In this episode of The Targeted Violence Podcast, retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent James R. Fitzgerald joins the show to revisit one of the most notorious cases in U.S. history—the hunt for the Unabomber, Theodore Kaczynski.

James shares how he was thrown into the deep end of the investigation in 1995, after it had already spanned more than 15 years. We dive into his groundbreaking work in forensic linguistics, particularly his analysis of the Unabomber manifesto, which became one of the critical pieces of evidence that helped bring the case to a close.

We also discuss James’s pivotal decision to advocate for publishing the manifesto in The Washington Post—a move that faced pushback at the time but ultimately proved vital. Remarkably, September 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of that publication.

During the discussion, James reflects on the role of manifestos in today’s landscape of targeted and extremist violence, and how Kaczynski’s writings continue to influence attackers decades later.

This was a fascinating conversation about high-stakes decision-making, the pressure of major investigations, and the enduring implications of the Unabomber case.