Show Notes
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? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More from Rip Current
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 for privacy information.
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 for privacy information.
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 for privacy information.
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 allowed for the building of San Francisco, the first major city in the American West. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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 deal is struck with Maxxam to preserve an important area of old growth redwoods. We assess Judi’s legacy and present one last theory of the bombing, one that has been overlooked for decades See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.