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    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Was Patty Hearst a brainwashed captive or a true believer?

    Forty years ago, the country was riveted by the kidnapping of Patricia Hearst. She was 19 years old, a student at UC Berkeley, and the granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who inspired the movie “Citizen Kane.” In 1974, Patricia’s life took its own cinematic turn, but it was a lot weirder than any Hollywood classic.

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    By Madeleine Brand • Aug 18, 2016 • 1 min read

    Forty years ago, the country was riveted by the kidnapping of Patricia Hearst. She was 19 years old, a student at UC Berkeley, and the granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who inspired the movie “Citizen Kane.” In 1974, Patricia’s life took its own cinematic turn, but it was a lot weirder than any Hollywood classic. Patricia – or Patty as she was known – was abducted from her Berkeley apartment by a ragtag group of radicals who called themselves the Symbionese Liberation Army. Only weeks later, Patty Hearst said she’d joined the SLA and her new name was Tania. For more than a year, she participated in crimes with her kidnappers, including bank robberies. A new book titled “American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst” follows her SLA odyssey and tries to answer one big question: Was Patty Hearst a brainwashed captive or a true believer?

    The full episode

    4 of 5
    Rampant crime at Walmart has local police fed up. Who’s to blame?
    1. 0:30Rampant crime at Walmart has local police fed up. Who’s to blame?
    2. 9:14The NSA and NPR in web news this week
    3. 18:59‘Call Your Girlfriend’ podcast brings realtalk to live audiences
    4. 28:48Was Patty Hearst a brainwashed captive or a true believer?You’re reading this
    5. 45:37Warren Olney recalls the 1974 Symbionese Liberation Army shootout
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Matt Holzman

      Producer, 'The Document'

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Anna Scott

      Former KCRW Housing and Homelessness Reporter

    • KCRW placeholder

      Jolie Myers

      Managing Producer, 'Press Play'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Jeffrey Toobin

      New Yorker magazine / CNN

      News

    The full episode

    4 of 5
    Rampant crime at Walmart has local police fed up. Who’s to blame?
    1. 0:30Rampant crime at Walmart has local police fed up. Who’s to blame?
    2. 9:14The NSA and NPR in web news this week
    3. 18:59‘Call Your Girlfriend’ podcast brings realtalk to live audiences
    4. 28:48Was Patty Hearst a brainwashed captive or a true believer?You’re reading this
    5. 45:37Warren Olney recalls the 1974 Symbionese Liberation Army shootout
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand