You might have owned the Anarchist Cookbook once, but you probably didn’t use it to turn a shotgun into a grenade launcher or build a bomb. Unfortunately some people did and the author called for this book of “forbidden knowledge” to be taken out of print.
On this episode, Josh and Chuck dive into the wild history of the Anarchist Cookbook, a controversial 1971 book written by an angry 19-year-old named William Powell that somehow became a bestseller and got caught up in real-world violence. They explore Powell's troubled background that led him to compile dangerous information, how a savvy publisher turned it into a cultural phenomenon through outrageous publicity stunts, and the surprising First Amendment victory when the FBI ultimately decided not to censor it. Most surprisingly, they reveal how Powell himself completely disowned the book as an adult, dedicating his life to teaching kids with learning disabilities while remaining haunted by his youthful creation that he could never get out of print.
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