American radicalism in Arizona.

Why does Arizona attract so many extremists?

From an unsettled hellscape to a hotbed for American radicalism, our state’s been called many things. Local reporters explore Arizona’s history of extremism in season 4 of our limited podcast series, Rediscovering: Roots of Radicalism.

An unsettled hellscape

1860s to 1940s: The Southern migration to Arizona and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in early statehood days.

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The Goldwater era

1940s to 1970s: Post-World War II boom brings the Communist scare, the John Birch Society and a radical conservative: Barry Goldwater.

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The enemy is us

1970s to 2000s: A far-right governor is impeached, extremist sheriffs take root and the Arizona desert nurtures the Oklahoma City federal building bomber.

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