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Mother Country Radicals — Society & Culture
Mother Country Radicals

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.

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Latest Episodes:

Chapter 9: Revolutionary Suicide Jul 21, 2022

Show notes

Former members of the Weather Underground and the Black Liberation Army carry out one last action together, with deadly consequences that reverberate across generations.

For more of the story, check out:

Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography (1987)
Dhoruba bin Wahad, Assata Shakur & Mumia Abu-Jamal, Still Black, Still Strong (1993)
Dan Berger, Outlaws of America: the Weather Underground and the Politics of Solidarity (2005)

Chapter 8: Hard Times Jul 14, 2022

Show notes

The end of the Vietnam War means the end of the Weather Underground. Zayd’s parents and their radical comrades, still on the run from the FBI, plan a different kind of future.

For more of the story, check out:

Emile de Antonio, Underground (1976)

Mona Rocha, The Weatherwomen: Militant Feminists of the Weather Underground (2020)

Chapter 7: The Belly of the Beast, Part II Jul 07, 2022

Show notes

The Weather Underground Organization and the Black Liberation Army go to war with the United States government.

For more of the story, check out:

The BLA, Black Liberation Army Papers (1963-1998)

Sekou Odinga, Dhoruba Bin Wahad & Jamal Joseph, Look for Me in the Whirlwind: From the Panther 21 to 21st Century Revolutions (2017)

Chapter 6: The Belly of the Beast, Part I Jun 30, 2022

Show notes

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)

Chapter 5: New Morning Jun 23, 2022

Show notes

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)

Chapter 4: Bring the War Home Jun 16, 2022

Show notes

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)

Chapter 1: The Most Dangerous Woman in America Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

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)

Chapter 2: Days of Rage Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

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)

Chapter 3: I Am A Revolutionary Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

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)

Introducing Mother Country Radicals May 24, 2022

Show notes

Zayd Dohrn was born underground - his parents were founders of the Weather Underground organization, and on the run from the FBI. Now Zayd takes us back to the 1970s, when his parents and their young friends brawled with riot cops on the streets of Chicago, bombed the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol, and teamed up with Black militant groups to rob banks, fight racism - and help build a revolution.

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