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.
Bonus Episode: Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young
DANGEROUS, DIRTY, VIOLENT AND YOUNG: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground, published by W. W. Norton & Company, comes out on May 19. The audio edition, read by Zayd Ayers Dohrn, will be published by Tantor Media on May 26. Readers can find out more, including links to preorder, at Zayd Ayers Dohrn's website, https://zayddohrn.com/, and from the publisher, https://wwnorton.com/books/dangerous-dirty-violent-and-young
20 Apr 2026
Introducing Family Lore
Family Lore is a weekly narrative podcast that celebrates and investigates ancestral mystique. Each episode begins with a guest sharing a fascinating family legend, followed by a historical deep-dive to uncover the truth and meaning behind the tale. Available now: https://link.pscrb.fm/f0281/FLFD
6 Mar 2025
Introducing: Campus Files
College holds a mythic place in American culture, but behind the polished campus tours and glossy brochures lies a far more complicated reality. Each episode of Campus Files uncovers a new story that rocked a college or university. Consider this your unofficial campus tour.
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17 Nov 2022
Bonus: Radical Family Histories (A Crossover with I Was Never There)
Zayd sits down with his mom, Bernardine Dohrn, along with Jamie and Karen Zelermyer of Wonder Media Network’s I Was Never There to look back at the process of making a show so deeply rooted in personal family history. Jamie and Zayd interview their mothers to learn how they felt reliving their radical pasts and what it was like to make a podcast with their children. And in a time that feels so similar politically to the turbulent decades Karen and Bernardine lived through - how do they find hope?
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
28 Jul 2022
Chapter 10: Inheritance
Zayd connects to other children of the underground. Out of the shards of the radical movements of the 1970s, a new generation fights to build a better future.
For more of the story, check out:
Chesa Boudin, Letters from Young Activists: Today’s Rebels Speak Out (2005)
Patrisse Cullors & asha bandel, When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir (2018)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21 Jul 2022
Chapter 9: Revolutionary Suicide
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)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14 Jul 2022
Chapter 8: Hard Times
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)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
7 Jul 2022
Chapter 7: The Belly of the Beast, Part II
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)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
30 Jun 2022
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)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23 Jun 2022
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)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16 Jun 2022
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)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
9 Jun 2022
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)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
9 Jun 2022
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)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
9 Jun 2022
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)
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
24 May 2022
Introducing Mother Country Radicals
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.
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Inside a recent episode
Bonus Episode: Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young
Published 12 May 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] In our family, my father was usually the one driving, but there was never any doubt who was really setting our direction. I used to wonder what she was thinking about. Whether she was also scared, though that seemed impossible. She was, and is, the most committed, fiercely determined person I've ever known. The animating force of our family. The fuel that kept us all moving forward. I loved her. I admired her. I wanted to be like her. As I got older, of course, that all got more complicated. You grow up and you start to see how much you don't know about your own family. How much you assumed, or took for granted. […]
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
