A car bomb. A forest war. And an activist caught in the middle. When Earth First! organizer Judi Bari was nearly killed by a bomb planted beneath the driver’s seat of her Subaru, the FBI didn’t hunt for the bomber—they arrested her. What followed was a decades-long battle between environmentalists, the logging industry, and law enforcement, marked by conspiracy, smear campaigns, and civil rights violations.

In this episode, we dig into the unsolved car bombing that silenced a voice—but only briefly. We explore the psychological toll of being framed, the sociopolitical war over California’s redwoods, and why Judi Bari remains a lightning rod for activism, even after death. Was she targeted for her politics? Or was the FBI covering something up?

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References:

Alternative Tentacles. (n.d.). Judi Bari. https://alternativetentacles.com/pages/artist-page/judi-bari

Bari, J. (1992). The feminization of Earth First!. History Is A Weapon. https://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/barifemef.html

Cherney, D. (n.d.). JudiBari.org: The official archive of Judi Bari’s life and case. JudiBari.org. http://www.judibari.org/index.html

Cherney, D. (2010). Motion to preserve the bombs. JudiBari.org. http://www.judibari.org/Mo-Preserve-Bombs-2010.pdf

Cherney, D. (2010). Declaration in support of motion to preserve bombs. JudiBari.org. http://www.judibari.org/Mo-Preserve-Bombs-Declaration-Cherney-2010.pdf

Fifth Estate Collective. (1997, Summer). Judi Bari lives. Fifth Estate, 349. https://www.fifthestate.org/archive/349-summer-1997/judi-bari-lives/

Greenson, T. (1997, January). Judi Bari: Outspoken and uncompromising. North Coast Journal. https://www.northcoastjournal.com/jan97/1-97.people.html

InfoRefuge. (n.d.). Judi Bari biography. https://inforefuge.com/judi-bari-bio

Industrial Workers of the World. (n.d.). Judi Bari biography. https://archive.iww.org/history/biography/JudiBari/1/

Kuletz, V. (2021, August 10). How Judi Bari tried to unite loggers and environmentalists. JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/how-judi-bari-tried-to-unite-loggers-and-environmentalists/

Martin, D. (1997, March 4). Judi Bari, 47, leader of Earth First! protest on redwoods in 1990. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/04/us/judi-bari-47-leader-of-earth-first-protest-on-redwoods-in-1990.html

Trees Foundation. (2020, May 20). 30 years ago in May: The bombing of Earth First! activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney. https://treesfoundation.org/2020/05/30-years-ago-in-may-the-bombing-of-earth-first-activists-judi-bari-and-darryl-cherney/

Wheaton, B. K. (2010). Declaration in support of motion to preserve bombs. JudiBari.org. http://www.judibari.org/Mo-Preserve-Bombs-Declaration-Wheaton-re-8-23-10.pdf

United States Department of Justice. (2010). Opposition to motion to preserve bombs. JudiBari.org. http://www.judibari.org/D-Opp-P-Mo-Preserv-Ev-8-12-10.pdf

Zinn Education Project. (n.d.). Judi Bari car bombing. https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/judi-bari