Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
For 25 years, Brightview Senior Living Associates have been committed to creating a vibrant culture and delivering exceptional services, making Brightview a great place to work and live. If you're looking for a rewarding opportunity to serve your local community and grow, we want you to join our team. Brightview Senior Living is growing and actively seeking vibrant associates to join our community teams, including directors, healthcare, activities, hospitality, and dining. Apply today at careers.brightviewseniorliving.com. Equal employment opportunities.
Text BVJOBS to 97211 to apply.
The fall is creeping up on us, but we don't have to give in just yet because summer doesn't stop in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. You can still get out and enjoy 60 miles of beaches, eat in the South's newest foodie haven with over 2,000 restaurants, and have endless fun at hundreds of attractions. Hold on to that sweet summer feeling a little longer at the beach. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Plan your trip at visitmyrtlebeach.com. That's visitmyrtlebeach.com.
Last time on Snafu. Heavyweight boxers Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali meet in New York's Madison Square Garden Monday night. There was a huge stack of mail, but this one stood out because of the return address, which was Liberty Publications Media, Pennsylvania. As long as I am director of the FBI, it will continue to maintain its high and impartial standards of investigation.
Last month, burglars hit an FBI resident office and took files which subsequently have been made public. The FBI entered my life very soon after that. Reporter Betty Medsker now lived in San Francisco. Two decades had passed since she first received an envelope from a mysterious group called the Citizens Commission to Investigate the FBI.
That envelope contained 14 top-secret FBI files showing America's beloved G-men were surveilling American citizens with the goal of, quote, enhancing paranoia.
She still had no idea who sent her those files that led to her bombshell reporting. She had no idea about the incredible heists that pried them out of the FBI's hands. And she might not have ever known these things were it not for one fateful evening in 1989. Betty was taking a trip back to her old stomping grounds, Philadelphia.
There were a number of people, professionally and personally, who were very important to me, and I hadn't seen them in a long time. Like John and Bonnie Raines, a young couple she'd known from her days reporting on religion for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
And I called and said I was going to be in town, could we get together? And they immediately invited me to come to their home for dinner that Friday night. And I was very much looking forward to it. When Betty first met them, Bonnie was a young mother, juggling her grad school studies and education, her job running a daycare, and her three children. Her husband, John, was a young Methodist minister who taught religion at Temple University.
He was a gifted speaker and he knew it. Some might say he talked a little too much. Betty would soon learn how true that was. We hadn't seen each other in a very long time. We talked for quite a while and had a couple glasses of wine, catching each other up on the last decade of our lives.
And at some point in the middle of dinner, their youngest child came in. She had a question for John. Then John said, when he was done answering her question, he said, "Mary, this is Betty Metzger. We want you to know Betty because many years ago, when your dad and mother had information about the FBI that we wanted to give to the public, we gave it to Betty.
And I was just absolutely stunned. Yeah, I would think. Oh, my gosh. Mary was sort of lingering a little bit, but you could just tell from the expression on her face that this meant absolutely nothing. Sure. She's like, what are you talking about, Dad? And then when she left the room,
I said, "You know, are you telling me that you broke into the FBI?" And they had these wonderful white smiles on their faces and said, "Yes."
It just... It popped out. Popped out. I think it was a combination of the fact that we were so happy to see each other and we were telling each other tales. I had a little bit of wine. A little bit of wine. Here we are sitting in their beautiful suburban home, you know, four children.
Nice black dog named Jezebel and a station wagon, which they've always had. But also, I just simply know them. I had no idea how radical they were. That night, I'm just asking one question after another and finding it all pretty unbelievable. I'm Ed Helms, and this is Snafu, a show about history's greatest screw-ups.
This is season two, Medburg, the story of a daring heist and the colossal FBI snafu it exposed. Today, a young couple's decision to put everything on the line. Testing. One, two, three, four, five, six. That's Betty Metzger interviewing John and Bonnie Raines. What was the idea to introduce you? Well, let's see. I think it was...
