Rip Current | Podcast Guru

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On the morning of May 24th, 1990, a pipe bomb exploded in the car driven by Judi Bari, a leader in the radical environmental group, Earth First!. She was critically injured, but she survived. The case of who placed the bomb has never been solved. In fact, law enforcement barely investigated.

The bombing happened in the midst of a battle over the fate of the last remnants of the original Redwood forest in northernmost California. As timber companies looked to cut the remaining trees, Earth First! activists used whatever non-violent means they could to stop them. In a region reliant on timber for well over a century, threats and violence followed.

This season on Rip Current, the story of a woman who led a group of people willing to put their lives on the line to stop irreversible environmental damage, and the price that she paid.

Recent Episodes

NOV 5, 2025

S2 E1: Ecotopia

On May 24, 1990, a pipe bomb detonated in the white Subaru driven by radical environmental activist Judi Bari. The bomb malfunctioned and Bari, though critically injured, survived. She was the most visible leader of Earth First! in the northernmost counties of California. At the time, Earth First! was in a tense and violent conflict with major timber corporations who planned to clearcut large swaths of the remaining Redwood forest. The person who planted that bomb has never been identified. Who tried to kill Judi Bari?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

29 MIN

OCT 29, 2025

Rip Current Returns - Season 2 Trailer

An all new season, an all new case. Rip Current returns. This time, examining the peculiar assassination attempt on environmental activist Judi Bari. The first episode drops on November 5th.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 MIN