I have a very intriguing episode for you this week; I interviewed Dr. Rachael Hanel about Patty Hearst and the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA).

Rachael is a former newspaper reporter and copy editor and teaches Creative Writing at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She is the author of more than 20 nonfiction books for children. Her first adult book is "We'll Be the Last Ones to Let You Down: Memoir of a Gravedigger's Daughter." She's also the author of "Not the Camilla We Knew," a book about Camilla Hall, a pastor's daughter from small-town Minnesota who eventually joined the ranks of the notorious Symbionese Liberation Army before dying in a shootout with Los Angeles Police in May 1974.

The SLA, an American militant far-left organization active in California between 1973 and 1975, kidnapped Patty Hearst, the granddaughter of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst, from her Berkley dorm in February of 1974. A bizarre story followed, including extortion and Hearst joining the SLA as one of its members. The saga climaxes with a bank robbery gone awry.

I had heard of the SLA and Patty Hearst in passing before talking to Rachael, but I had no idea just how incredible and strange this story is. Rachael was kind enough to walk me through what happened in 1974 and how much of what happened is still relevant fifty years later.

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The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the creator and do not necessarily reflect those of any of the guests on this show. Assumptions or commentary made in the analysis do not reflect the position of any entity other than the creator – and, since I am a critically thinking human being, these views are always subject to change, revision, correction, or rethinking at any time.

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Credits: 

Theme Music: Premium Beat, Dark Woods by Colorfilm Music 

Writing, Producing, Interviewing, and Editing: Tyler Hooper.

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