Crimes of the Times – Patty Hearst

Host: Christopher Goffard (L.A. Times Studios)
Date: March 4, 2025

Episode Overview

This gripping episode delves into the infamous 1974 kidnapping of Patty Hearst, the newspaper heiress who was abducted by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) and subsequently appeared to join her captors in violent revolutionary acts. Host Christopher Goffard, with first-person accounts from Bill Harris (SLA member and abductor) and John Upsall (son of a victim killed during an SLA bank robbery), revisits the shifting narrative and the lingering psychological, legal, and moral complexities surrounding one of America’s strangest crimes. The episode navigates between myth and reality, questioning whether Hearst was a victim or willing participant, and examines the crime’s legacy decades on.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Kidnapping: An Heiress Targeted

• Background: Patricia Hearst, 19, daughter to a media dynasty, is abducted from her Berkeley apartment by the small, radical SLA.
• Motivations: The SLA, described by Bill Harris as college-educated and influenced by Black September and the Tupamaros, sought publicity and radical societal change through targeted violence.
  • Quote [05:03] Bill Harris: "The media part was the crucial thing because that was the whole purpose. We were critical of the mass media as a propaganda organ of the United States government."
• Targeting Process: Patty was viewed as “the simplest and easiest” target among economic and social elites.

2. Captivity and Transformation

• Confinement: Hearst is kept bound, moved between apartments and hidden in makeshift prisons.
• Abuse and Manipulation: Hearst reports repeated rape and psychological terror. The group demands the Hearsts feed the poor, resulting in chaotic food giveaways.
• Hearst’s Shift: Despite initial plans to release her, Patty begins to identify with her captors, taking the name “Tanya”—a transformation that becomes both notorious and mysterious.
  • Iconic Moment: The world is stunned by the image of Hearst, armed, participating in an SLA bank robbery.
  • Quote [08:51] Christopher Goffard: “Patricia Hearst, now calling herself Tanya, emerged into public view—a totally transformed person. A security camera caught her...storming the lobby with a military-style M1 carbine.”

3. Notoriety and Public Debate

• America’s Nightmare: Hearst’s switch from victim to militant becomes a symbol—and a warning—about the counterculture’s extremes.
• Debate: Was she brainwashed, a survivalist, or a rebel? Both media and legal systems grapple with interpreting her bewildering behavior.

4. The SLA’s Violent Spree and its Consequences

• Further Robberies and Murders:
  • The SLA kills Oakland’s superintendent Marcus Foster.
  • During a 1975 bank robbery in Carmichael, Myrna Opsall, John’s mother, is killed.
    • Impact on Family:
      • [15:04] John Upsall: "It's your mom, she's been shot. She's dead... How do you bless hands that are dead?"
  • SLA’s Downfall: Police kill six SLA members in a standoff; the group disintegrates but remains wanted.

5. Prosecution, Justice, and Memory

• Trials and Sentences:
  • Hearst is arrested, claims coercion, and is convicted.
  • Bill and Emily Harris evade justice for decades, even as Myrna Opsall’s family pushes for prosecution.
  • Only in the 2000s do substantial charges stick, with defendants serving time but receiving relatively short sentences.
  • Quote [27:45] John Upsall: "25 years later, when they got indicted…they had developed a life like my dad's and mom's—a lot to lose...justice was served in a more equal way."
• Remorse and Reflection:
  • Bill Harris ultimately expresses regret over Myrna Opsall’s death.
    • [29:32] Bill Harris: "There's no way to make it right. There's no way to justify it. It wasn't part of the plan. It was a mistake. So what?...I feel horrible about Myrna Apsal."
  • John Upsall acknowledges the apologies, finds some closure post-sentencing, and now sees Patty largely as a fellow victim.
    • [34:35] John Upsall: "I've come to understand...that Patty Hearst is as much a victim of the SLA as myself and my family."

6. The Hearst Question: Victim, Villain, or Both?

• Stockholm Syndrome and Survival:
  • Goffard and guests weigh in on Hearst’s psychology—whether trauma, brainwashing, or calculated survival guided her.
  • John Upsall's view: [35:32] “The Stockholm syndrome is real. Survival kicks in...she went along. And even formed relationships with her captors.”
• Contested Narratives:
  • Bill Harris disputes Hearst’s memoir as "self-serving" and shaped for clemency.
    • [36:49] Bill Harris: "Her book was self-serving...if you think her book is an accurate description...you're a fool."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Motive and Regret (Bill Harris):

  • [01:00] “But I had embraced the concepts of revolutionary violence...as much as I was...nervous, scared, reluctant, fearful...to do it.”
  • [31:17] "I appreciate if people understood the context of how history happens. It's now a simple story about an heiress who's kidnapped by terrorists..."

• On the Day of Tragedy (John Upsall):

  • [15:04] "It's your mom, she's been shot. She's dead...your mind just kind of explodes."
  • [15:38] "...my dad was the last one to give up...how do you bless hands that are dead?"

• On Public Perception and Accountability:

  • [22:57] John Upsall: “You expect thugs to be thugs, but you don't expect the people put in a position to maintain law and order just to let the thugs get away...”

• On Justice:

  • [33:15] John Upsall: "After the fact that they were caught and charged and now looking at sentencing, the apologies are suspect. But...what can they say? I accept their apologies...they were held accountable."

• On Patty Hearst’s Narrative:

  • [36:49] Bill Harris: "Her book was self serving was part of a package deal with the government so that she could possibly get a commutation. Okay, if you think that her book is an accurate description of what went on, you're a fool."

Chronological Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–06:00: Background on Patty Hearst, introduction to SLA, abduction planning
• 06:28–09:45: SLA ideology, execution of kidnapping, Hearst held, group’s demands, food giveaways, alleged abuse
• 09:45–12:20: First public appearance of Hearst as “Tanya,” armed in bank robbery
• 14:39–17:17: Description of Carmichael robbery and death of Myrna Opsall; family impact
• 17:17–21:03: Capture, trial, and shifting public image of Patty Hearst
• 21:17–22:46: Portrayal in media/film; Bill Harris' reaction
• 22:46–27:45: Prosecution delays, family’s quest for justice, America’s Most Wanted segment
• 27:45–29:32: Outcomes for SLA members, reflections on justice served
• 29:32–31:59: Bill Harris on regret, consequences, historical context, and race
• 32:06–36:49: Victimhood, remorse, John Upsall on Patty as victim, refutation of Hearst’s memoir by Bill Harris

Overall Tone and Style

The tone remains investigative yet empathetic, using first-person recollections to pierce myths around the Hearst kidnapping and SLA violence. Goffard is probing but never sensationalizes, instead inviting listeners to reckon with the ambiguities and traumas that still reverberate across lives shaped by the SLA’s violence. The language is frank, often emotional, and brings a distinctly personal perspective through both Harris (perpetrator) and Upsall (victim’s family).

Final Thoughts

This episode offers a comprehensive, moving, and sometimes unsettling portrait of the Patty Hearst saga. Through in-depth interviews and meticulous narrative, it challenges simplistic labels of “victim” or “villain,” revealing the ripple effects on all involved. The story ultimately becomes one about the unpredictability of trauma, the limitations of justice, and the search for meaning in the aftermath of radical upheaval.