No Stupid Questions

214. What Does It Take to Survive a Scandal?

No Stupid Questions

How do you come back from being “canceled”? Are we more likely to forgive someone if they cry? And what makes a successful public apology?    SOURCES: Karen Cerulo, professor emeritus of sociology at Rutgers University. Bill Clinton, former president of the United States. David Gergen, professor emeritus of public leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School; former White House adviser to four U.S. presidents. Benjamin Ho, professor and chair of economics at Vassar College. Monica Lewinsky, activist. John List, professor of economics at the University of Chicago. Brandon Rottinghaus, professor of political science at the University of Houston.   RESOURCES: "Slut-Shamed at 22, an Icon at 50 — How Monica Lewinsky Got Her Life Back," by Helen Rumbelow (The Times, 2024). "Do Scandals Matter?" by Brandon Rottinghaus (Political Research Quarterly, 2023). "Toward An Understanding of the Economics of Apologies: Evidence from a Large-Scale Natural Field Experiment," by Basil Halperin, Benjamin Ho, John List, and Ian Muir (The Economic Journal, 2022). "Embodied Remorse: Physical Displays of Remorse Increase Positive Responses to Public Apologies, but Have Negligible Effects on Forgiveness," by Matthew J. Hornsey, Michael J. A. Wohl, Emily A. Harris, Tyler G. Okimoto, Michael Thai, and Michael Wenzel (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2020). "Commentary: Time for Bill Clinton to Go Away," by Will Rahn (CBS News, 2018). "The Price of Shame," by Monica Lewinsky (TED Talk, 2015). "Apologies Demanded Yet Devalued: Normative Dilution in the Age of Apology," by Tyler G. Okimoto, Michael Wenzel, and Matthew J. Hornsey (Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2015). "Apologies of the Rich and Famous: Cultural, Cognitive, and Social Explanations of Why We Care and Why We Forgive," by Janet M. Ruane and Karen Cerulo (Social Psychology Quarterly, 2014).   EXTRAS: "How to Optimize Your Apology," by Freakonomics Radio (2018). "Coal Digger," S1.E5 of Modern Family (2009).

Why Do People Love Horror Movies? (Replay)

No Stupid Questions

When are negative emotions enjoyable? Are we all a little masochistic? And do pigs like hot sauce?   SOURCES: Carol Dweck, professor of psychology at Stanford University. Sigmund Freud, neurologist and father of psychoanalysis. Paul Rozin, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Robert Sapolsky, professor of biology, neurology, and neurosurgery at Stanford University. George Vaillant, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Mass General Research Institute.   RESOURCES: "The 10 Scariest Horror Movies Ever," by RT Staff (Rotten Tomatoes, 2022). "Box Office History for Horror," (The Numbers, 2022). "Around the World, Adolescence Is a Time of Heightened Sensation Seeking and Immature Self-Regulation," by Laurence Steinberg, Grace Icenogle, Hanan M. S. Takash, et al. (Developmental Science, 2018). "Why Taste Buds Dull As We Age," by Natalie Jacewicz (The Salt, 2017). Horror Literature Through History, edited by Matt Cardin (2017). "Why We Love the Pain of Spicy Food," by John McQuaid (The Wall Street Journal, 2014). "Glad to Be Sad, and Other Examples of Benign Masochism," by Paul Rozin, Lily Guillot, Katrina Fincher, Alexander Rozin, and Eli Tsukayama (Judgment and Decision Making, 2013). "The Ignorant and the Furious: Video and Catharsis," by the Association for Psychological Science (2010). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol S. Dweck (2006). "Adaptive Mental Mechanisms: Their Role in a Positive Psychology," by George E. Vaillant (American Psychologist, 2000).   EXTRAS: Terrifier 2, film (2022). "How to Change Your Mind (Update)," by Freakonomics Radio (2022). "Why Is U.S. Media So Negative?" by Freakonomics Radio (2021). "Why Is Academic Writing So Bad?" by No Stupid Questions (2021). Han Dynasty restaurant.

213. What Is Evil?

No Stupid Questions

What makes normal people do terrible things? Are there really bad apples — or just bad barrels? And how should you deal with a nefarious next-door neighbor?   SOURCES: Jonathan Haidt, professor of ethical leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business. Christina Maslach, professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Stanley Milgram, 20th century professor of psychology at Yale University. Edward R. Murrow, 20th century American broadcast journalist and war correspondent. Alexander Pope, 17-18th century English poet. Adrian Raine, professor of criminology, psychiatry, and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Oskar Schindler, 20th century German businessman. Philip Zimbardo, professor emeritus of psychology at Stanford University.   RESOURCES: "Mental Illness and Violence: Debunking Myths, Addressing Realities," by Tori DeAngelis (Monitor on Psychology, 2021). "Debunking the Stanford Prison Experiment," by Thibault Le Texier (American Psychologist, 2019). "How 'Evil' Became a Conservative Buzzword," by Emma Green (The Atlantic, 2017). "The Double-Edged Sword: Does Biomechanism Increase or Decrease Judges' Sentencing of Psychopaths?" by Lisa G. Aspinwall, Teneille R. Brown, and James Tabery (Science, 2012). "The Psychology of Evil," by Philip Zimbardo (TED Talk, 2008). The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, by Philip Zimbardo (2007). "When Morality Opposes Justice: Conservatives Have Moral Intuitions that Liberals may not Recognize," by Jonathan Haidt and Jesse Graham (Social Justice Research, 2007). "Abu Ghraib Whistleblower Speaks Out," by Michele Norris (All Things Considered, 2006). Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View, by Stanley Milgram (1974).   EXTRAS: "Does Free Will Exist, and Does It Matter?" by No Stupid Questions (2024). "Are You Suffering From Burnout?" by No Stupid Questions (2023). Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov (1955). "Essay on Man, Epistle II," poem by Alexander Pope (1733).

212. When Do You Become an Adult?

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Who decided that we’re fully mature at 18? Should 16-year-olds have the right to vote? And why are young people bringing their parents to job interviews?   SOURCES: Jeffrey Arnett, senior research scholar in psychology at Clark University. Julie Beck, staff writer at The Atlantic. Grace Icenogle, confinement prevention administrator in the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Allyson Mackey, professor of neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania. Trevor Noah, comedian, writer, and late-night television host. Heejung Park, professor of psychology at Bryn Mawr College. Lawrence Steinberg, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Temple University. Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University.   RESOURCES: "1 in 4 Gen Zers Brought a Parent to a Job Interview," (ResumeTemplates.com, 2024). "Puberty Starts Earlier Than It Used To. No One Knows Why," by Azeen Ghorayshi (The New York Times, 2022). "Early Life Stress Is Associated With Earlier Emergence of Permanent Molars," by Cassidy L. McDermott, Katherine Hilton, Anne T. Park, Allyson P. Mackey, et al. (PNAS, 2021). "When Are You Really an Adult?" by Maria Cramer (The New York Times, 2020). "The Decline in Adult Activities Among U.S. Adolescents, 1976-2016," by Jean M. Twenge and Heejung Park (Child Development, 2019). "Using Developmental Science to Distinguish Adolescents and Adults Under the Law," by Laurence Steinberg and Grace Icenogle (Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, 2019). Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, by Trevor Noah (2016). "When Are You Really an Adult?" by Julie Beck (The Atlantic, 2016). "Adulthood in Law and Culture," by Vivian E. Hamilton (William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository, 2016). "Emerging Adulthood. A Theory of Development From the Late Teens Through the Twenties," by Jeffrey Arnett (American Psychologist, 2000).   EXTRA: "Do 'Generations' Mean Anything?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).