RS: It really does, it's the banality of evil.
BF: Yeah.
RS: Yes, it's very well researched, it's very thoughtful, it's quite restrained in your judgment of -- you know, you're not condemning these people. But when you're describing, say, Lloyd Blankfein, or the Goldman Sachs people, and all they're talking about is the $65 million he made that year, while people lost their houses -- that's the banality of evil.
BF: Mm-hmm.
RS: I don't care whether they vote Democratic or Republican. That's the banality of evil. Isn't that really what you're saying when you talk about industrial-strength denial? You're talking about the best minds in a society rationalizing horrible behavior.
BF: Exactly. And a system that encourages that.
RS: Well, there you have it. I want to thank you for writing the book. I want to recommend it. It's called Industrial-Strength Denial. The author is a very knowledgeable attorney who's taking cases against coal companies and others, and the issue of climate change, Barbara Freese. It's published by the University of California [Press], and it's Eight Stories of Corporations Defending the Indefensible, from the Slave Trade to Climate Change. That's it for this edition of Scheer Intelligence. Our engineer at [the] KCRW NPR station is Christopher Ho. Natasha Hakimi Zapata writes the introduction. And Joshua Scheer is the overall producer of Scheer Intelligence. See you next week with another edition of Scheer Intelligence.
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