Rediscovering

About Rediscovering

SEASON FOUR: Arizona is less than 3% of the nation’s population but often plays a prominent role in American radicalism, like the insurrection at the nation’s Capitol on January 6th. This podcast asks why? Over four episodes, hosts Ron Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl trace the history of Arizona’s brushes with extremism. It goes beyond outlandish acts and isolated criminal behavior. It’s a story of disillusionment, distrust of government and outright rebellion that have mixed into the state’s culture and politics. From Confederates drawn to Arizona to Ground Zero for election denialism, this is Rediscovering season four: The Roots of Radicalism. SEASON THREE: Border Patrol Agent Lonnie Swartz responded to a drug smuggling attempt, leaving his assigned post at a Nogales port of entry on Oct. 10, 2012. The night would end with 16-year old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez dead on the Mexican side of Ambos Nogales. The event would begin a nearly decade-long court battle for the Elena Rodriguez family as they sought justice for the killing. It also would be a historic moment for the U.S. Border Patrol when Swartz became the first agent to be federally charged on multiple counts, including murder. Families seeking justice would get an answer years later, when another cross-border shooting reached the U.S. Supreme Court. In season three of Rediscovering, Killed Through the Border Fence, host Rafael Carranza focuses on a case that changed the way the U.S. patrols its southern boundary with Mexico and its lasting impacts on both sides of the border. SEASON TWO: In April 2010, Arizona enacted the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, better known as Senate Bill 1070. The state law required police officers to inquire about the legal status of anyone they thought might be in the country illegally. The law was a state-level response to a national issue that had stalled in Congress. It sought to break the federal log jam and show the nation that if Congress wouldn't tackle immigration reform, Arizona would. Ten years later, the law played a role in reducing the size of the state’s undocumented population and unquestionably reshaped Arizona politics. In season two of Rediscovering, SB 1070, hosts Ron Hansen and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez retrace the history of SB 1070: how it happened, who advocated for it and why it still matters a decade later. SEASON ONE: Our show focused on Don Bolles. Bolles was an investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic in the 1960s and '70s. After years of reporting on corruption in the racing industry, he was killed by a car bomb in 1976. Decades later, we found cassette tapes of his phone calls from the '70s. With those tapes, we're telling the story of Don's life and his quarrels with the mafia before his death and how his spirit was crushed long before his murder.

Publisher

The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com

Category

government · history · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Oct 2019

Latest episode

22 Jul 2024

Latest episodes

24 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Jul 2024

   S4 EP04: It Never Ends

   After Sept. 11, 2001, Americans across the country saw enemies and wanted security. In Arizona, the terrorist attacks ushered in a new era focused on the border with Mexico. From self-appointed border patrols to a newfound focus for “America’s toughest sheriff,” Joe Arpaio, nativism took hold in Arizona. Initially, it drew support from people with serious personal problems and morphed into a broad, national political movement that helped propel Donald Trump to the White House. The often-angry politics that characterized the ascendent right took a darker turn when Trump lost Arizona in the 2020 presidential election. Arizonans helped play a central role in the effort to sidestep the results, culminating in their involvement with the riot at the U.S. Capitol and a months-long indulgence in partisan conspiracy theories. It kept the state in an unflattering spotlight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2. 

   22 Jul 2024

   S4 EP03: The Enemy Is Us

   The upheaval of assassinations, antiwar protests and civil rights advocacy helped define an era that began in the 1960s and included flourishing political and social fringe movements. In Arizona, far-right guerilla groups like the Minutemen and Posse Comitatus challenged long-accepted ideas of who exactly held power. Political tumult in Arizona opened a path for a perennial election gadfly with anti-government leanings to win the governor’s race. Evan Mecham served 15 months as governor before being impeached and convicted, but the fallout from his time in office reverberated in the state’s politics for decades. The conspiracy-minded held forth in law enforcement in Arizona and in extralegal groups distrustful of government. Arizonans had ties to the Ruby Ridge standoff, to the Oklahoma City bombing, and planned mayhem in Arizona as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3. 

   22 Jul 2024

   S4 EP02: The Goldwater Era

   After World War II ended, Arizona boomed as modern comforts made life in the desert more palatable. The state’s growth brought political upheaval and largely reinforced a social obliviousness to civil rights. As the state grew, it shed its loyalty to Democrats in favor of a conservatism marked with anti-Communist zealotry. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wisconsin, held the nation in a grip of fear over alleged communist infiltration at the highest levels in the U.S. government and military. He found a reliable ally in Arizona’s Barry Goldwater. He came to define a new brand of politics and governance that culminated in Goldwater’s 1964 presidential run. His supporters included fringe groups such as the John Birch Society and a willingness to ignore the call for civil rights at a time when it was a rising national movement. Arizona offered a mixed record on civil rights that left Goldwater unmoved. His presidential run ended in defeat, but it also helped plant ideological seeds for Ronald Reagan’s 1980 triumph. Back home in Arizona, voters sent Goldwater back to Washington for another three terms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.7 / 5

118 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

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Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.