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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.
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S2 Bonus: Interviewing Darryl Cherney
Toby interviews Earth First! activist Darryl Cherney. Darryl was Judi Bari’s partner in activism and music and one-time boyfriend. He was in the passenger seat and sustained minor injuries when the…
S2 Bonus: Judi's Trial with Josh Morsell
Private investigator Josh Morsell worked as a paralegal during the civil trial in which Judi Bari’s estate and Darryl Cherney sued the FBI and Oakland Police Department for civil rights violations.…
S2 Bonus: Examining the Redwoods with Lucy Kerhoulas
Toby talks with Lucy Kerhoulas, a professor of Forest Ecophysiology at Humboldt Polytechnic Institute, about the redwood trees, their biology, the inspiration and wonder they inspire, and new…
S2 Bonus: 'City of Wood' with James Michael Buckley
Toby talks with architectural historian James Michael Buckley about his book City of Wood: San Francisco and the Architecture of the Redwood Lumber Industry which looks at how the logging of redwoods…
S2E11 S2 E11: Headwaters
In the final episode of the season, Judi Bari’s story continues after her death from breast cancer in 1997. Her civil suit against the FBI and the Oakland Police Department is finally heard, and a…
S2E10 S2 E10: The Usual Suspect
**WARNING: This episode contains discussions about domestic violence and sexual assault. Listener discretion advised. While Judi Bari, Darryl Cherney and their supporters positioned the bombing of…
S2E9 S2 E9: COINTELPRO
After the bombing of her car, Judi Bari came to believe that the attack had been carried out by a conspiracy between the FBI and elements of the timber industry. There are, in fact, a numbers of…
S2E8 S2 E8: The Lord's Avenger
With Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney no longer considered suspects, the question becomes, "if not them, who?" With the FBI and the police losing interest in the case, two journalists undertake their own…
S2E7 S2 E7: It's Hard to Say Who the Victim Is
On May 24th, 1990, Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney are driving through Oakland when a pipe bomb detonates in their car. Judi is nearly killed. From the very beginning of the investigation, Judi and…
S2E6 S2 E6: Threats
When Earth First! and Judi Bari plan a huge, months-long protest call "Redwood Summer," the reaction from the timber industry is fierce. Judi and other organizers are subjected to threats of physical…
S2E5 S2 E5: Spotted Owl Week
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…
S2E4 S2 E4: Monkeywrench
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…
S2E3 S2 E3: Scotia
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…
S2E2 S2 E2: Arrival
With a history of activism and labor organizing under her belt, Judi Bari moves to the Redwood Empire region of California in 1988. She arrives at a time of transition for the region as timber begins…
S2E1 S2 E1: Ecotopia
On May 24, 1990, a pipe bomb detonated in the white Subaru driven by radical environmental activist Judi Bari. The bomb malfunctioned and Bari, though critically injured, survived. She was the most…
S2 Rip Current Returns - Season 2 Trailer
An all new season, an all new case. Rip Current returns. This time, examining the peculiar assassination attempt on environmental activist Judi Bari. The first episode drops on November 5th.See…
S1 Bonus: The Symbionese Liberation Army
A further examination of the brief, violent existence of the SLA.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 Bonus: Prison Radicalism - Part 2 with Brittany Friedman
We chat with Author and Sociologist Brittany Friedman about prison activism movements from the 50s through the 70s.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 Bonus: Prison Radicalism - Part 1 with Dan Berger
We talk with Historian Dan Berger about activism in California prisons in the 1960s and 70s.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
S1 Bonus: Life in Charles Manson's Cult
An interview with Dianne Lake and Deborah Herman about Dianne's life in the Manson Family, which she joined at age 14. Deborah and Dianne co-wrote the book, Member of the Family: My Story of Charles…
Frequently Asked Questions
Rip Current has published 36 episodes since February 2024, covering topics in Documentary, History.
Rip Current is currently dormant with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 33m.
Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Rip Current, including email and social media links.