Something like September or October. In September or October of 1970, John and Bonnie Raines got a phone call from a friend, a man by the name of Bill Davidon. Bill was a Navy veteran, a physicist, a father of two. He was an unassuming man, calm, thoughtful, and deeply practical.
Oh, and a dedicated anti-war activist, just like John and Bonnie. I think he just initially, he just called John and me from his home in Haverford and asked us if we would we want to come to a party. That's Bonnie again. There was no actual party. For activists, this was code. For thinking about an action and would you want to come and talk about it? A protest action, that is.
Bonnie and John accepted the invitation. So we met with him at his home and we walked outside in the field behind his home to talk about it. And that's when he floated the idea to John and me. It was casual, you know, in the way that someone today might propose starting a fantasy football league. Bill simply asked, hey, what do you guys think about burglarizing an FBI office?
Yeah, you're not wrong, Bonnie. You had it right the first time. It's definitely crazy. The FBI was the biggest, baddest law enforcement agency in the biggest, baddest nation on Earth.
And who were John and Bonnie Raines? Uh, not professional burglars. Not spies. Just a nice young couple with three children and a station wagon. How the hell were they supposed to break into an FBI office? And if the FBI caught them? No, they'll lock you in a room and throw away the room. Thank you, Steven Soderbergh. Anyway, unlike most sane people, the Raines' would actually consider Bill D'Avidan's proposition.
Because for months, they'd been suspicious that there was something very wrong with the FBI. And this might be an opportunity to prove it. Well, I'll start. I was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We met in a waitressing table at the resort near the Michigan Way. Family summer cottage. Long before they would consider breaking into an FBI office, Bonnie and Clyde, excuse me, Bonnie and John, were just two young people meeting by chance on a beautiful summer evening.
Bonnie was a waitress at The Homestead, a resort that overlooked Lake Michigan, and John was a young Methodist minister, tall, handsome, and dining alone. And he was at one of my tables, and he was this absolutely gorgeous man in a blue sport coat and these brilliant blue eyes. Part of our job description was to kind of chat up the guests, so I proceeded to start a chat with him, I guess.
So we found some things to talk about. They sure did. Bonnie asked John how his day was, and John told Bonnie that he'd just arrived. Literally, this was his first dinner since getting back from the Deep South, where he'd been jailed for participating in the 1961 Freedom Rides. It was the experience for the first time in my life, the fact that things were not okay with this country, that there were very deep things that were not okay with this country.
The Freedom Rides were a courageous civil rights protest action. Black and white passengers alike boarded Greyhound buses headed into the Jim Crow South. It was a few months after the Supreme Court had ruled that interstate travel facilities be desegregated. But before most of the South had accepted the new reality of this ruling. A mob had gathered as our bus came into Little Rock, Arkansas. And there was confrontation of a mob that, as John said, they wanted to kill me.
They really would have killed me if they'd gotten their hands on me. The Freedom Riders, including John, were arrested for breaching the peace. They were fined, found guilty, and told to get out of the state. Which we did, going south, deeper into the violence. It was a very powerful experience for me. And it exposed me to the power of the African-American southern community of resistance. It had great moral authority.
It acted under conditions of great danger. It exposed itself to that danger. I began to see law and order as a system which controls other folks, oftentimes the black majority who could not vote. Bonnie hears this story, which is fresh off the press. And I think she was intrigued by it. Oh yeah, that's hilarious.
They don't hurt, John. They don't hurt. I really admired him and thought this is a special kind of man. And he was very interested in me. I guess he thought I was pretty and funny.
I had goals. I had ambition. I had spunk. And I was willing to not just settle for the comfortable life that I could have settled for. I wanted an adventure. I wanted my life to be an adventure. And he liked to joke. He said it took him eight glasses of iced tea to work up to asking me out on a date.
Less than a year later, John and Bonnie were married. Three kids quickly followed. But they made a promise to each other that they wouldn't allow family to stand in the way of fighting injustice. And there was plenty of injustice to fight. Last Sunday, more than 8,000 of us started on a mighty walk from Selma, Alabama. The workers here who are striking for a decent wage, for decent working conditions.
