May 9, 2026 - GOP Just Won the Redistricting War

A Final word about Ted Turner. As you know he passed this week, and the obituaries were impressive - CNN, TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies, the Atlanta Braves, the America's Cup, a billion dollars to the United Nations, saving the American bison. All duly noted.

But something important was missing.

Turner struggled with bipolar disorder for much of his life. His father, Ed, also suffered from the condition - and took his own life when Ted was in his early twenties. For years, Turner was haunted by the fear he wouldn't outlive his father, who died at 53. He talked of suicide rather often. Even after winning the America's Cup, he told a friend he never actually enjoyed sailing. His eye was always on some finish line that, when crossed, didn't feel like anything.

He finally sought psychiatric help in 1985 and was put on lithium. And it was after treatment - not before - that he gave away a billion dollars, helped save the bison, and became one of the most ambitious philanthropists this country has ever produced.

The Times ran one of its signature long-form tributes - thousands of words. Bipolar illness never came up. Only a passing reference, buried near the end, to lithium being prescribed for "manic-depressive behavior." No diagnosis named. No context offered. Half a sentence.

Consider the asymmetry: when something terrible happens and the perpetrator turns out to be bipolar, the diagnosis leads the story. When Ted Turner died - one of the great builders of the 20th century - it didn't merit a mention.

Turner isn't alone. Harvard psychiatrist Nassir Ghaemi has argued that Lincoln, Churchill, Sherman, Gandhi, FDR, JFK, and MLK Jr. all showed signs of mood disorders - and that their struggles may have actually sharpened their leadership in times of crisis. The condition that tormented them also fueled them.

In 2024, more than 60 million American adults experienced some form of mental illness. For tens of millions, the greatest barrier to getting help isn't cost or access. It's shame - the durable belief that needing help means something is fundamentally broken about you.

Ted Turner's full story - the whole story - might have helped with that.

That's not a footnote. That's a headline.

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ABC News

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