AADL Talks To: John Woodford, Longtime Journalist and Editor of Michigan Today
In this episode AADL Talks To John Woodford. John is a veteran journalist whose work has been published nationally. Upon moving to Ann Arbor John found work with the Ann Arbor Observer and went on to become executive editor of Michigan Today for two decades. John talks about his career trajectory, the many changes he has experienced in the journalism industry, and the continuing curiosity that fueled his career.
AADL Talks To: Pun Plamondon
Pun Plamondon was a directionless teen with left-wing leanings when he met John Sinclair, Leni Sinclair, and Gary Grimshaw in Detroit in the mid-1960s. He grew to become the co-founder of the White Panther Party/Rainbow People's Party as well as its Minister of Defense. In that role he found himself on the run as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Criminals and the subject of a case before the United States Supreme Court. In this episode we talk to Pun about that journey, including the formation of the White Panther Party and Rainbow People’s Party, being there for some of the key events in 1960s Ann Arbor, and finding his Native American roots.
AADL Talks To: Hugh "Buck" Davis
In the late 1960s and early 1970s Hugh M. "Buck" Davis, a lawyer with the Detroit National Lawyers Guild, worked with Chicago Seven Trial lawyers William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass to represent John Sinclair, Pun Plamondon, and Jack Forrest in Ann Arbor's CIA Bombing Conspiracy case. In this interview, Davis talks about his life as an unrepentant radical lawyer; the importance of Judge Damon J. Keith's famous "Keith Decision"; and reflects on the personalities of former White Panther friends and clients.
AADL Talks To: Leni Sinclair
In this interview, photographer and activist Leni Sinclair recalls the origins of the Detroit Artists Workshop and first Trans-Love commune in Detroit, and their strategic retreat to Ann Arbor following the Detroit Riots. She also talks about the groups' politicization as the White Panther Party and reflects on life at their Hill Street commune, including what led to its breakup in the mid 1970s.