Pushkin

As a super busy professor, it's rare that I have time to truly get addicted to a new TV show or podcast.

To be really binge-worthy for me, a new show has to be exciting, surprising, so captivating that I simply can't stay away.

And, since I really like learning new stuff, it usually has to teach me something important.

And that's the reason I decided to share this special bonus episode with you today.

Because I recently have become totally addicted to just such a podcast.

It's a new show called Bad Women, hosted by the amazing historian, Halley Rubenhold.

Bad Women is a show devoted to understanding more about the lives of the women who were murdered by Jack the Ripper.

Now, from that description, you might be thinking, oh, this is some new true crime thing that Laurie's gotten obsessed with.

But that's not actually what the show is about.

What Bad Women really tackles is the mystery behind why the Ripper's victims wound up in his path in the first place.

What are the sociological factors that put them in harm's way?

And what is it about our minds that prevents us from empathizing with these women and countless others who face poverty and injustice in the modern world?

Today, I want to talk to Halley about these mysteries and what they mean for our own psychology and even for our own happiness.

I also wanted Halley to tell me the strategy she uses to face these awful injustices head on.

I wanted to understand how someone could study these dark topics and stay optimistic.

Because that in particular seems like a strategy that we all need, especially nowadays.

But before we jump in, I also wanted you to get a sense of the show and why it is so captivating and catchy.

And so here's a quick lesson to the Bad Women trailer.

It's a bad habit we have.

We tell the tale of the murderer and not the murdered.

The clock on White Chappell Church was striking half past two.

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