Rip Current

About Rip Current

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.

Publisher

iHeartPodcasts

Category

history · society & culture · true crime

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 Feb 2024

Latest episode

11 Feb 2026

Latest episodes

36 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   11 Feb 2026

   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 pipe bomb detonated in Judi’s car, nearly killing her. In the first half of the conversation, Darryl describes his experience that day. In the second half, he talks about his theory of the crime. See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

2. 

   4 Feb 2026

   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. In this bonus episode, he revisits the case from his perspective inside the Bari/Cherney legal team. See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

3. 

   28 Jan 2026

   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 challenges they face as a species in our era of climate change. See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.5 / 5

97 ratings

Spotify

4.3 / 5

28 ratings

Contact Rip Current

Guest appearances

Books guests

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

Shows with a similar audience

• 

  Crime Junkie

• 

  Supernatural with Ashley Flowers

• 

  SmartLess

• 

  Pod Save America

• 

  The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett