We talk with Historian Dan Berger about activism in California prisons in the 1960s and 70s.

We talk with Historian Dan Berger about activism in California prisons in the 1960s and 70s.

On the morning of May 24th, 1990, a pipe bomb exploded in the car driven by Judi Bari, a leader in the radical environmental group, Earth First!. She was critically injured, but she survived. The case of who placed the bomb has never been solved. In fact, law enforcement barely investigated. 

The bombing happened in the midst of a battle over the fate of the last remnants of the original Redwood forest in northernmost California. As timber companies looked to cut the remaining trees, Earth First! activists used whatever non-violent means they could to stop them. In a region reliant on timber for well over a century, threats and violence followed. 

This season on Rip Current, the story of a woman who led a group of people willing to put their lives on the line to stop irreversible environmental damage, and the price that she paid.

On the morning of May 24th, 1990, a pipe bomb exploded in the car driven by Judi Bari, a leader in the radical environmental group, Earth First!. She was critically injured, but she survived. The case of who placed the bomb has never been solved. In fact, law enforcement barely investigated.&nbsp; The bombing happened in the midst of a battle over the fate of the last remnants of the original Redwood forest in northernmost California. As timber companies looked to cut the remaining trees, Earth First! activists used whatever non-violent means they could to stop them. In a region reliant on timber for well over a century, threats and violence followed.&nbsp; This season on Rip Current, the story of a woman who led a group of people willing to put their lives on the line to stop irreversible environmental damage, and the price that she paid.

Rip Current

Bonus: Prison Radicalism - Part 1 with Dan Berger

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/765d2869-b591-470e-aa3c-b205017670a3/transcript

A federal agency comes to the Pacific Northwest to hold hearings that could severely limit logging of redwoods. With the Ecotopia in the center of media attention, both Earth First! and the timber corporations see an opportunity to to get their message to the public. The result is a week of tension, confrontation and violence, with Judi Bari in the center of it all.

A federal agency comes to the Pacific Northwest to hold hearings that could severely limit logging of redwoods. With the Ecotopia in the center of media attention, both Earth First! and the timber corporations see an opportunity to to get their message to the public. The result is a week of tension, confrontation and violence, with Judi Bari in the center of it all.

S2 E5: Spotted Owl Week

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c6e13f43-fc95-442a-bb7d-b3a7014e5185/transcript

Earth First! was founded in the 1981 by four men who were willing to take an "by any means necessary" approach to saving the planet. By the time Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney joined the movement in Ecotopia, the group was divided over key issues. Namely, should tree-spiking, a controversial and potentially dangerous tactic - play a role in Earth First's activism?

Earth First! was founded in the 1981 by four men who were willing to take an "by any means necessary" approach to saving the planet. By the time Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney joined the movement in Ecotopia, the group was divided over key issues. Namely, should tree-spiking, a controversial and potentially dangerous tactic - play a role in Earth First's activism?

S2 E4: Monkeywrench

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/87f99962-f619-4c13-8b3e-b3a0018447fa/transcript

By the 1980s, about 95% of the redwood forest in California is gone, the result of 150 years of timber cutting. In 1985, a Texas businessman named Charles Hurwitz buys Pacific Lumber Co, plunging the company into debt. Pacific Lumber is the largest private owner of the remaining old growth redwood forest. It soon becomes clear that Charles Hurwitz intends to clear cut the trees, which would be an environmental catastrophe. 

By the 1980s, about 95% of the redwood forest in California is gone, the result of 150 years of timber cutting. In 1985, a Texas businessman named Charles Hurwitz buys Pacific Lumber Co, plunging the company into debt. Pacific Lumber is the largest private owner of the remaining old growth redwood forest. It soon becomes clear that Charles Hurwitz intends to clear cut the trees, which would be an environmental catastrophe.&nbsp;

S2 E3: Scotia

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/7e45cdb6-9836-40c4-8c33-b399012e62a7/transcript

Bonus: Prison Radicalism - Part 1 with Dan Berger

In 1 playlist(s)

Rip Current

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips