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).
  • "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).

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).

What are Mike and Angela’s favorite songs to cry to? Can upbeat music lift you out of a bad mood? And what is Angela going to sing the next time she does karaoke?

• SOURCES:
  • Matthew Desmond, professor of sociology at Princeton University.
  • Daniel Kahneman, professor emeritus of psychology and public affairs at Princeton University.
  • Joshua Knobe, professor of philosophy, psychology, and linguistics at Yale University.
  • Simon McCarthy-Jones, professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin.
  • Yael Millgram, senior lecturer of psychological sciences at Tel Aviv University.
  • Stanley Milgram, 20th-century American social psychologist.
  • Ruth Reichl, food writer.
  • Laurie Santos, professor of psychology at Yale University.
  • Barbara Tversky, professor emerita of psychology at Stanford University.

• RESOURCES:
  • "On the Value of Sad Music," by Mario Attie-Picker, Tara Venkatesan, George E. Newman, and Joshua Knobe (The Journal of Aesthetic Education, 2024).
  • "The Reason People Listen to Sad Songs," by Oliver Whang (The New York Times, 2023).
  • "Adele 30: The Psychology of Why Sad Songs Make Us Feel Good," by Simon McCarthy-Jones (The Conversation, 2021).
  • "Why Do Depressed People Prefer Sad Music?" by Sunkyung Yoon, Edelyn Verona, Robert Schlauch, Sandra Schneider, and Jonathan Rottenberg (Emotion, 2020).
  • Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond (2016).
  • "Sad as a Matter of Choice? Emotion-Regulation Goals in Depression," by Yael Millgram, Jutta Joormann, Jonathan D. Huppert, and Maya Tamir (Psychological Science, 2015).
  • "Music and Emotion Through Time," by Michael Tilson Thomas (TED Talk, 2012).
  • Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman (2011).

• EXTRAS:
  • Girl Power Sing-Along with Laurie Santos and Catherine Price, at the Black Squirrel Club in Philadelphia (September 28, 2024).
  • "What Makes a Good Sense of Humor?" by No Stupid Questions (2024).
  • "How Contagious Is Behavior? With Laurie Santos of 'The Happiness Lab' (Replay)," by No Stupid Questions (2023).