There was so much at risk at that time in our democracy that you were either an activist or you went along with things that were wrong. You had a choice you had to make. And we made the choice to be activists and activists.
If it meant some risks that were involved, well, that's what citizens sometimes have to do. John and Bonnie Raines spent the 1960s protesting for civil rights, for women's rights, for labor rights. By 1969, they were living in Philadelphia and becoming entrenched in the fight against America's war in Vietnam.
A South Vietnamese official, the military chief of Quang Ngai province, today denied charges that American soldiers on the ground executed several hundred villagers. The villagers' version of the incident was given by survivors yesterday. They said a patrol of 100 Americans stormed into the hamlet, drove all the residents out of their huts, then opened fire with automatic weapons.
On November 12, 1969, almost 15 years after American involvement in Vietnam began, reports surfaced that U.S. troops had raided the Vietnamese village of My Lai. The Americans had burned huts, killed hundreds of civilians, including children, and committed other atrocities. The Army initially claimed that My Lai was a, quote, "fierce firefight," where 128 enemy troops and 20 civilians had been killed. But that was a lie.
It wasn't a battle. It was a slaughter. I might have killed about 10 or 15 of them. Men, women, and children? Men, women, and children. And babies? And babies. Why did you do it? Why did I do it? Because I felt like I was ordered to do it. Two days after these news reports, half a million Americans marched in Washington. It was the largest anti-war protest in history. Look behind you! See the thousands marching!
People were hopeful at the beginning. Here's Betty Metzger. When she was a young reporter in Philly, she sometimes covered the peace movement. In order for protests to happen, there has to be a deep feeling that there can be a result because of what we're doing. And people really did feel that way.
We come out of the streets, pour out to it with our visions and our dreams and the beauty that is within us. We will come as a new nation. Can you honestly say I don't love my country? Can you say it just because I want to find a better solution to killing and hate?
But despite the massive protests, the administration just wasn't interested. Like, not even a bit. While half a million Americans marched in protest right outside the White House, President Nixon sat inside and watched a football game on TV.
People like John and Bonnie had seen firsthand how protests can affect change. But as the war dragged on, even they had to acknowledge a sobering truth: Marching and demonstrating didn't seem like it was going to stop this war. Here's John. "It was a time in which we had a growing feeling that the moral authority of the country was with we the people and was not in the administration in Washington."
Nixon later wrote in his memoirs that these protests, quote, "...destroyed whatever small possibility may still have existed of ending the war in 1969," which makes about as much sense as smoking six packs a day and then blaming your emphysema on the doctor who told you to quit.
Whoever's fault it was, and I happen to blame the commander in chief of the United States military, but that's just me. The war did not end in 1969. Instead, as the year came to a close, Nixon drafted a whole new generation of men into the military to kill and be killed in Vietnam.
Everybody, literally everybody knew a young man who was going to Vietnam. You thought about your boyfriend, you thought about your husband or your brother. Christmastime 1969. Every family that included a draft eligible young man crowded around their television set.
- Pursuant to the executive order, the Director Selective Service is going to establish tonight a random selection sequence for induction for 1970. - Teenagers, just barely men, perched on the edge of their living room sofas, nervously bouncing their knees and drumming their fingers. Their parents hovered as the lottery unfolded. On the TV, representatives in stiff suits reached their arms into a fishbowl of blue plastic capsules.
and the young men at home prayed their birthdays wouldn't be called. September 14th. September 14th, 001. April 24th. April 24th is 002. December 30th. December 30th, 003.
For 25 years, Brightview Senior Living Associates have been committed to creating a vibrant culture and delivering exceptional services, making Brightview a great place to work and live. If you're looking for a rewarding opportunity to serve your local community and grow, we want you to join our team. Brightview Senior Living is growing and actively seeking vibrant associates to join our community teams, including directors, healthcare, activities, hospitality, and dining. Apply today at careers.brightviewseniorliving.com. Equal employment opportunities.
Text BVJOBS to 97211 to apply.
