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Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?

Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal?

By: Nicola Quaedvlieg and Alette Smeulers
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About this listen

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.Nicola Quaedvlieg and Alette Smeulers Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Speaking Out: A Former Diplomat vs. Dutch Policy on Israel
    Apr 15 2026

    In this episode of Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal, we speak with Berber van de Woude. She is a former diplomat who worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. She was stationed, among other places, in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. During her time there, she witnessed numerous violations of international law, but the Dutch government did not intervene. In her view, the system is rigged, and she no longer wanted to be a part of it. She resigned and now chairs The Rights Forum, an advocacy organization that focuses on Israel and Palestine and advocates for the enforcement of international law, including human rights.

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    55 mins
  • Nuremberg: the Movie, the Book, and its Author
    Mar 5 2026

    In this episode of Terribly and Terrifyingly Normal, we speak with Jack El-Hai, author of The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, the book that inspired the movie Nuremberg.

    Together with Prof. Alette Smeulers (University of Groningen), we explore:

    • How Jack El-Hai researched and wrote the book

    • His insights on Hermann Göring and Douglas Kelley

    • What the movie Nuremberg gets right — and what it leaves out

    • Whether Nazi leaders were “ordinary men”

    • What this history teaches us about perpetrators of mass atrocities

    🎧 Listen now


    #Nuremberg #HermannGöring #WWII #PsychologyOfEvil #MassAtrocities

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    52 mins
  • Mama Lambert: Surviving the Genocide in Rwanda
    Dec 18 2024

    Surviving a genocide and then living on while your parents, husband and 5 of your 8 children have been killed. It seems impossible but this is the story of Mama Lambert. An exceptionally wise, courageous and compassionate woman who survived the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994 and dedicated the rest of her life serving thousands of other victims and genocide survivors through counselling. In this podcast we share her story with her daughter Denise, who also miraculously survived the genocide and with Anne-Marie de Brouwer one of the founders of Mukomeze, a foundation that empowers survivors of sexual violence during the genocide in Rwanda and who worked with Mama Lambert for over 20 years. It is a remarkable and moving story about a woman who showed the strength and power to live on despite the terrible fate she, her family and loved ones suffered. Mama Lambert was a finalist to the USIP Women Building Peace Award 2020 and a recipient to the 'Voice Achievers Award African Community Service 2019’. She wrote a book about her own life called “For Those Who Do Not Believe in Miracles”. She also features in other books, including “And I Live On”, as well as on coffee bags with specialty coffee produced by Rwandan women she counselled.

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    1 hr and 7 mins
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