States & Localities Terrorism & Extremism

Lawfare Daily: The Explosive Mystery That Rocked Rural Georgia

Benjamin Wittes, Tyler McBrien, Charles Minshew, Megan Nadolski, Jen Patja
Wednesday, April 29, 2026, 7:00 AM
Who blew up the Georgia Guidestones?

In 1979, a man using a pseudonym built a strange monument in Elberton, Georgia. Called “America’s Stonehenge" by some, the massive granite monolith known as the Georgia Guidestones attracted conspiracy theories and controversy until July 2022, when someone blew them up. Those two mysteries—who built the Guidestones and who destroyed them—are at the heart of a new narrative podcast series from Goat Rodeo and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called “Who Blew Up the Guidestones?”

Lawfare Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Wittes sat down with some of the team behind the show, including its host, Lawfare Managing Editor Tyler McBrien; series lead producer Megan Nadolski of Goat Rodeo; and Charles Minshew, senior editor of data journalism at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. They talked about the origins of the Guidestones and their creator, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, over-the-counter explosives, QAnon, and much, much more.


To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.


Benjamin Wittes is editor in chief of Lawfare and a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of several books.
Tyler McBrien is the managing editor of Lawfare. He previously worked as an editor with the Council on Foreign Relations and a Princeton in Africa Fellow with Equal Education in South Africa, and holds an MA in international relations from the University of Chicago.
Charles Minshew is the senior editor of data journalism for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Megan Nadolski is the COO of Goat Rodeo.
Jen Patja is the editor of the Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security, and serves as Lawfare’s Director of Audience Engagement. Previously, she was Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics and Deputy Director of the Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier, where she worked to deepen public understanding of constitutional democracy and inspire meaningful civic participation.
}

Subscribe to Lawfare