At nineteen, William Powell wanted to build a new society, so he started by teaching the world how to blow up the old one: he wrote The Anarchist Cookbook, an epoch-defining text which combined revolutionary rhetoric with practical advice about how to make bombs. Described by a FBI memo as “one of the crudest, low-brow, paranoiac writing efforts ever attempted”, the book sold over two million copies and remains associated with decades of violent anti-government attacks, abortion clinic bombings, school shootings, and homegrown domestic terrorism. After writing the book, Powell left the U.S. and has led an itinerant life, mostly teaching emotional intelligence and advising schools on how to deal with special needs children. Filmmaker Charlie Siskel tracks down the author of The Anarchist Cookbook and asks him to reflect on the dramatic consequences of his youthful rebellion. How does one come to terms with this kind of past?