Hey, everybody. This is Jodi Sweetin from How Rude Tanneritos. And I have to tell you all about Hyundai's most electric EV lineup yet and how it will completely change the way you look at and feel about EVs, specifically Hyundai EVs. Now, let me tell you, as a Hyundai owner, I'm not a Hyundai owner.
love my Hyundai. Now, one of my favorite aspects is Hyundai's fun to drive lineup. I love these cars. I mean, these EVs are tech infused with standard safety features like highway driving assist and blind spot collision warning. Being a mom, these safety features are extremely important to me. And what's better than knowing my family is safe in our vehicle while also knowing I look stylish at the same time? Kind of
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You march, you rally, you write letters to members of Congress, and none of it was making any difference whatsoever. In fact, the war was worsening. Our voices were not being heard. So there was a lot of anger and frustration, and we decided to pursue a different kind of civil disobedience.
John and Bonnie's activism was about to get hardcore. Their pursuit of civil disobedience brought them into contact with... The Catholic Peace Movement.
To be clear, America's Catholic leadership were not peaceniks. In fact, in 1968, the Archbishop of New York counter-protested a peace rally. But at the local level, many parish priests and their parishioners felt the war contradicted their religious beliefs. They thought the draft was wrong. And some of them were even willing to violate earthly laws to fight it.
So the strategy was to go into draft boards in the middle of the night, to break into draft boards and remove draft files and destroy them. All American men aged 18 to 25 were required to register with their local draft boards. These small offices would store their draft files, which were necessary for actually calling these men up to serve.
But there were no digital copies, of course. Everything ran on paper, which meant that if someone broke into those draft boards and removed or destroyed the files, the men in those files couldn't be called up. It wasn't only the Catholic Peace Movement planning these raids, but many prominent draft board raiders were priests or people close to them. We love to say that we learned our burglary skills from nuns and priests. ♪
The draft board raids were strategic, targeting offices specifically located in poor neighborhoods. The men that they were drafting were all low-income, disadvantaged men who were just caught up in the draft and sent over there to be slaughtered or to slaughter.
Rich people were more likely to be able to hire attorneys that would be able to get them out of serving, get doctors to find either valid or invalid reasons why they shouldn't serve. There was learning how to fake mental illness. So Bonnie, John, and a gaggle of nuns and priests broke into federal draft board offices and made off with draft files in the dead of night.
Then they mailed the files to the young men along with a letter explaining that they believed the war in Vietnam was unjust. And now these men had a choice. They could report to their draft board office and offer to serve if they wished, or they could keep their file and sleep a little better at night knowing they would never be called. Well, we were triumphant. I mean, we were, we felt pretty good about it. So I think we felt at least that was one very concrete thing
that we could do, that we could accomplish. But they weren't naive. These raids weren't slowing the war. Young men were still going to Vietnam at alarming rates, many of them never to come home. There was such a feeling of deep despair and less hopefulness. People really came to feel like we're having no impact.
This war is not going to end. People are debating whether or not violence is appropriate. - Some fringe groups formed, like the infamous Weather Underground. They began building bombs and blowing up public buildings. They issued warnings in advance and usually struck at night when offices were empty, but they wouldn't avoid casualties.
On one tragic occasion, a Weather Underground bomb accidentally detonated inside a townhouse in New York City in the West Village, killing two members of the group. The peace movement was worried that all this escalation would discredit the movement. And soon, that escalation would be brutally answered by the government.
On May 4th, 1970, at Kent State University, more than 2,000 students gathered to protest the war. The scene was tense. The National Guard fired tear gas into the crowd, then protesters threw rocks, then the National Guard fired 67 shots into the crowd. Nine unarmed students were injured and four were killed. The war was coming home in a horrifying way.
Which Neil Young eloquently captured in Ohio, a song he wrote in the immediate aftermath of Kent State. It was the first time American citizens were killed while protesting the war. In a Gallup poll, 58% of Americans blamed the students for the shooting.
The peace movement was growing tired and exasperated. And on top of all that, there was a growing paranoia amongst activists in John and Bonnie's community, a lingering feeling that a very powerful force was watching from the shadows. We were very aware that the FBI was everywhere in Philadelphia. Surveillance, surveillance, and intimidation were everywhere. Most of us were acutely aware that that was happening.
According to Bonnie, it was easy to suss out the spies. The peace movement had a certain fashion sense. Long hair, secondhand clothing, leather fringe, tie-dye. But occasionally one would spot somebody in the corner wearing all that stuff with a crew cut. And wingtip shoes, also wielding a camera. It was pretty apparent that they were just everywhere everywhere.
Everywhere. Marches, meetings, you know, peaceful, legal, constitutionally protected assemblies. And worse. I would take the children to school in the carpool and there would be a car behind us with two men in it. And one of my kids would say, do you think that's the FBI? I mean, that's how pervasive it was that even my children wondered whether we were being followed and watched.
It's intimidating. It's really, it is intimidating. To be fair, if this surveillance focused only on the people who were illegally breaking into draft boards, well, that would be one thing. But all sorts of protesters felt they were being watched, surveilled, simply for exercising their First Amendment right to free speech. Here's John Raines. There was a feeling that the FBI worked for the other side. The feeling that, uh...
that the FBI was used as not simply an instrument of investigation, but an instrument of intimidation that was using its power to pursue what we felt to be highly unjust policies in Southwest Asia. There's a term for this. When a government starts keeping tabs on people not because they're breaking the law, but because they're criticizing the government, it's called a police state. John and Bonnie had the nagging feeling that America was becoming one.
But they had no way of knowing for sure. That is, until they got a call from Bill Davidon inviting them to a party.
For 25 years, Brightview Senior Living Associates have been committed to creating a vibrant culture and delivering exceptional services, making Brightview a great place to work and live. If you're looking for a rewarding opportunity to serve your local community and grow, we want you to join our team. Brightview Senior Living is growing and actively seeking vibrant associates to join our community teams, including directors, healthcare, activities, hospitality, and dining. Apply today at careers.brightviewseniorliving.com. Equal employment opportunities.
Text BVJOBS to 97211 to apply. Hey, everybody. This is Jodi Sweetin from How Rude Tanneritos, and I have to tell you all about Hyundai's most electric EV lineup yet and how it will completely change the way you look at and feel about EVs, specifically Hyundai EVs. Now, let me tell you, as a Hyundai owner, I'm not going to lie.
love my Hyundai. Now, one of my favorite aspects is Hyundai's fun to drive lineup. I love these cars. I mean, these EVs are tech infused with standard safety features like highway driving assist and blind spot collision warning. Being a mom, these safety features are extremely important to me. And what's better than knowing my family is safe in our vehicle while also knowing I look stylish at the same time?
Kind of nothing. You also get America's best warranty with a 10-year, 100,000-mile limited electric battery warranty. Hyundai's EV lineup has everything you've been yearning for in your next or your first EV, boldly captivating your senses.
Learn more about Hyundai EVs at HyundaiUSA.com. Call 562-314-4603 for complete details. America's best warranty claim based on total package of warranty programs. See dealer for limited warranty details. See your Hyundai dealer for further details and limitations.
The fall is creeping up on us, but we don't have to give in just yet because summer doesn't stop in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. You can still get out and enjoy 60 miles of beaches, eat in the South's newest foodie haven with over 2,000 restaurants, and have endless fun at hundreds of attractions. Hold on to that sweet summer feeling a little longer at the beach. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Plan your trip at visitmyrtlebeach.com. That's visitmyrtlebeach.com.
By 1970, peace activists in Philadelphia had the eerie feeling that they were being watched by the FBI. But what could be done about it? It was incredibly hard to prove this was actually happening. So people resigned themselves to this new reality. But not everyone. I was becoming increasingly involved in things like peace marches.
and giving talks against government policy. This is Bill D'Avedon. Another whole part of the movement had to do with draft resistance and sort of actions which many people consider illegal. Bill has passed away, but here he is in an interview from 2012. I grew up in Newark, New Jersey. My childhood was a somewhat unconventional one. I got interested in some aspects of politics.
