Pod Insights American Scandal ENCORE The Kidnapping of Patty Hearst | The Plot | 1 About this episode Media heiress Patricia Hearst moves to Berkeley, intent on building a new life. In Oakland, a group of political radicals plot a deadly attack.
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0:00 Lindsay Graham? Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American Scandal early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. This episode previously aired in 2022. A listener note: This episode contains descriptions of violence and may not be suitable for a younger audience. It's February 4th, 1974. It's a sleepy Monday night in Berkeley, California, and Patricia Hearst is curled up on a couch watching an episode of Mission Impossible on TV.
0:43 Lindsay Graham? Hearst yawns, and she turns over on the sofa, letting her slippers dangle from the edge of her toes. Hearst is 19 years old. She's five foot two, petite, with brown hair and bangs. As an undergrad at UC Berkeley, spending an evening watching lowbrow TV isn't exactly her idea of an exciting time. But it's not that bad. At least she has company. Over on the other side of the couch, her fiance is lounging back with a book in his lap. Steve Weed is a shaggy but handsome 26-year-old with wire-rimmed glasses. He's a philosophy grad student at UC Berkeley, the kind of guy who seems to understand how things really work. And that's a big part of why Hearst was drawn to him. She comes from a wealthy
1:25 Lindsay Graham? family, a family with one of those names like the Kennedys or the Rockefellers. Her grandfather, William Randolph Hearst, founded a media empire with a chain of newspapers that helped define America. He was an extraordinarily wealthy man, and he even served as inspiration for the main character in Citizen Kane, the classic Hollywood film. Hearst knows that her grandfather's legacy is worth celebrating, but in recent years, she's grown increasingly disillusioned with her family. She sees them as stuffy and bourgeois, and she's wanted to get away from all the trappings of their wealth. Studying art history at Berkeley and running away with an older man, a pot-smoking intellectual at that, seemed
2:07 Lindsay Graham? like her best chance to embrace a liberal life, one she could lead on her own terms. But tonight, sitting on the couch in her living room, Hearst gets a sinking feeling of doubt. Somehow, she's found herself stuck in a routine of suffocating domesticity: cooking, cleaning, catering to her fiance's needs.
2:26 Lindsay Graham? This wasn't how things were supposed to turn out. Hurst wasn't supposed to become a housewife. But Hurst tries to set aside those thoughts. She turns her attention back to the TV. The show continues predictably when there's an urgent knock on the front door. Hurst and Weed share a glance. It's late, they're not expecting any visitors. So Weed gets up with Hurst trailing behind. When he opens the door, they find a young woman outside looking agitated. Hi, I'm sorry, this is embarrassing. I just backed up and I guess I hit someone's car in the garage? Hurst glares at the woman. Which car? An MG? A blue sports car? I'm sorry, I'm not sure. It was dark.
3:11 Lindsay Graham? Well, if it was an MG, that was my car. I'm sorry, I don't know. Can I just come in and use your phone? Well, hang on a second. I'll grab some paper and a pen. You can write down your information and then we'll start making calls. Hurst begins making her way to the kitchen. But with her back turned, she hears a sudden commotion behind her. Hurst spins around and sees two men have burst into the apartment. They're wearing masks and carrying guns. And the woman from the doorway is now holding a pistol herself and racing toward Hurst. The woman storms forward and suddenly shoves Hurst to the ground. Keep quiet and no one gets hurt. Please, don't do this. I won't call the cops, I swear. I said, keep quiet.
3:55 Lindsay Graham? The intruders begin rifling through the apartment. And Hurst looks over at her fiance, silently pleading for him to do something, anything. Weed gives a subtle nod. And as one of the men comes out of the bedroom, Weed rushes at him, hands outstretched. The man is quicker and hits Weed in the face, sending him staggering into the hallway. Leaning against a wall, Weed wipes his nose. Look, look, take my wallet, take anything you want, just leave us alone. Hurst is about to call out to join her fiance in his plea for mercy, but she notices a strange look on his face.
4:31 Lindsay Graham? Before she can stop him, Weed turns and flees out the back door, leaving Hearst alone with the intruders. Hearst lies on the ground stunned, as the young woman leans down with a look of menace. Well now it's just you, me and my friends, isn't it? What do you want? Where is it? Where's the safe? We don't have one. I'm not screwing around. Where do you keep your safe? I'm telling you the truth, we don't have one. How the hell do you not have a safe? You're a Hearst. Hearst continues to plead, but the woman has had enough. She shoves a piece of cloth into Hearst's mouth, gagging her. Then she wraps a blindfold over Hearst's eyes, and binds her hands with rope.
5:12 Lindsay Graham? Hearst is yanked to her feet, and dragged out of the apartment. With her eyes covered, she can't see a thing. She only feels the cool night air on her skin, and hears the sound of a car's trunk popping open. Hearst doesn't understand what's going on, why her fiance fled, why these three broke into her apartment. But then she realizes, with those three words, "You're a Hearst", they know who she is. And it's at that moment the truth dawns on her. This isn't just a simple robbery. This is a kidnapping. And Patricia Hearst is the target.
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7:25 Lindsay Graham? From Wondery, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is American Scam.
7:48 Lindsay Graham? In 1974, the country was gripped by a sensational story involving crime, radical politics, and one of the most powerful families in America. Patricia Hearst was an heiress to a corporate empire. Her grandfather, William Randolph Hearst, was a media tycoon who by the early 1900s owned one of the largest newspaper chains in the country. Hearst's publications were known for exaggerated stories and provocative headlines, a brand of journalism that sold papers and made a fortune. So when Patricia Hearst was kidnapped from her apartment, journalists took notice. The event became one of the hottest stories in the media, earning coverage from newspapers, radio stations, TV networks, and magazines, many of them part of the vast empire built
8:32 Lindsay Graham? by Patricia Hearst's own grandfather. But the saga took an even more shocking turn, when Hearst began aligning herself with her captors, a group of radical activists. The media frenzy soon engulfed Hearst's family, and millions of Americans and a dozen jurors were left with some gnawing questions. Did Patricia Hearst actually become a convert of the radical group that kidnapped her? Or was she just trying to survive? In an age of mass media and celebrity, how culpable were journalists for the way the saga played out and the crimes that would leave Hearst facing the possibility of a long prison sentence? This is Episode 1: The Plot.
9:15 Lindsay Graham? It's 1965 in Menlo Park, California, nine years before Patricia Hearst was abducted from her apartment in Berkeley. It's a sunny morning at the convent of the Sacred Heart, a private Catholic school. In a classroom with brick walls and tall arched windows, Patricia Hearst slides quietly into her desk, trying not to draw attention to herself. The eleven-year-old smooths down her pleated skirt. As her teacher begins the day's lesson, Hearst gazes out at the bright blue sky and watches an oak tree rustle in the wind. Hearst should be paying attention. The nun who teaches this class is famously strict and notorious for berating her students if they act out of line. But Hearst just can't get herself to concentrate.
9:58 Lindsay Graham? She doesn't like this class, and going to this school wasn't her idea either. It was Hearst's mother who wanted her to attend a Catholic boarding school. Catherine Hearst is a devout Catholic herself, and she wanted her daughter to have a strict religious education. Plus, the boarding school isn't that far from the family's mansion in Hillsborough, California. Patricia can still spend time at home with her mother, father, and four sisters, and over the summer they can all still travel to San Simeon and the famous Hearst Castle there. The family estate spans eighty-six thousand acres. It's a property Hearst has always found to be enchanting. She gets to ride horses and commune with nature. There, Hearst feels like she can be herself, get some distance from her mother's lessons
10:43 Lindsay Graham? about etiquette and religion. But sitting in a classroom at her boarding school, Hearst can only daydream about summers on her family estate. She gazes out the window, staring at the trees, and Hearst is lost in her fantasy. She doesn't notice that her teacher has turned from the chalkboard and begun making her way through the aisle of desks. The nun stops next to Hearst, and when the girl looks up, the nun demands to know why Hearst is staring out the window. Has she no interest in learning? Hearst remains silent, hoping the nun will move on to some other poor girl. But the nun bends in closer and continues her reprimand. She asks Hearst if this is how a student should behave in the presence of the Lord, if this is fitting behavior for a respectable child.
11:28 Lindsay Graham? As the nun chastises Hearst, beads of spit fly out of her mouth and land on Hearst's face, but she doesn't move or say a word. The nun's face turns red, and she wraps the desk, demanding an answer. But Hearst doesn't know what to do. She could remain silent and keep taking this punishing tirade, or she could say something and defend herself. But Hearst doubts that'll achieve anything. Then an idea strikes her. Hearst looks her teacher in the eye, and without blinking, she tells the nun to go to hell.
12:03 Lindsay Graham? The nun freezes, and Hearst suppresses a grin. For once, the nun is speechless. But not for long. With her face now a deep crimson, the nun barks at Hearst, telling her to get up and go to the office of the Reverend Mother. Hearst nods and begins walking through the classroom to the front door. She can feel everyone watching her. And at first, she feels a bit sheepish. But slowly, her feelings begin to shift. She knows what she just did was out of character. She doesn't have a reputation as a troubled student or an unruly kid. And she only did what was necessary to get herself out of a bad situation. Sometimes you have to do that. But one shocking choice doesn't mean she's a bad person.
12:49 Lindsay Graham? It's 1973 in Berkeley, California, eight years later. Patricia Hearst steps into her apartment and sets down her bag. She takes off her coat and hangs it up. And as she stands in the foyer, gazing at her small apartment unit, for a moment, Hearst considers turning back around, walking out the door, getting away from here and far away from her problems. But Hearst's boyfriend Steve Weed beckons her to come in and help get dinner ready. For Hearst, this has been a rotten night. She and Weed just saw a movie and spent the whole car ride back bickering about its meaning. As usual, the conversation devolved into a series of personal attacks. Weed liked the movie, and his praise for the film was hyper-intellectual,
13:33 Lindsay Graham? as you'd expect from a philosophy PhD student. Hearst, though, thought the movie was kind of silly and over the top. Weed argued that her take was evidence of her naivete and social privilege. Hearst pushed back. She wasn't some sort of naive child. It was the kind of fight that's been happening more and more. And now that they're back at the apartment and Weed is demanding dinner, Hearst feels stung. A big part of her wants to flee. Their life together wasn't supposed to be like this.
14:04 Lindsay Graham? When Hearst met Weed, she was still in high school, and Weed was her teacher. She looked up to him, seeing Weed as the exact opposite of the stuffy world she came from. He was a leftist, an intellectual, and had nothing to do with the Hearst media empire or her grandfather. Getting together with Weed seemed like a chance as a fresh start, a way to build a life untethered from her family legacy. But reality hasn't matched her fantasies. Two years into their relationship, Hearst has found herself fighting to find her voice in any conversation that isn't about household chores. In ways she can't put her finger on, a relationship that was supposed to be progressive now feels backward, a relic of a bygone era. But Hearst hasn't given up hope.
14:49 Lindsay Graham? She still believes that if she argues her points well enough, her boyfriend will take her seriously. She can prove that she's more than just a rich kid from an ultra-wealthy family, and she can have the life she wants and a partner who respects her. Hearst grabs a pot and sticks it onto the range top. And as she heats up some leftover soup, she looks over at Weed. Steve, it's a movie. I can have my own opinions about it. I'm not a child. But you are a nineteen-year-old getting her first taste of college. So? You're in your mid-twenties, big deal. It is a big deal. There's a lot of life you get exposed to in between nineteen and my age. I get it, fine, but I'm not allowed to have an opinion? Not if it's going to embarrass me in front of my friends.
15:33 Lindsay Graham? Oh, so I'm in embarrassment, huh? Hearst ladles soup into a couple of bowls, and the two head over to the dining room table and grab a seat. As she takes her first spoonful, Hearst pauses and looks up at Weed. You know, you were the same way just last month with your mother. What's that supposed to mean? You treat your own mother like she's unaware that there's a modern world outside her front door. I could not. She voted for Nixon, for God's sake. So did half of America, which is exactly our problem. Look, Steve, she's a person. You don't have to talk down to her or me. Oh, okay. You know, I'm sorry, I'm not going to keep listening to the princess of publishing giving me a lecture on modern America. You and my mother both have no idea how out of touch you both sound. Hearst drops her spoon into her bowl.
16:19 Lindsay Graham? Steve, you might be getting a PhD in philosophy, but you're not so smart when it comes to treating people the right way. Well, okay, that's enough. You spend all your time reading books. Have you ever looked up, tried to read the room, maybe be a little more humble? I said that's enough. What if I have more to say? Are you gonna stop me? Weed pushes back his chair. And striding to the other side of the table, he grabs Hurst by the waist and carries her across the room. Opens the front door. And before Hurst can stop him, Weed drops her outside, closes the door, and turns the lock.
16:57 Lindsay Graham? Hurst stands in the cool night air, frozen in shock. Her boyfriend just locked her out of her own apartment. For what feels like an eternity, Hurst stands outside, cycling through a litany of her grievances. Every instant she knows her boyfriend was wrong. Eventually, she gets tired and cold. So Hurst knocks on the door and calls out, apologizing. After a few moments, she hears the deadbolt turn and the door unlocks. Hurst opens it and pads back into the apartment. She finds Weed watching TV in the living room. Hurst sits back down at the table and swallows a spoonful of cold soup. Gazing at her boyfriend, whose glasses reflect the pale light of the TV, Hurst tries to reassure herself. She can fix her life.
17:43 Lindsay Graham? It won't be like this forever.
17:48 Lindsay Graham? It's December 1973 in Hillsborough, California, and Catherine Hurst is strolling through her large house, taking in the holiday splendor. Green garlands are draped across the mantles. There's a glittering nativity scene on the grand piano. It's 65 degrees outside in northern California, but the Hursts have made sure to give their Christmas tree a proper decoration, one that evokes the joyous spirit of wintertime. As the matriarch of the household, Catherine is facetious in her attention to detail. And she's happy to see that everything looks right. Even Catherine's hair is perfectly sprayed, and the pearls around her neck are polished and gleaming. Catherine knows that anyone looking in at this house would see a happy family and a life well put together.
18:32 Lindsay Graham? The Hursts should be a source of envy to anyone.
18:37 Lindsay Graham? But even with the garlands and wreaths, even with the expensive artwork on the walls, and the French wine in the cellar, Catherine Hurst can't help but feel deeply uneasy. There's a problem brewing in her family. Catherine has never approved of her daughter Patricia's new fiance, Steve Weed. But it isn't just Weed's liberal values that chafe at Catherine. He might be pursuing a PhD, but he seems lazy, and he's arrogant. Catherine often questions how such a man could ever be right for her daughter. Catherine continues her tour of the decorations and approaches a staircase, where there's a photographer waiting with a camera slung over his shoulder. Despite her deepest misgivings, Catherine is going to try to make the best of the situation.
19:20 Lindsay Graham? Today Patricia and her fiance are coming to the house. The family hired a professional to lead a photo shoot, so the family can place an engagement announcement in the local papers. Patricia doesn't seem happy about taking part in this ritual. But that's tough luck. Catherine may not be able to control her rebellious daughter, or stop her from marrying an inferior man, but she can at least control the family's public reputation.
19:46 Lindsay Graham? A few minutes later, the front door of the mansion swings open, and Patricia and her fiance walk in. Patricia is wearing a simple knit dress, an outfit that Catherine believes is fine for the occasion. But Steve Weed is wearing a pair of blue jeans. Worse, he hasn't shaved his mustache. Catherine silently fumes as she stares at the young couple. This is unacceptable. If the public sees this man in a newspaper announcement, they'll believe the Hursts now keep company with deadbeats. So Catherine pulls Patricia aside and hisses that Weed must shave for the photo shoot. But her daughter pushes back, saying she likes the mustache, and there's no way she's forcing Weed to shave it. Catherine can tell she's not going to win this argument. So she moves on to the next issue, the blue jeans.
20:31 Lindsay Graham? But Patricia asks what exactly Catherine's solution is. Does she want Weed to put on a pair of her father's dress pants? They won't fit. Surely one pair of jeans won't destroy the family's legacy. Catherine grows increasingly flustered by her daughter's obstinance. And she blurts out that Weed must at least put on a tie. Catherine sighs. Her daughter has already rejected so much of Catherine's worldview. She waved off Catholicism, she went to Berkeley instead of Stanford, she's engaged to this mustachioed man with his liberal politics. Catherine is praying that her daughter will at least compromise on this one thing for the photo shoot. Finally Patricia asks if wearing the tie will put an end to the argument.
21:13 Lindsay Graham? Catherine says it will, and although Patricia nods unhappily, she says Weed keeps a tie in his car, and she'll have him fetch it. Soon Weed returns with a tie. It's floppy, with a garish print. But Catherine says nothing, and weighs the couple over to a large painting of Patricia's grandmother. Patricia and her fiance pose underneath the portrait as the photographer snaps several shots. And when they're finished, the group begins heading out toward the estate grounds for some outdoor photos. But as Weed and the photographer step outside, Catherine stops her daughter, and asks if they can talk for a moment. Patricia looks wary. But speaking tenderly, Catherine tells her daughter that it's not too late. She would never judge her if she had a change of heart.
21:58 Lindsay Graham? Patricia doesn't have to marry this man. Something flickers in Patricia's eyes, and she opens her mouth to speak, but then the flicker fades. Patricia says this is just like her mother, she never supports her decisions. And without saying another word, Patricia turns and hurries out through French doors into the garden. Standing alone in the mansion, Catherine straightens her back, and adjusts her pearl necklace. Her daughter may not realize it, but Catherine only has her best interests at heart. This is just a rebellious phase, and Catherine is sure that someday Patricia will outgrow it. She's bound to clean up her husband, and then she can assume her role in high society. And somehow, everything will turn out all right.
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24:08 Lindsay Graham? It's March 5, 1973, at Soledad State Prison, a few hours south of San Francisco. In a dark room on the south side of the prison complex, an inmate with hooded eyes and a short Afro kneels on the ground as he works to repair a large boiler. He tightens a rusted bolt. As he pauses to inspect the equipment, he looks over at a prison guard and gives a curt nod. The inmate, Sinkeu Mthumey, knows he's relatively lucky. He has a coveted job, doing handiwork in an empty part of the prison. He barely has any supervision. Still, when he was escorted to the job and looked out at the horizon, past the chain-link fences and guards stationed with their guns, Sin Q could only dream of what it must feel like to be free.
24:53 Lindsay Graham? It's a feeling Sin Q has never really known. When he was only fourteen years old, he fled his abusive father and took up a life of crime. He got involved in street gangs, guns, and violent relationships. He cycled in and out of the criminal justice system, and troubles seemed to follow him wherever he went. But while Sin Q is no stranger to prison, his most recent conviction was especially baffling. Sin Q was sentenced to life in prison, but it may only be five years. He doesn't know how long he's gonna be away. It could be a short stint, or he could die in prison. The decision is in the hands of the parole board. With that kind of uncertainty, an inmate could easily lose his mind. But Sin Q has always tried to make the most of things. He's gotten involved with prison activists,
25:37 Lindsay Graham? and as a black inmate, he's studied up on issues of racial injustice. Sin Q has learned about men like George Jackson, an inmate who became a powerful leader behind bars and spearheaded violent uprisings. Reading about men like Jackson, Sin Q has been filled with a spirit of righteousness and rage. And he was inspired to shed his birth name, Donald de Vries, which he called a slave name. Instead, he would be known as Sin Q M Tume, after the leader of a slave rebellion and the Swahili word for prophet. Sin Q's brush with radical politics also gave him a dream to lead his own rebellion with his own devoted followers. Still, there's only so much he can accomplish while locked up. And with his unpredictable sentence,
26:21 Lindsay Graham? all he can really do is dream of the day he gets out.
26:26 Lindsay Graham? In the boiler room, Sin Q finishes tightening another bolt and looks over as a correctional officer opens the door and steps outside. Beyond the guard is a six-foot chain-link fence. It's topped with curling barbed wire, but beyond that is freedom.
26:42 Lindsay Graham? Sin Q keeps working and waiting for the guard to return. Several minutes pass, but for some reason, the officer doesn't come back into the boiler room. Sin Q pauses, staring at the open door. This is an unexpected turn of events. There's no one watching him. Sin Q could just walk right out of here, and after that, the only thing standing between him and freedom would be a six-foot fence and his own raw fear. Sin Q sets his tools on the ground and begins walking to the door. Maybe he'll start with just a quick look. He looks outside and surveys the surroundings. There's no one here, just a vast concrete expanse and a plume of steam coming up from the prison laundry building off in the distance.
27:26 Lindsay Graham? Without giving it another thought, Sin Q begins to run. He reaches the chain-link fence and starts climbing, and when he reaches the top, barbed wire tears into his arms, but adrenaline numbs the pain. Sin Q then flings himself to the other side of the fence and continues to run. He gets farther from the prison and farther from the guards, their nightsticks and shackles and oppression. His breath grows labored and his legs are tired. Sin Q keeps running, farther from Solidad Prison and closer to Highway 101. Five months later, Patricia Soltisak pages through a stack of political pamphlets in an apartment in Berkeley, California.
28:08 Lindsay Graham? As she reads through a list of radical proposals and incendiary arguments, her brown eyes twinkle with excitement. Then Soltisak grabs a pen and starts jotting down ideas. Though her parents call her Patricia, everyone else knows Soltisak as Ms. Moon. It's her adopted name and part of her new identity as a radical feminist and dropout from Berkeley. In the last few years, Ms. Moon has done a lot of learning and a lot of growing up, and there's much she wants to change about the world. Ms. Moon is sick of the forces that give rise to racism, sexism, greed, and every other form of oppression. She's seen firsthand that the police are willing to fire on innocent protesters, people doing nothing wrong.
28:49 Lindsay Graham? And with America increasingly feeling like it's falling apart at the seams, Ms. Moon believes the country is ready for revolution.
28:59 Lindsay Graham? Large-scale change is exactly what she's trying to accomplish. Ms. Moon looks across the room and watches Sinque M. Tume pacing on a shag rug, gripping a nearly-empty glass of plum wine. A friend of Ms. Moon's connected her with Sinque after his escape from Solidad Prison. And for the last couple of months, they've been living and sleeping together. But the two have also been talking about the need for revolution, the imperative for big political change. But tonight, she and Sinque have decided that they're done with talking. It's time for action. The two have gathered with Ms. Moon's other comrade, Nancy Ling Perry. And together, these three are brainstorming a constitution for a new radical group.
29:44 Lindsay Graham? Ms. Moon sits on the ground, paging through a flyer from the radical political group, The Black Panthers. Ms. Moon believes in the mantra of following black leadership, and she wants to share what she's reading with Sinque. But it can be tough to pin down his ideology, especially once a wine bottle is uncorked. Often, Sinque gets surly when she talks about any other group, as if they're stealing his thunder. So in talking with Sinque, Ms. Moon tries to tread lightly. Hey, Sin, take a look at this one. I always thought there was a simplicity to the Black Panthers' literature. Maybe something we can learn from. Sinque narrows his eyes. The Panthers, huh? You think it's simplicity? Or is it stupidity? This says boycott lettuce.
