Hanoi Jane and the FBI vs. Jean Seberg's Baby (Jean and Jane Episode 7)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

After shooting a film with a much-changed Jean-Luc Godard, Jane Fonda travels to Vietnam, where she naively participates in a stunt that would leave her branded “Hanoi Jane” for decades. The world media had a field day mocking her, the US government set to work plotting to destroy her, and Jane would seek refuge in a new relationship with activist-turned-politician Tom Hayden. Meanwhile, in the midst of divorcing Romain Gary, Jean found herself pregnant. Having wiretapped a phone call between Jean and a Black Panther about her pregnancy, the FBI decided to “neutralize” both Seberg and her unborn child.

Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland during a F.T.A. performance, 1971

Jane Fonda accepts her Academy Award for Best Actress, 1972

Jane Fonda during her 1972 visit to Hanoi, North Vietnam

Jean Seberg and David Janssen, Macho Callahan, 1970

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story by David Richards

Breathless by Garry McGee

A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story by Elaine Brown

My Story by Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman by Patricia Bosworth

Jane Fonda's War: A Political Biography Of An Antiwar Icon by Mary Hershberger

“Barbarella Goes Radical” by Susan McLeland from the book Headline Hollywood: A Century of Film Scandal edited by Adrienne L. McLean and David A Cook

“The Authorized Version : How I Fell in Love With Jane” by Tom Hayden, Los Angeles Times, May 5, 1988

“Total recall” by John Patterson, TheGuardian.com, September 2, 2005

“The Truth About My Trip To Hanoi” by Jane Fonda, JaneFonda.com, July 22, 2011

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “A Mistake” by Fiona Apple. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: “Meet Me in Queens 2” by Orjan Karlsson, “Easy Lynch Guitars 1” by Johan Hynynen, “EarthBound 1” by Joachim Nilsson, “Salty Breeze”, “Earthbound 1” by Joachim Nilsson, “Tomorrow I'll Be Gone” by Franz Gordon, “Easy Lynch Guitars 2” by Johan Hynynen, “Modern Vintage Gypsy 2” by Gavin Luke, “Devils Canyon 1” by Håkan Eriksson, “Song For Johanna” by Franz Gordon, “Mediterranean Mix 10” by Stefan Netsman, “Groovy Development” by Christian Andersen, “Musique a la Carte 5” by John Ahlin, “Last Exit To Earth” by Håkan Eriksson, “A Trace Of Light 2” by Magnus Ringblom, “I Need to Start Writing Things Down” by Chris Zabriskie.

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus and American Express.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Jean and Jane Become Public Enemies (Jean and Jane Episode 6)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

On the heels of making her biggest Hollywood movies in years, Jean Seberg becomes involved with two black radicals, one a cousin of Malcolm X who spouted violent, anti-white rhetoric, the other a leader of the Black Panthers. Jean starts offering money and support to these men and their causes, which attracts the attention of the FBI. Meanwhile, Jane leaves Vadim -- and Hollywood -- to find herself as a political activist, working on behalf of American Indians, the Black Panthers, and Vietnam veterans. Despite all her best efforts, Jane hadn’t yet alienated Hollywood -- while she was being watched by the FBI, Jane starred in one of the great surveillance thrillers of the 1970s, Klute.

Jean Fonda, Mugshot, 1970

Jean Seberg and Burt Lancaster in Airport, 1970

Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland, Klute, 1971

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story by David Richards

Breathless by Garry McGee

A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story by Elaine Brown

My Life So Far by Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman by Patricia Bosworth

Jane Fonda's War: A Political Biography Of An Antiwar Icon by Mary Hershberger

“Barbarella Goes Radical” by Susan McLeland, from the book Headline Hollywood: A Century of Film Scandal edited by Adrienne L. McLean and David A Cook  

Black Panthers directed by Agnes Varda

“A Taste of Power: The Woman Who Led the Black Panther Party” by Elaine Brown

“Declining Black Panthers Gather New Support From Repeated Clashes With Police, The New York Times, December 14, 1969

"Fascination and Fear: Covering the Black Panthers" by Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times, October, 15, 2016

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Rich Girl” by Nina Simone. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: “Devils Canyon 1” by Hakan Ericksson, “Meet Me in Queens 2” by Orjan Karlsson, “Surfing Ghouls” by Hakan Ericksson, “Salty Breeze 1” by Martin Gauffin, “Easy Lynch Guitars 2” by Johan Hynynen, “Easy Lynch Guitars 1” by Johan Hynynen, “Psychedelic Dirt 3” by Victor Ohlsson, “Alligator Skies 5” by Håkan Eriksson, “Swamp Fever 3” by Hakan Eriksson, “Ambient Acoustic Guitar 18” by Anders Ekengren.

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus and American Express.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Hollywood Royalty/Middle-American Martyr (Jean and Jane, Episode 1)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Introducing our new series, “Jean and Jane,” exploring the parallel lives of Jane Fonda and Jean Seberg, two white American actresses who found great success (and husbands) in France before boldly and controversially lending their celebrity to causes like civil rights and the anti-war movement. Fonda and Seberg were both tracked by the FBI during the Nixon administration, which considered both actresses to be threats to national security. But for all their similarities, Jane and Jean would end up on different paths. They also started from very different circumstances. Today we’ll track Jane’s difficult upbringing with her famous but absentee father and troubled mother, and the path of privilege -- and tragedy -- that led her to the Actor’s Studio. Meanwhile, in small town, church-dominated Iowa, Jean Seberg announced herself as the town rebel at age 14 when she joined the NAACP. Three years later, she was plucked out of obscurity by a mad genius movie director to star in one of the highest-profile Hollywood movies of the late-50s.

Jean Seberg at her screen test for Saint Joan, 1956, Photo Bob Willoughby

The Fonda family, 1949, Photo by Genevieve Naylor

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman by Patricia Bosworth

My Life So Far by Jane Fonda

The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto Preminger by Chris Fujiwara

Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story by David Richards

The anti-Jane Fonda video mentioned in this episode. 

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: "Modern Girl" by Sleater-Kinney. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: "A Trace of Light 2" by Magnus Ringblom, "Memories of November" by Martin Landh, "Widows Dance" by Hakan Eriksson, "Musique A La Carte" by John Ahlin, "Mediterranean Mix 10" by Stefan Netsman, "Upbeat Flatfeet 2" by Martin Gauffin, "Les Beaux Jours" 3 by Martin Gauffin, "Ambient Acoustic Guitar 18" by Anders Ekengren, "Ripples" by Peter Sandberg, "By the Lake in the Evening" by Franz Gordon, "Gypsy Guitar Swing" by Martin Carlsberg,  "Discretion" by Peter Sandberg.

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by Winc, Squarespace and Audible.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Jane Fonda on the Cover of VOGUE, July 1959