Ch. 3: A Bomber in Search of a Target
Eric Rudolph was a chameleon. A Bible thumper and a skilled pot grower, a Holocaust denier and an avid reader. Stories from family and friends reveal a dangerous, contradictory man. And his secrets.
Host, Writer: Becca Andrews
Host, Writer: John Archibald
Executive Producer, Co-Creator: John Hammontree
Audio Engineer: Chris Hoff
Field Producer: Sarah Whites-Koditscheck
Social Producers: Caroline Vincent, Mila Olivera
Logo Design: DJB Design
Theme Music: “Birmingham” by Beth Thornley and Rob Cairns
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American Shrapnel
The Olympics explode on a July night in 1996. The largest pipe bomb the country has ever seen. A string of bombings shakes Atlanta for the next year.
Thousands of photos and videos produce one blurry image of the attacker, a photo so grainy the FBI called him “Blob Man.” Agents zero in on the wrong man, the media follows suit, and the real bomber slips away.
Until Birmingham. In Alabama, the Blob Man finally makes a misstep. He detonates another bomb, but this time someone sees something. A college student asks himself a question: Why, when everyone else is rushing to see what happened, is that man running away?
That curious student breaks open what was then the largest manhunt in U.S. history: the search for Eric Robert Rudolph.
Years pass. No trace. Does he have help? Is he planning more attacks?
In American Shrapnel, the latest podcast from the Murrow-winning Alabama Media Group, join 2x Pulitzer Prize winner John Archibald and award-winning journalist Becca Andrews as they track the path of destruction — from the bombings, through the manhunt, and back to the twisted politics that fueled it. You’ll hear the stories of survivors, radicals and heroes.
This isn’t a story of the past. The anger that fueled it has only grown stronger today.
- No. of episodes: 5
- Latest episode: 2025-08-06
- Society & Culture History Documentary
Where can you listen?