Bill's activism started early. When he was only 11 years old, he heard the mayor of Jersey City had banned a socialist from speaking there. So he boarded a bus all by himself to protest, supporting a stranger's First Amendment rights. When I was 11, I spent weekends trading baseball cards and thinking up fart jokes. But Bill Davidoff was already going miles out of his way to stand up for free speech in the face of government repression.
I mean, I guess he could have also traded a few baseball cards while he was there. But the point is, when he saw injustice, Bill took a stand. I was concerned about political matters, but my energies were more directed towards the threat of nuclear weapons. Bill was studying to become a theoretical physicist when the United States dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
He was devastated that the science he loved was being corrupted for mass human casualty. Several decades later, he was afraid that his country would use nuclear weapons in Vietnam. He began protesting in Philadelphia, and it wasn't long before he was rubbing shoulders with the Catholic Peace Movement. Bill was a scientist, and as such, a methodical and practical problem solver.
He often preferred simple solutions. Breaking into draft boards was dangerous, but that didn't necessarily mean it always had to be complicated. There are a number of different ways to open doors to draft boards. One of the simplest is that on a couple of occasions, we just put up a little sign that said, please don't lock the door. And generally, people didn't lock the door. He was a brilliant person.
person. I think he had a lot of motivation and determination and drive. This is Sarah Davidan, Bill's daughter. So we lived in a little town called Haverford and there was a TV appliance store in Bryn Mawr, which was the next town over, maybe like a three or four mile walk. And so he bought a TV and thought that he could just walk back to his apartment with this TV.
And he's carrying this huge box down Lancaster Avenue. And, you know, that was pre-cell phone. So he couldn't like, you know, call an Uber and say, yeah, I was wrong. So he did the whole walk with his TV stopping like every half a block. And by the time he got there, I mean, he was just like pouring sweat and he was like, you know, wiping the sweat off of his face. But he...
He got that TV back to his apartment and he said, well, it ended up being a little bit heavier than I thought it was. And I don't know why that story in particular is sort of like, you know, reminds me of who my dad is. But I think it was just sort of like, this needs to be done. So I'm going to do it. Like he just wanted to get things done. Like he wanted to get shit done. Bill was a doer and the kind of person his community trusted.
The kind of person you might come to if you thought Big Brother was spying on you. A lot of people felt they're being watched. Perfectly legitimate organizations suspected FBI surveillance, getting people to look over their shoulder and to constantly worry about whether they're being watched or not, and to create an atmosphere of fear.
If it was true that the FBI was surveilling peace activists simply because of their protest activity, that would be a violation of the First Amendment rights of the very citizens the FBI was sworn to protect. But Bill also worried that all of this surveillance might have another effect.
He felt that if activists had this feeling that there was a FBI agent in their midst, it would build cynicism and probably would lead to activists dropping out and to other people just not coming into activism. For Bill, dissent was at the heart of democracy. If the FBI was spying on people, he regarded it as a crime.
and a crime that needed to be solved. But Bill knew it would be no use accusing the FBI of such a crime unless he had cold, hard proof. It's frustrating, partly because it's hard to get people to be actively concerned with threats that are not visible.
Bill was a walking set of contradictions. Born to Jewish parents, he was an atheist, yet actively involved in the Catholic peace movement. Bill was quiet, but still a natural leader. He had a rare gift for comprehending the mysteries of the physical universe, and yet also purchased a big-ass TV with no plan for how to get it home. By the early 1970s, Bill and other activists started hearing strange noises when they picked up their phones.
So, Bill looked at this evidence and formed a hypothesis. Some organization, a federal law enforcement agency to be precise, must be surveilling the anti-war movement.
Like any good scientist, Bill knew the next step. Test the hypothesis. And so he finds himself thinking about, would you dare break into an FBI office? How complicated would it be to go into the office? Records on what kinds of surveillance or disruption...
If Bill was right about the FBI surveilling the peace movement, then that meant they were probably keeping files documenting that surveillance. Find the files and he'd have proof that the government was suppressing free speech. He didn't know anything for certain, but even the possibility that this was going on was intolerable to Bill Davidoff. So Bill decided to throw a party. He invited John and Bonnie Raines. We stayed up late a lot talking about it.
