Believe it or not, in 1985 the Philadelphia Police Department dropped a bomb from a helicopter onto a residential building in an African-American neighborhood. The fact that this story isn't more widely known says it all. Listen and learn about MOVE today.
# Stuff You Should Know Episode Summary
In this intense and detailed episode, Josh and Chuck dive deep into one of the most shocking events in American law enforcement history: the 1985 bombing of the MOVE house in West Philadelphia. The episode traces the origins of MOVE, a radical back-to-nature organization led by John Africa that blended animal rights activism with anti-government philosophy, and explores how escalating tensions between the group and Philadelphia police—rooted in a deadly 1978 confrontation—ultimately led to a catastrophic siege where police dropped a bomb on a residential row house knowing that thirteen people, including seven children, were inside. Through extensive archival footage and testimony, the hosts unpack the questionable decisions, failed negotiations, escalating violence, and mysterious handling of a resulting fire that destroyed an entire city block, raising serious questions about how far law enforcement went to resolve the conflict.
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