As a social and political activist in the 1960’s and, with Jerry Rubin, co-founder of the Yippie movement, Abbie Hoffman was front and center within the anti-government scene during some of the nation’s most turbulent times. After his conviction for inciting riots during the infamous Chicago Seven trial was overturned, the law finally caught up with him in 1973 when he was arrested for intent to sell and distribute cocaine. In order to avoid a lifetime prison sentence, Hoffman decided to skip bail and became a fugitive from the law, living under the name Barry Freed in Thousand Island Park, a small community on an island in the St. Lawrence River on the US/Canada border. When this interview was recorded in 1979, he had been in hiding for 5 years.

Part 1 of this interview focuses on his current life in hiding, talking about the small town where he lived and his local (and national) involvement with the anti-nuclear movement. Part 2 focuses on the crime for which he entered into hiding, including Abbie’s opinion of why the bust was set up and what his chances were for getting out of the situation. Parts 3 and 4 detail the current state of the nation and look at whether the events and activism of the 1960’s have had a lasting impact. Part 5 centers around his personal life, including the difficulty of living a new life as a different person and his limited contact with his family. Lastly, the outtakes from the interview contain much information about Abbie’s take on the media, but also capture him at his most unguarded, featuring a series of digressions and tangents.

This interview provides a shocking glimpse into the mind of one of the nation’s most controversial figures, and the opinions he expresses still resonate as strongly today as they did when this recording was originally aired.

**Please note that Parts 1-5 begin with a montage created for the radio broadcast.

Part 1: Current Times, Current Causes 03:00 – Culture shock / where he lives / differences between country and city life 03:34 – Becoming an activist while in hiding 04:11 – Anti-nuclear activities while in hiding / the May 6th Coalition 05:42 – Local vs. national activists 06:20 – Being moved by the May 6th Coalition march / “on the side of the angels” 06:57 – Similarities between pro-nuke and pro-Vietnam individuals 07:19 – Getting Jerry Rubin involved 08:01 – Fear of a black out conspiracy 08:40 – The war of publicity / undemocratic responses to the democratic demonstrations 10:07 – Statistics for nuclear energy support / growing awareness 11:00 – The most valuable contribution made in the 1960’s 12:00 – Coming attractions for Part 2

Part 2: The Drug Bust 02:22 – The drug bust that left him a fugitive 03:08 – Police treatment of Abbie after he became famous 03:53 – If Abbie was president… 04:10 – “Jolly Coppers on Parade” 04:55 – Reasons for going underground 05:33 – Feelings towards cocaine at the time of arrest 06:36 – Planning for trial in spite of his reputation 06:58 – His experience in prison / why he decided to go into hiding 08:35 – The search for Abbie lessens in intensity since Carter’s election 09:18 – Plans for getting the charges dropped 10:33 – Persecuted for being a dissident / not saying sorry 11:39 – Planning on being caught in order to stay safe 12:19 – Coming attractions for Part 3

Part 3: The 1960s’ Legacy 03:24 – Not sending troops into Iran 03:44 – The cultural schism created 04:13 – America’s reaction to the ’68 Democratic National Convention, Chicago 05:04 – Thoughts on Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter 05:42 – What mass media wants you to believe, The Big Fix 06:47 – Madison Avenue taking over the counter culture, “house freaks” 07:53 – Revolution as evolution / marijuana and rock music helping to stop the war 09:52 – Corporate America’s solidification / the TV generation 10:46 – Corporate America under the profit motive / the ruling class 11:58 – Disco / lessons learned around the world from Vietnam 12:35 – Coming attractions for Part 4

Part 4: State of the Union 03:18 – Everyone will be broke (not famous) for 15 minutes 03:57 – The typical American 04:40 – Chances of ending up in prison or mental hospital vs. college 05:01 – Possibility of having a revolution in the present day / Yippie demands 06:20 – The faith to believe in change / the future is up in the air 06:55 – Rejecting the good life / enjoying activism 08:55 – The rate of progress / sending troops out around the world 10:11 – How the 60’s live on / Abbie’s old predators 10:58 – Richard Nixon as a victim 11:41 – Investigative reporting / being on the offensive 12:25 – Coming attractions for Part 5

Part 5: (Auto)Biography 03:10 – Coming and going to New York City 03:45 – Getting rid of the New York buzz 04:16 – Living as an outlaw = controlled schizophrenia 05:12 – Working as a cook 06:07 – Americans not being counted 06:52 – Writing his (auto)biography 07:28 – Relating to the Abbie Hoffman character / evolving consciousness 08:23 – Being a nobody / being “Fred” 09:05 – Losing his touch with women 10:07 – Abbie’s family: Anita, america, his grandmother 12:06 – Developing a relationship with america 12:39 – Outro

Outtakes 00:00 – George Metesky, the Mad Bomber 02:33 – [Interlude: mellowing out, confessions, magazine articles, crime] 04:02 – Corned beef sandwiches 04:35 – Paul McCartney, prediction for The Beatles 05:25 – Thomas King Forcade, one of marijuana’s martyrs 06:35 – Review of Richard Nixon’s book / preview of Abbie’s next book 07:52 – Idealism to realism with age 08:48 – “Woodstock 2” / M.U.S.E. / increased sophistication 10:32 – The biggest myth of the 60’s 11:46 – The cultural renaissance from the streets 13:08 – The new Charles Kuralt / “Super Schmuck” 15:00 – Watching “The Fugitive” 15:49 – Original expectations of going underground 16:41 – Writing as working 17:20 – Abbie’s utopia / what’s wrong with American society 19:47 – The Chicago Seven trial 23:35 – Selling pictures to the media 24:46 – The media spin (lies) 25:44 – An interview in the Austin Sun / communism 28:13 – Jonestown’s connection to the US media / paranoia inducement 30:06 – Television: special interest stories 31:02 – People in media don’t know what news is / “Network” 32:38 – The implications of revolution 33:49 – Nixon’s plans for a coup 35:20 – Taking the politics out of Woodstock / broadcast vs. propaganda 37:27 – The myth of America 39:28 – Last words / don’t say hello if you see him