30:27 Lindsay Graham? Well, yeah, it's in solidarity with the farmers. They were getting exploited. What kind of revolution are you gonna start by telling people not to eat lettuce? Well, Sin, the Panthers are all over the news. And it was because of these kind of slogans. I mean, people stopped buying lettuce at Safeway. They had an impact. So if we're gonna do something similar... Maybe we do have something to learn from the Panthers. Nah, forget it. Let's focus on something else. Well, I mean, we need a name for the group. Yeah. I was up late last night. A word in my head: symbiosis. You know? A black con like me and two white women? People don't expect us to come together in a revolution. But that's our strength, isn't it?
31:12 Lindsay Graham? Sin Q throws back the rest of his plum wine. Well, damn right. I want to unite all the struggles together. Let people know we're fighting for freedom. How we're gonna crush the fascists together. It's like we're an army. That's it. A freedom army. An army of liberation. That's an idea. Nancy, are you getting this? Nancy Ling Perry nods and begins typing, taking down notes. Sin Q pours himself another glass of wine and continues pacing the room, now with a wild look in his eyes. Symbiosis. Symbiosis. Symbiosis. Yeah, but symbiosis what? I know. What? What's the name? We're getting close. A symbiosis army.
31:55 Lindsay Graham? Simbi... symbionese army. The symbionese liberation army. The symbionese liberation army. That's the name. Yeah. That's who we are. The S.L.A. Sin Q, you're a genius.
32:13 Lindsay Graham? Ms. Moon grins as she looks down at the spread of political pamphlets in front of her. Soon, the symbionese liberation army is going to have its own radical literature. And with Sin Q's leadership and Perry by her side, Ms. Moon is certain they'll be able to force some big changes in American society. They're going to have to get organized, and they'll have to finish drafting the Constitution. But Ms. Moon knows all of that is still just talk. What the group really needs is to take action.
32:44 Lindsay Graham? It's the evening of November 6th, 1973, three months later. In a dark alley in Oakland, California, Sinque M. Tume stands shivering, his clothes damp from the rain. He peers around a corner and takes another look at a white Chevy Vega sitting in a parking lot. Sinque grips a 12-gauge shotgun and turns back to his comrades hiding in the shadows. Today, the Symbionese Liberation Army has a target: Marcus Foster, the superintendent of Oakland Unified School District, and a man embroiled in political strife. In recent months, violence has been spiking on school campuses, and people have been calling for change. But the superintendent came up with a solution that Sinque believes is a terrible abuse of power.
33:28 Lindsay Graham? Foster is going to hire armed security guards to try to keep schoolchildren safe. Foster is a black man, and Sinque believes he should know better than to use federal money to hire a fascist police force and station them in public schools, the schools of the people. The Black Panthers have already stepped into the fray, promising they would oversee school security themselves. And while that would be an improvement, Sinque believes more righteous action was called for, and that his group, the Symbionese Liberation Army, should be the one leading the charge. So Sinque hatched a plan. He and his comrades are going to assassinate Superintendent Marcus Foster and take a stand against oppression.
34:11 Lindsay Graham? If they succeed in their mission, Sinque believes the SLA will be hailed as one of the most radical revolutionary groups on the Left. They'll be feared and respected, and Sinque will be seen as a visionary. But in order to carry out their mission, Foster has to actually show up. Sinque and his comrades have been waiting outside a school board meeting for hours, and so far, there's no sign of the superintendent. As they stand in the alleyway, Nancy Ling Perry and Ms. Moon continue to pester Sinque with nervous questions. Are their guns loaded properly? Is the safety on or off? They're concerned the rain might affect their bullets, which are laced with cyanide. As the two women's chatter grows more frantic, Sinque begins to wonder if they should abandon
34:54 Lindsay Graham? the mission, maybe plan for another day. But then suddenly, a door slams into the distance. When Sinque peers around the corner again, he spots two figures walking in the shadows.
35:08 Lindsay Graham? Sin Kew waits, his heart pounding. And when the men finally come out of the shadows, stepping into a pool of incandescent light, he can see it's them, Marcus Foster and his deputy. Sin Kew takes a deep breath and grips his shotgun. But before he can give an order, his comrade Nancy Ling Perry fires off two hasty rounds. The first shot misses, but her second hits the superintendent in the leg. Sin Kew curses. Perry was supposed to follow directions. The plan's going off the rails, but they don't have time to argue. Sin Kew takes another deep breath and then raises his Remington at Foster. He begins firing, round after round, as the two men scream.
35:50 Lindsay Graham? Sin Kew's comrade Miss Moon follows behind, firing her gun and then taking the fatal shot.
35:58 Lindsay Graham? As Foster falls dead onto the asphalt, Sin Kew, Miss Moon and Perry flee down the alley, sprinting toward their getaway vehicle. They hop in and the car peels out, speeding down a city street. As he looks out the window, Sin Kew's mind spins, thinking about what just happened. Soon, the world is going to learn about the assassination of Marcus Foster. Sin Kew has no doubt that his group, the SLA, will be fawned over and feared. Sin Kew will probably be seen as a revolutionary hero. And soon, his army will grow larger, more powerful, and capable of taking on much, much more.
