ShortHand: The Unabomber vs Forensic Linguistics

Ted Kaczynski’s 18-year campaign of domestic terrorism was the most expensive FBI investigation in its history. Bombs went off seemingly at random, across the US and sometimes years apart. After almost two decades, investigators were still at a loss. But when the Unabomber sent his 35,000-word manifesto to national newspapers, the FBI turned to one of the most unlikely branches of criminal investigation out there: forensic linguistics.

This is the story of how word choice, syntax and even the subtleties of a person’s accent have been used through the years to bring killers to justice.

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Sources:
https://www.thecritegal.com/post/the-unabomber-case-foundation-of-forensic-linguistics
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/07/23/words-on-trial
https://www.npr.org/2017/08/22/545122205/fbi-profiler-says-linguistic-work-was-pivotal-in-capture-of-unabomber?t=1655714817892
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/25/us/lobbyist-is-killed-in-letter-bombing-tied-to-15-others.html
https://www.netflix.com/title/81002216
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/unabomber/manifesto.text.htm
http://www.rogershuy.com/pdf/Linguistic_Profiling.pdf
https://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/DARE/profiling/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjFtIg-nLAA