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Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?

Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?

Nicola Quaedvlieg and Alette Smeulers

The attacks on 9/11, the invasion in Ukraine, the rise of the Islamic State, the genocides in Srebrenica, Rwanda, Cambodia and Nazi Germany are all incredible acts of human cruelty. They make us wonder: who are the perpetrators of these crimes and what drives them? These questions will be discussed with professor Alette Smeulers and other well known scholars within the field.
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Top 10 Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? - A Booming Business

A Booming Business

Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?

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10/25/23 • 44 min

Trading weapons, selling hostages and privatizing armies: war is a booming business. But how big is the role of money in mass atrocities? Together with Annika van Baar, who is an assistant professor at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, we discuss this question. We’ll try to find out the profitability of human rights violations and analyze situations ranging from those involving Nazi Germany and the Wagner group to companies like Facebook and Shell.

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Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? - Friendships Between World Leaders

Friendships Between World Leaders

Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?

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11/20/24 • 57 min

Are world leaders ever truly friends? In this episode of Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?, we dive into the complex relationships between leaders like Trump, Netanyahu, Putin, and even North Korea’s regime. Joining us is Yuri van Hoef, a lecturer and expert in political friendships, to unpack how these connections work—or fail to work. Are these relationships real friendships, strategic alliances, or something else entirely? And what impact do they have on world peace?

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Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? - Putin, Russia, and the ICC

Putin, Russia, and the ICC

Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?

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11/22/23 • 48 min

The international criminal court has ordered an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, but for what exactly? And how likely is it that he will actually face charges? In today’s episode, we discuss these and related questions with Sergey Vasiliev. He is an expert on international law from the University of Amsterdam. He argues that it is unlikely that Putin will be prosecuted by the ICC soon, but that the court still plays an important role in the war in Ukraine.

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Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? - Biljana Plavšić: A Beloved War Criminal

Biljana Plavšić: A Beloved War Criminal

Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?

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06/26/24 • 55 min

Biljana Plavšić: a respected biologist, high-ranking politician, and a convicted female war criminal. But despite her role in the war in former Yugoslavia, she says she is innocent and many Serbs see her as a hero. How is that possible?

We discuss it with Associate Professor Olivera Simic. She met Plavšić multiple times over the course of multiple years. Olivera tells us more about these interactions and about the person behind the crimes.

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Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? - Adolf Eichmann and the devoted warrior

Adolf Eichmann and the devoted warrior

Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?

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10/18/23 • 61 min

Adolf Eichmann was one of the main executioners of the genocide during the Second World War. He is the personification of the banality of evil, the famous phrase Hannah Arendt used to describe him. In today's session, we discuss Eichman and others like Duch, the director of the Tuol Sleng Prison in Phnom Pen in Cambodia during the genocidal reign of the Khmer Rouge together with Dr. Thijs Bouwknegt from the NIOD.

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Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? - Good women and evil men

Good women and evil men

Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?

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01/24/24 • 51 min

Males commit more mass atrocities than females. How come? Is this mostly down to biological factors or do social influences play a bigger role? And is the binary of good women and evil men justified? We discuss these types of questions with assistant professor Sanne Weber. She argues that we need to understand gender better when trying to prevent mass atrocities. Also, according to both her and Alette, females can be just as violent as males.

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Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? - The men pulling the strings

The men pulling the strings

Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?

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09/27/23 • 51 min

Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, Pol Pot, Slobodan Milosevic and Vladimir Putin: they are the leaders at the top of authoritarian, dictatorial and violent states. Who are they and what is their role in the perpetration of mass atrocities? In this session we discuss these questions with Dr. Maartje Weerdesteijn from VU University who studied the role of dictators in the perpetration of mass atrocities and the manner in which the international community can potentially mitigate these crimes. The episode starts with a discussion highlighting that democratically chosen leaders are not necessarily less dangerous than dictatorial ones.

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Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? - The rules of the Israel-Hamas war

The rules of the Israel-Hamas war

Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?

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11/15/23 • 50 min

Attacking a music festival, killing civilians, and bombing hospitals. They are all horendous happenings in the war between Hamas and Israel. Are all of them clear violations of international law or is the truth more complicated than that? In this episode, we discuss the war with professor Marcel Brus from the University of Groningen. We discuss the polarization of both sides, what's needed to stop the war, and the rules that have to be followed during the conflict.

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Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? - Perpetrators of evil

Perpetrators of evil

Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?

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09/22/23 • 45 min

Who are the perpetrators of mass atrocities? Are they pure evil sadists who are mentally disturbed or rather ordinary people who are terribly and terrifyingly normal as Hannah Arendt suggested when seeing the trial of Adolf Eichmann? In this episode Alette Smeulers will discuss her research and findings on perpetrators of mass atrocities and will focus on all the different kind of people who get involved in genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and terrorism.

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Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? - Perpetrator Trauma

Perpetrator Trauma

Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?

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02/14/24 • 48 min

Perpetrators of mass atrocities can be victims of trauma. What does this tell us about perpetrators specifically and human nature more generally? How does such trauma develop? And should we even be concerned about perpetrator trauma? In the final episode of season two of Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?, we discuss the concept of perpetrator trauma and the associated moral dilemmas together with Bart Nauta. He is currently doing his Ph.D. on the topic.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? have?

Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? currently has 28 episodes available.

What topics does Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? cover?

The podcast is about Podcasts, Social Sciences and Science.

What is the most popular episode on Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal??

The episode title 'A Booming Business' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal??

The average episode length on Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? is 50 minutes.

How often are episodes of Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? released?

Episodes of Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal??

The first episode of Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal? was released on Sep 22, 2023.

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