Critical Ponerology (WHAT IS “EVIL”?) with Kenneth MacKendrick

What is evil? Who is evil? Does evil exist? Who decides? Can we scream over turkey at grandma’s house? Let’s chat Critical Ponerology with scholar, professor, author of Evil: A Critical Primer, and a gem of a person, Dr. Kenneth MacKendrick of the University of Manitoba. He’s been teaching courses on the notion of evil for 25 years and it’s a much deeper rabbit hole than you’d ever expect. So rub your fingers together and enjoy a discussion about different cultural approaches to evil, if your toddler is evil, vampires, angry mobs seeking vigilante justice, news personalities saying unhinged things, and subjects vs. objects. Also: why you should be nicer to your coffee table.

Get Dr. MacKendrick’s book, Evil: A Critical Primer, on Amazon or Bookshop.org

A donation went to North Point Douglas Women’s Centre

More episode sources and links

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Other episodes you may enjoy: Spooktober: Topics to Startle and Love, Demonology (EVIL SPIRITS), Vampirology (VAMPIRES), Teratology (MONSTERS), Genocidology (CRIMES OF ATROCITY), Momiology (MUMMIFICATION), Witchology (WITCHES & WITCHCRAFT), Indigenous Pedology (SOIL SCIENCE), Environmental Toxicology (POISONS + TRAIN DERAILMENT), Disinfectiology (BLEACH), Obsessive-Compulsive Neurobiology (OCD), Disgustology (REPULSION TO GROSS STUFF), Medieval Codicology (WEIRD OLD MANUSCRIPT ART & MEMES & SNAILS), Victimology (CRIME VICTIMS), Artificial Intelligence Ethicology (WILL A.I. CRASH OUT?)