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37:35 Lindsay Graham? It's late December 1973, a month and a half after the killing of Marcus Foster. In a safe house in Concord, California, Sinque M. Tome shifts restlessly on a beat-up old couch. Half a dozen new recruits are seated around him, riffing on ideas for their next revolutionary action. And while there's a palpable energy in the room, a sense that anything is possible, Sinque feels flat. After the murder of Marcus Foster, the Symbionese Liberation Army proudly claimed responsibility through a written announcement. The message introduced the world to the new group and its symbol, a seven-headed cobra. But Sinque was not prepared for the blowback he was about to face.
38:17 Lindsay Graham? The Black Panthers condemned the act as a slaughter and demanded justice. And at the superintendent's funeral, a racially and ideologically diverse crowd mourned what they called "a senseless loss of a respected city leader." It was clear that the SLA's first revolutionary action had been a failure. And facing public disgrace, Sinque knew he had to figure out a new plan, something to rehabilitate his group's image. Sitting in the living room of their new safe house, Sinque takes a look at his ragtag army. To his left is a young white couple, Bill and Emily Harris, who recently fell in with the group. And it's Bill who says he thinks he has a plan, a way to win support for the SLA.
39:00 Lindsay Graham? According to Harris, the group should engage in guerrilla theater. They should hijack a Mack truck filled with meat and distribute the food to the poor. Harris says this kind of action is a little bit like Robin Hood. People would see how the SLA is on the right side of the fight for justice. Sinque buries his face in his hands. He told his group that from here on out, they had to stay away from anything lethal, since cops are now looking for them. But this idea, a stunt reducing the SLA to a food pantry, is useless.
39:32 Lindsay Graham? Harris looks stung, but Sinh Q isn't concerned. They need real ideas and real plans. So he turns to another recruit, a hardened Vietnam vet named Joe Romero. Romero has the toughness and military training Sinh Q has been looking for. But when prompted for ideas, Romero stays silent, and so does the rest of the group. Everyone seems to be waiting for Sinh Q to tell them what's next. Bill Harris then steps back into the conversation. Harris slides over a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle and tells Sinh Q to have a look. Scanning the newspaper, Sinh Q finds an article announcing a wedding engagement. Patricia Hearst is engaged to someone named Steve Weed.
40:14 Lindsay Graham? Sinh Q knows the name Hurst, everyone does, but he has no idea what Harris is getting at by pointing out this article. Harris explains that this is what they've been looking for. Sinh Q has talked about the possibility of a kidnapping, and Hurst is the perfect target. She's an heiress to a publishing empire, a princess from the ruling class.
40:36 Lindsay Graham? Sinh Q stares down at the petite young woman in the photo, mulling over the idea. Kidnapping someone from the Hurst family, a family that made enormous wealth off capitalist propaganda, that would make a splash. And people would see the SLA as a true revolutionary group, one fighting against injustice and greed. There's no doubt such a high-profile kidnapping would be a risk, especially now that they're being hunted by cops for murder. But for Sinh Q, it's a risk worth taking. So the SLA's leader gives Harris the okay to track down Hurst, to start preparing for a mission that will put the SLA on the map.
41:17 Lindsay Graham? It's after midnight on January 10, 1974, in Concord, California. It's an overcast night, and police officer David Duge is patrolling a series of quiet streets in his cruiser. It's about midway through his shift, and he hasn't seen anything worth remarking on. But that's not much of a surprise. It's a weeknight in suburban Concord, it's not Oakland or San Francisco. But as he rounds a bend, Duge notices a beat-up van that seems out of place on a residential street, and something about it rubs him the wrong way. So Duge decides to have a look.
41:53 Lindsay Graham? Doos flashes his lights and pulls over his patrol car. He hops out of his cruiser and approaches the van on foot. When he's close enough, Doos knocks on the driver's side window. It rolls down, revealing two men with greasy hair and mustaches. Doos squints as he takes stock of the young men. Well, evening, gentlemen. Noticed you here on the street. The driver just shrugs. Is that a crime officer? Well, it depends. Can I see some ID? The driver pulls out a license, which lists his name as Robert Scalise. All right, Mr. Scalise. What are you doing in this area tonight? We're just trying to find our way to my friend's house. Got a little turned around.
42:36 Lindsay Graham? And your buddy's expecting you at one in the morning? Well, we're running late. And you didn't think to find a payphone and just give him a call? Instead, you just decided to sit here in the dark? Well, officer, like I said, we're a little lost. We should probably be on our way. Doos frowns and swings his flashlight to the back of the van. Strange, the windows are covered with black curtains. Nothing about this is adding up. So Doos aims his light at the man in the passenger seat. I'm gonna need to see your ID too, please. The driver shakes his head. Oh, officer, that's not necessary. It's not your call. Let me see that ID, son. The passenger hands over his ID, and Doos inspects it under his flashlight. The name on the card says Joe Romero.