Of course, we had more at risk because we had three children under the age of 10. John and Bonnie had already decided that if they said yes, they'd take this action together, which made the decision that much more serious.
This wasn't like breaking into a draft board. People who'd been caught for that usually served a year, two at most. But breaking into an FBI office and stealing confidential documents? That was the kind of crime that came with decades of prison time. Their kids would lose their mom and their dad. I mean, you really can't use the fact that you're a parent as an excuse to step back and not be engaged.
It just seemed that that was the one and only way to reveal the truth. I mean, basically what it came down to were threats to our democracy. I was raised with those kinds of values and the idea that you have an individual responsibility to protect our fragile democracy and to tell the truth.
I was just really angry. I was really, and I was feeling so helpless and frustrated. And I thought, here's something that might just make a great big difference. And maybe, maybe we can make it happen. They called Bill. They said, we're in. But they had no idea what they were about to unleash.
No way of knowing that their action would fundamentally change the way Americans thought about their country, their government, and the people who were supposed to be keeping them safe. Oh yeah, one more thing I should mention. At this very moment that Bonnie and John called Bill and agreed to be part of his plot to burgle an FBI office, the FBI was tapping Bill Davidoff's phone.
Next time on Snafu, David plans his attack on Goliath. There is nothing mysterious about the manner in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation works. He called me and asked me if I was interested in going to a party, which was, you know, code. I said, sign me on. There were no alarms over the doors. I couldn't see any security measures whatsoever. It's really not hard, and you can get through almost any door in 20 seconds if you are any good.
I just felt like I was living in the heart of the dragon and it was just my job to stop the fire. And this seemed like a way to do it. Snafu is a production of iHeartRadio, Film Nation Entertainment and Pacific Electric Picture Company in association with Gilded Audio.
This season of Snafu is based on the book The Burglary, the discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's secret FBI, written by Betty Metzger. It's executive produced by me, Ed Helms, Milan Popelka, Mike Valbo, Whitney Donaldson, Andy Chug, Dylan Fagan, and Betty Metzger. Our lead producers are Sarah Joyner and Alyssa Martino. Producer is Stephen Wood.
This episode was written by Albert Chen, Sarah Joyner, and Stephen Wood with additional writing and story editing from Alyssa Martino and Ed Helms. Tori Smith is our associate producer. Nevin Kalapalli is our production assistant. Fact Checking by Charles Richter. Our creative executive is Brett Harris.
Sensitivity Consult from Ola Wakemi Aladesui. Editing, sound design, and original music by Ben Chugg. Engineering and technical direction by Nick Dooley. Additional editing from Kelsey Albright, Olivia Canney, and Gemma Castelli-Foley. Theme music by Dan Rosato. Special thanks to Allison Cohen, Daniel Welsh, and Ben Ryzak. Additional thanks to director Joanna Hamilton for letting us use some of the original interviews from her incredible documentary, 1971.
Finally, our deepest gratitude to the courageous Citizens Commission to Investigate the FBI, Bill Davidon, Ralph Daniel, Judy Feingold, Heath Forsyth, Bonnie Raines, John Raines, Sarah Schumer, and Bob Williamson. ♪
For 25 years, Brightview Senior Living Associates have been committed to creating a vibrant culture and delivering exceptional services, making Brightview a great place to work and live. If you're looking for a rewarding opportunity to serve your local community and grow, we want you to join our team. Brightview Senior Living is growing and actively seeking vibrant associates to join our community teams, including directors, healthcare, activities, hospitality, and dining. Apply today at careers.brightviewseniorliving.com. Equal employment opportunities.
Text BVJOBS to 97211 to apply. This episode is brought to you by FX's The Old Man. The hit show returns starring Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow. The former CIA agent sets off on his most important mission to date, to recover his daughter after she's kidnapped. The stakes get higher and more secrets are uncovered. FX's The Old Man premieres September 12th on FX. Stream on Hulu.