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.

Episodes

American Shrapnel Trailer

June 25, 2025 • 3 mins

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Ch. 1: The Blob Man

July 30, 2025 • 42 mins

An explosion at the ‘96 Olympics, and the bomber slips away. Two more bombs. A photo of the suspect so grainy the FBI called him “Blob Man.” Then, a college student sees a suspicious man leaving the scene of yet another bomb. Follow the unlikely hero on a daring chase that would give agents their first big break. Host, Writer: Becca Andrews Host, Writer: John Archibald Executive Producer, Co-Creator: John Hammontree Audio Eng...

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Ch. 2: Run, Rudolph, Run

July 30, 2025 • 39 mins

Agents descend on Murphy, N.C. only to find a Goldilocks scene. The stove is still warm but the inhabitant is gone. Eric Rudolph disappears in the frenzy. Tales emerge of a severed hand, a would-be Rambo, and a crowd cheering “Run Rudolph Run” Host, Writer: Becca Andrews Host, Writer: John Archibald Executive Producer, Co-Creator: John Hammontree Audio Engineer: Chris Hoff Field Producer: Sarah Whites-Koditscheck Social P...

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Ch. 3: A Bomber in Search of a Target

July 30, 2025 • 39 mins

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 Lo...

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Ch. 4: The Funnel Cloud

August 6, 2025 • 38 mins

What radicalized Eric Rudolph? Family. Neighbors. Timothy McVeigh. But there’s more. Come on a whirlwind ride through a brazen armored car robbery, an antisemitic preacher who once considered the bomber a protege, the U.S. Army, and a girl named Joy. And meet the men trying to make a whole army of Eric Rudolphs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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