The Past and Present of Radical Activism with Zayd Dohrn

Cultural Mixtapes

On today’s episode we have playwright, screenwriter, and professor Zayd Ayers Dohrn. He recently wrote and hosted the new podcast Mother Country Radicals for Crooked Media. This podcast is an audio documentary about his parents Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers who were radical activists in an organization called the Weather Underground. Dohrn chronicles the lives of his parents and other weathermen and women as they live on the run from the FBI and take drastic action against the US Government. Zayd himself was born underground, and Mother Country Radicals evolves from a story about activists, into one about balancing dedication to a cause with family life. Bernadine Dohrn, Bill Ayers and several other members of the Weather Underground are staunchly dedicated to fighting for the goals of their organization—which as you will see from Zayd, are quite complicated—and this poses challenges as they start families. He speaks to several radicals on the podcast who pose different opinions on the acts they committed, and often, the violence that ensued.

The period of time that Dohrn chronicles is not dissimilar from what we’re seeing today. The revitalized Black Lives Matter movement, after the killing of George Floyd; the mobilization around the urgency of gun control; and most recently, the protests following the supreme court ruling about abortion rights; illustrate a galvanized and provoked public that wants to make their voices heard to affect change. Like most of Zayd’s work, this conversation jumps between the personal and the political, and towards the end, our conversation turns towards the future, as he reflects on what successful public activism can look like in today’s world.

Listen to Mother Country Radicals on Crooked Media
Zayd's Website

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