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

It's February 4th, 1974.

It's a sleepy Monday night in Berkeley, California, and Patricia Hearst is curled up on a couch watching an episode of Mission Impossible on TV.

Hearst jauns and she turns over on the sofa, letting her slippers dangle from the edge of her toes.

Hearst is 19 years old, she's 5'2", petite, with brown hair and bangs. As an undergraduate UC Berkeley, spending an evening watching Lowbrow TV isn't exactly her idea of an exciting time.

But it's not that bad, at least she has company. Over on the other side of the couch, her fiance is lounging back with a book in his lap. Steve weed is a shaggy but handsome 26 year old with wire rim glasses. He's a philosophy grad student at UC Berkeley, the kind of guy who seems to be a good actor.

He's a philosophy grad student at UC Berkeley, the kind of guy who seems to be a good actor.

And that's a big part of why Hearst was drawn to him. She comes from a wealthy family, a family with one of those names like the Kennedys or the Rockefellers. Her grandfather, William Randolph Hearst, founded a media empire with a chain of newspapers that helped define America.

He was an extraordinarily wealthy man, and he even served as inspiration for the main character in Citizen Kane, the classic Hollywood film. Hearst knows that her grandfather, William Randolph Hearst, founded a media empire with a chain of newspapers that helped define America. He was an extraordinarily wealthy man. And he even served as inspiration for the main character in Citizen Kane, the classic Hollywood film.

Hearst knows that her grandfather's legacy is worth celebrating, but in recent years she's grown increasingly disillusioned with her family. She sees them as stuffy and bourgeois, and she's wanted to get away from all the trappings of their wealth.

Studying art history at Berkeley and running away with an older man, a pot smoking intellectual at that seemed like her best chance to embrace a liberal life.

Once she could lead on her own terms, but tonight, sitting on the couch in her living room, Hearst gets a sinking feeling of doubt.

Somehow she's found herself stuck in a routine of suffocating domesticity, cooking, cleaning, catering to her fiance's needs.

This wasn't how things were supposed to turn out. Hearst wasn't supposed to become a housewife, but Hearst tries to set aside those thoughts. She turns her attention back to the TV.

The show continues predictably when there's an urgent knock on the front door. Hearst and Weed share a glance. It's late, they're not expecting any visitors.

So Weed gets up with Hearst trailing behind. When he opens the door, they find a young woman outside looking agitated.

Hi, I'm sorry, this is embarrassing. I just backed up and I guess I hit someone's car in the garage. Hearst glares at the woman.

Which car? An MG? A blue sports car? I'm sorry, I'm not sure. It was dark. Well, if it wasn't MG, that was my car. I'm sorry, I don't know.

Can I just come in and use your phone? Well, hang on a second. I'll grab some paper and a pen. You can write down your information and then we'll start making calls.

Hearst begins making her way to the kitchen. But with her back turned, she hears a sudden commotion behind her. Hearst spins around and sees two men have burst into the apartment. They're wearing masks and carrying guns.

And the woman from the doorway is now holding a pistol herself and racing toward Hearst.

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