Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Ted Kaczynski was a math prodigy who became the notorious mail bomber. Try brilliant.org/Newsthink for FREE for 30 days, and get 20% off your annual premium subscription.
Highly recommend Alston Chase's book: Harvard and the Unabomber (renamed: A Mind for Murder):
https://a.co/d/5d7uwGR
https://a.co/d/6G2B5kK
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction to Ted Kaczynski
1:20 Influences at Harvard
2:35 The Harvard Experiments
4:03 Growing Resentment & The Manifesto
5:31 Abandoning Society & Making Bombs
6:36 The Attacks Begin
8:35 Attacks Become More Violent
9:26 Deadly Results
12:00 David Kaczynski’s Dilemma
13:08 Arrest in Montana
13:56 The Trial and Mental Illness Debate
16:08 Sentence and Death
16:50 Today’s Sponsor: Brilliant
Newsthink is produced and presented by Cindy Pom
https://x.com/cindypom
Grab your Newsthink merch here: newsthink.creator-spring.com
Support Cindy on Patreon! patreon.com/Newsthink
Sources:
Kaczyński at UC Berkeley: George Bergman, GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons
Image of young Ted Kaczyński and his parents courtesy of Jamie Gehring, author of Madman in the Woods: https://a.co/d/cMj8C19
1960s life: John Atherton, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Press scrum: cloud2013 from Cape Elizabeth, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
UC Berkeley campus: brainchildvn on Flickr, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Unabomber bomb reproduction: Queerbubbles, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Prof. Buckley Buckley Crist image: https://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/research-faculty/directory/profiles/crist-buckley.html
Cigar box: By AlejandroLinaresGarcia - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
John Hauser image: University of Colorado Boulder
Cory Hall at UC Berkeley: Falcorian/Berkeley, CC by 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
David Kaczynski adult image: By LightStamp from Nashville - David Kaczynski_9723, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Supreme Court: By Joe Ravi, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Ted Kaczynski was a math prodigy who became the notorious mail bomber. Try brilliant.org/Newsthink for FREE for 30 days, and get 20% off your annual premium subscription.
Highly recommend Alston Chase's book: Harvard and the Unabomber (renamed: A Mind for Murder):
https://a.co/d/5d7uwGR
https://a.co/d/6G2B5kK
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction to Ted Kaczynski
1:20 Influences at Harvard
2:35 The Harvard Experiments
4:03 Growing Resentment & The Manifesto
5:31 Abandoning Society & Making Bombs
6:36 The Attacks Begin
8:35 Attacks Become More Violent
9:26 Deadly Results
12:00 David Kaczynski’s Dilemma
13:08 Arrest in Montana
13:56 The Trial and Mental Illness Debate
16:08 Sentence and Death
16:50 Today’s Sponsor: Brilliant
Newsthink is produced and presented by Cindy Pom
https://x.com/cindypom
Grab your Newsthink merch here: newsthink.creator-spring.com
Support Cindy on Patreon! patreon.com/Newsthink
Sources:
Kaczyński at UC Berkeley: George Bergman, GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons
Image of young Ted Kaczyński and his parents courtesy of Jamie Gehring, author of Madman in the Woods: https://a.co/d/cMj8C19
1960s life: John Atherton, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Press scrum: cloud2013 from Cape Elizabeth, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
UC Berkeley campus: brainchildvn on Flickr, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Unabomber bomb reproduction: Queerbubbles, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Prof. Buckley Buckley Crist image: https://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/research-faculty/directory/profiles/crist-buckley.html
Cigar box: By AlejandroLinaresGarcia - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
John Hauser image: University of Colorado Boulder
Cory Hall at UC Berkeley: Falcorian/Berkeley, CC by 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
David Kaczynski adult image: By LightStamp from Nashville - David Kaczynski_9723, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Supreme Court: By Joe Ravi, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
