? Or a radical revolutionary? Is her redemption driven by conviction, or by guilt? … In the end, does everyone deserve a second chance? Listen to Episode 5: The Prisoner. This episode was reported, written, and produced by Justine Streichenberger and Aleah Gatto.

    32 min

  3. MAY 14

    Episode 4: The Explosion

    It’s March 6, 1970. A townhouse suddenly explodes in New York City’s Greenwich Village, killing three of the five people inside. Two escape. Police think it’s a gas explosion at first…until they find explosives in the rubble. Who was in the townhouse that day? What happened to the survivors? And what exactly were they planning?

    24 min
  4. Episode 3: The Comrade

    MAY 14

    Episode 3: The Comrade

    Ted Gold is one of the five people in the townhouse when the bomb explodes. He's a student at Columbia University. And a fierce opponent of the Vietnam War. But before all that, he's just a witty, New York City kid, who loves the Yankees, Bob Dylan, and Karl Marx.  His friends say he is reliable, fearless and a ladies man. But how does a non violent kid like that end up in that townhouse in Greenwich village? What leads a 22 year old to be fearless of dying? And what does it mean, when your best-friend becomes radicalized?  This podcast was reported, written and produced by Genny Gottdiener and Gustave Muckensturm.

    29 min

  5. MAY 14

    Episode 2: The Teacher

    Diana Oughton was a straight-A student from a wealthy Republican family, a teacher who seemed destined for a conventional life. But over a decade marked by war, campus activism, and radical politics, she drifts into the orbit of the Weather Underground. What turns belief into action, and how does someone like Diana end up willing to bring the war home?

    22 min

  6. MAY 14

    Episode 1: The Bombmaker

    Terry Robbins is a charismatic, intelligent young man who becomes a leader of the student movement to protest the Vietnam War. But when peaceful protest is not making the progress he hoped for, he's ready to take more radical measures. Terry wants to start a revolution.

    33 min
  7. Rudy Gone Wild

    05/18/2025

    Rudy Gone Wild

    Newly crowned as America's Mayor, Giuliani looks set to cash in on his newfound popularity. He shoots for the White House and misses. After disappearing from the spotlight, he decides to make a comeback working for someone who could very well be his last legal client: President Donald Trump. This episode was reported, written, and produced by Deep Vakil and Hope Talbot.

    32 min
  8. King Rudolph

    05/15/2025

    King Rudolph

    Rudy Giuliani begins his second term as New York City’s mayor riding high — a crime-fighting icon fresh off a re-election win. But as the years unfold, controversies mount, political ambitions clash with personal scandals, and his successes begin to fade. His rise quickly turns into an unraveling — until a national tragedy shifts Giuliani’s fate. Episode 5: King Rudolph, reported and produced by Alice Finno and Peter Shea.

    35 min
See All (47)

Trailers

4.9
out of 5
93 Ratings

About

Shoe Leather is an investigative podcast that goes behind the scenes of forgotten stories that shaped New York City. Go along with the team as they knock on doors and track down the people who were at the center of the news. This season, we're going to 1970 Greenwich Village. A townhouse suddenly explodes. And authorities find out that it’s ground zero for the operations of the Weather Underground: a radical group of young revolutionaries who use violence to "bring the war home." Three members are killed in the explosion, two others escape. Police would later describe the townhouse as a “bomb factory.” What pushes a protest movement toward violence? What makes a group of mostly middle-class, college-educated young men and women decide to build a bomb?

Information

  • Creator
    Columbia Journalism School
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    47
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2021 Columbia Journalism School
  • Show Website
    Shoe Leather

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