<p>“What do you get when you mix Harvard, homemade bombs, and a deep-seated fear of technological advancement?” In this episode, JKW and MMFW introduce Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. They ask why, several decades later, we still talk about him. More importantly, they ask <em>how</em> we can talk about him responsibly and with integrity.</p>

“What do you get when you mix Harvard, homemade bombs, and a deep-seated fear of technological advancement?” In this episode, JKW and MMFW introduce Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. They ask why, several decades later, we still talk about him. More importantly, they ask how we can talk about him responsibly and with integrity.

The Stories We Tell

From The Harvard Crimson’s Fifteen Minutes Magazine, writers Jem K. Williams '25 and Maya M. F. Wilson '24 take a closer look at the public image of the Unabomber. The serial bomber, caught in the 1990s, continues to remain a fixture in the imaginations of countless podcast hosts, documentary makers, and journalists — why? As they break down the common stories used to explain his path to violence and examine the aftershocks of the publication of his manifesto, they’ll explore the dark spaces of the internet, the true crime industry, and the responsibility of the media as a whole.

|| Winner, 2023 Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards for Narrative Podcast ||

Producer - Frank S. Zhou '26
Editors - Amber H. Levis '25, Io Y. Gilman '25, and Frank S. Zhou '26
Fact-Checker - Sammy Duggasani '25
Original score by - Benjy Wall-Feng '25
Cover Design by - Sami E. Turner '25
Other editors include - 
Managing Editor Brandon L. Kingdollar '24 and Associate Managing Editor Meimei Xu '24
With help from - 
Joey Huang '24, Jina H. Choe '26, Sedina A. Ackuayi '25, and Charles Fishman '83, with special thanks to Joey Huang.

Photos courtesy of “Every Last Tie.”

Audio recordings of New York Times headlines, Alston S. Chase ’57’s article in The Atlantic, and Ted Kaczynski’s writing are recreations, not original recordings.

Society & Culture

Documentary

True Crime

From The Harvard Crimson’s Fifteen Minutes Magazine, writers Jem K. Williams '25 and Maya M. F. Wilson '24 take a closer look at the public image of the Unabomber. The serial bomber, caught in the 1990s, continues to remain a fixture in the imaginations of countless podcast hosts, documentary makers, and journalists — why? As they break down the common stories used to explain his path to violence and examine the aftershocks of the publication of his manifesto, they’ll explore the dark spaces of the internet, the true crime industry, and the responsibility of the media as a whole. || Winner, 2023 Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards for Narrative Podcast || Producer - Frank S. Zhou '26 Editors - Amber H. Levis '25, Io Y. Gilman '25, and Frank S. Zhou '26 Fact-Checker - Sammy Duggasani '25 Original score by - Benjy Wall-Feng '25 Cover Design by - Sami E. Turner '25 Other editors include - Managing Editor Brandon L. Kingdollar '24 and Associate Managing Editor Meimei Xu '24 With help from - Joey Huang '24, Jina H. Choe '26, Sedina A. Ackuayi '25, and Charles Fishman '83, with special thanks to Joey Huang. Photos courtesy of “Every Last Tie.” Audio recordings of New York Times headlines, Alston S. Chase ’57’s article in The Atlantic, and Ted Kaczynski’s writing are recreations, not original recordings.

Share The Stories We Tell

Sign up to save your podcasts

The Stories We Tell

The Stories We Tell

More shows like The Unabomber: The Man, the Myth, and the Manifesto

The Joe Rogan Experience

Serial Killers

Crime Junkie

Morbid

The Charlie Kirk Show

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

Shawn Ryan Show

Mind Over Murder

The Megyn Kelly Show

The Casual Criminalist

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart

Project Unabom

Candace

Unicorn Girl

Cold Blooded: Mystery in Alaska