Ep 8. Unabomber

In Crimes of the Century season 1 episode 8 titled Unabomber, the show examines the notorious case of Ted Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, who terrorized the United States with a series of mail bombs over a span of 18 years. This episode explores the Unabomber's background and motivations and sheds light on his seemingly random and unpredictable attacks.

The episode begins by delving into Ted Kaczynski's early life and upbringing in a working-class family in Chicago. Kaczynski was a gifted child with a high IQ, but suffered from social awkwardness and a lack of emotional connection with others. As a teenager, he skipped two grades and was accepted into Harvard at the age of 16, but ultimately struggled to fit in and withdrew from society.

As the documentary notes, Kaczynski's isolation and dissatisfaction with modern society would ultimately fuel his violent crusade against technology and progress. After working as a mathematics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Kaczynski retreated to the wilderness of Montana and began his bombing campaign, sending mail bombs to individuals and organizations associated with technology, science, and industrialization.

The episode features interviews with investigators who worked on the case, including FBI agent Terry Turchie, who led the task force that eventually caught the Unabomber. The documentary also examines the linguistic analysis that led to Kaczynski's arrest, as well as his eventual trial and conviction for several counts of murder and terrorism.

Throughout the episode, the show explores the societal impact of Kaczynski's actions and the fear and paranoia that gripped the country during the Unabomber's reign of terror. Crimes of the Century presents a comprehensive and thought-provoking examination of one of the most infamous cases of domestic terrorism in American history.