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A listener note, this episode contains descriptions of violence and may not be suitable for a younger audience.

It's the evening of May 17th, 1974.

In a motel room in Anaheim, California, Patricia Hearst is sitting on a carpet watching the news.

In a live broadcast, armed police officers in Los Angeles are swarming a residential neighborhood.

A small, yellow house is burning to the ground.

And as billows a smoke drift into the sky, one of the TV commentators asks the question that seems to be on everyone's mind, has Patricia Hearst just died?

Hearst sits up, disoriented by the surreal turn of events.

Only minutes ago, the core members of the Symbianese Liberation Army got in a shootout with Los Angeles police.

The two sides exchanged thousands of rounds.

It was a chaotic battle with seemingly no end in sight.

But the fight took a turn when the SLA's house suddenly burst into flames, growing into a raging inferno.

Hearst and two SLA members, Bill and Emily Harris sat watching the violence spectacle on TV.

And no one had to say what they were all thinking. Their comrades weren't going to survive.

In the motel room, Hearst continues watching the coverage, her eyes glossy and blank.

She knows she's at least partly responsible for the horrifying deaths they've just watched on live TV.

The deaths of people like Kujo, Jelena, and Sincu Mtume, the leader of the SLA.

Just yesterday, Hearst was waiting in a van when Bill Harris tried to shoplift from a sporting goods store.

He was caught in the act. But instead of letting him get arrested, Hearst pulled out a submachine gun and began firing at the store.

The stunt broke up the scene and Hearst and the Harris's went on the run. They didn't dare return to the SLA safe house and endanger the others.

But despite their efforts, they couldn't stop the police from tracking down several members of the group.

The police descended on the SLA's house and soon TV journalists had their cameras rolling as the SLA opened fire on the police leading to a long shootout.

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