43:22 Lindsay Graham? Doos takes a moment to review the facts. These men could be telling the truth. Just a couple of guys trying to hang out with a friend who got a little lost. But the officer isn't going to take any chances. Okay, all right. You fellows just stay here for a minute, and I'll be right back.
43:39 Lindsay Graham? Doos returns to his cruiser and runs the names off the IDs. Nothing turns up from the search, but the officer still has a bad feeling about these guys. And sometimes, police work is all about feelings. Doos isn't going to risk anything. So when he returns to the van, he asks the man in the passenger seat to step out. When he does, Doos asks Romero if he has any weapons on him. Romero hesitates. And as Doos moves to perform a frisk, Romero quickly steps back and opens his jacket, revealing a pistol.
44:13 Lindsay Graham? The officer snaps into action. He sprints to his cruiser, looking for cover. But before he can reach the car, Ramiro begins firing. The gunshots echo through the quiet streets as Duj leaps behind his own vehicle. Adrenaline courses through his veins. His pupils dilate. And when there's a break in the gunfire, Duj grips his own weapon and leaps up to fire back. But he misses, and Ramiro flees by foot, taking off into the darkness as the van begins racing down the street. Duj reaches for his police radio and calls out to dispatch, announcing that he's been fired at and needs backup. Duj waits in his cruiser, holding tight for support. He isn't sure he's safe.
44:56 Lindsay Graham? The men could still come back and try to finish what they started. And sure enough, right as his backup arrives, the van reappears, driving right toward them, its engine groaning in the night air. Duj kneels down, aiming his gun at the vehicle. He calls out for the van to stop, and it slows down, eventually coming to a halt. The driver steps out of the van, as the other officers rush forward and place him in handcuffs. With one man now in custody, Officer Duj decides to have a look inside the van. Duj opens the door, and with his flashlight raised, he crouches and climbs through the van. He crawls over beer bottles and fast food wrappers.
45:38 Lindsay Graham? When he reaches the back of the vehicle, Duj discovers a stack of brightly colored flyers. He leans closer, inspecting them. He picks one up and sees an image of a seven-headed cobra and the words "Symbionese Liberation Army." The officer flinches. The SLA is the group responsible for assassinating Marcus Foster. They're violent political radicals. And if the man they arrested tonight is involved with the organization, the police may be one step closer to finding the killers and bringing them to justice.
46:13 Lindsay Graham? From Wondery, this is episode one of The Kidnapping of Patty Hearst from American Scam. In our next episode, the Hearst family begins public negotiations to get their daughter back from the SLA. But when Patricia's voice broadcasts across the nation, she makes a startling announcement about her family, her captors, and the next chapter of her life.
46:36 Lindsay Graham? American Scandal is only possible because of listeners like you, so thank you. And don't miss an episode. Be sure to follow American Scandal on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. And Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American Scandal early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. And to find out more about me, including my other podcasts, my live show, the history tours I'm arranging, and all sorts of other things, go to historyishuman.com. That's historyishuman.com.
47:11 Lindsay Graham? If you'd like to learn more about Patricia Hearst, we recommend the books American Heir is by Jeffrey Toobin and Every Secret Thing by Patricia Campbell Hearst and Alvin Moscow. This episode contains reenactments and dramatized details. And while in most cases, we can't know exactly what was said, all our dramatizations are based on historical research. American Scandal is hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham, for Airship. Audio editing by Molly Bach. Sound design by Derek Behrens. Music by Lindsay Graham. This episode is written by A.J. Marishell, edited by Christina Malsberger. Our senior producer is Gabe Riven. Executive producers are Stephanie Jens, Jenny Lauer Beckman, and Marshall Louie for Wondery.
47:55 Lindsay Graham? In the summer of 1881, U.S. Army Lieutenant Adolphus Greeley and 24 other men embarked on an ambitious scientific mission to the northernmost reaches of the Arctic. But despite several triumphs of discovery, the men would soon face tragedy. Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of the podcast American History Tellers. We take you to the events, times, and people that shaped America and Americans, our values, our struggles, and our dreams. In our latest series, after Adolphus Greeley and his men arrive at their destination more than 1,000 miles above the Arctic Circle, they get to work collecting scientific data and exploring the frigid landscape. But when resupply ships fail to reach them two summers in a row, they're forced to set out on a desperate search for rescue, and not all
48:40 Lindsay Graham? of them will make it home. Follow American History Tellers wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes of American History Tellers: Greeley Arctic Expedition, early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.
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