Can An Evil Man Be A Decent Person?

How can someone be a monster — a brutal dictator, a mass murderer, a serial killer — and up close seem like a decent, caring person? In this hour, we tackle a complicated question: what happens when our moral categories fail and we find ourselves feeling empathy for monsters? Is that wrong? And what does it say about us? Original Air Date: January 20, 2018 Guests:  Will Bardenwepper — Adam Rogerson — Paul Beatty — Åsne Seierstad — Chuck Klosterman — Joshua Landy — Michael Tisserand Interviews In This Hour:  The American Guards Who Kept Saddam Hussein Safe Until His Execution — Paul Beatty on 'The Nazi and the Barber' — What Can Americans Learn from a Norwegian Massacre? — Your Archenemy Turned Out To Be a Hero. Now What? — Can Literature Make You More Empathetic? — Michael Tisserand on 'My Friend Dahmer' Further Reading: "Making Peace With Monsters" podcast extra about the making of the film version of "My Friend Dahmer"  Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Om Podcasten

”To the Best of Our Knowledge” is a Peabody award-winning national public radio show that explores big ideas and beautiful questions. Deep interviews with philosophers, writers, artists, scientists, historians, and others help listeners find new sources of meaning, purpose, and wonder in daily life. Whether it’s about bees, poetry, skin, or psychedelics, every episode is an intimate, sound-rich journey into open-minded, open-hearted conversations. Warm and engaging, TTBOOK helps listeners feel less alone and more connected – to our common humanity and to the world we share. For more from the TTBOOK team, visit us at ttbook.org.