The Sunday Read: ‘The Strange, Post-Partisan Popularity of the Unabomber’
The Daily
04/27/25
•19m
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Online, there is a name for the experience of finding sympathy with Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber: Tedpilling. To be Tedpilled means to read Paragraph 1 of Kaczynski’s manifesto, its assertion that the mad dash of technological advancement since the Industrial Revolution has “made life unfulfilling,” “led to widespread psychological suffering” and “inflicted severe damage on the natural world,” and think, Well, sure.
Since Kaczynski’s death by suicide in a federal prison in North Carolina nearly two years ago, the taboo surrounding the figure has been weakening. This is especially true on the right, where pessimism and paranoia about technology — largely the province of the left not long ago — have spread on the heels of the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to police speech on social media platforms.
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Warning: This episode contains strong language.
One question that has hung over the first 100 days of President Trump’s second term: Is his aggressive approach to everything from deportations to tariffs what most Americans want — or has he simply gone too far?
In a major new nationwide poll, voters tell The New York Times exactly how they feel about Trump’s agenda.
Nate Cohn, The Times’s chief political analyst, explains the results.
Guest: Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for The New York Times.
Background reading:
- Voters see President Trump’s use of power as overreaching, a Times/Siena poll found.
- Four perspectives on Mr. Trump’s weak poll numbers.
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Photo: Eric Lee/The New York Times
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