November 16, 1961. Fourteen college students from Iowa have driven nearly a thousand miles to the White House. They’re fasting, protesting, and calling for an end to nuclear bomb testing. These students, later known as the Grinnell 14, will help ignite the student peace movement of the 1960s.
Actor Peter Coyote (then Peter Cohon) was one of them. He joins us to remember how it felt to grow up under the shadow of the bomb, why they believed Kennedy’s “peace race” could change the world, and what happened when they found themselves face-to-face with the White House.
Special thanks to Peter Coyote. He requested we credit him as a “good person,” which we agree with.
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Cover art: Peter Cohon protesting in front of the White House on Nov. 16, 1961, AP Photo/Harvey Georges
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