Episode Details

For as long as humans beings have existed, we have had a knack for forgetting—not only when memory proves difficult, but when it becomes inconvenient. 

We need only look at Donald Trump’s pardoning of the January 6 “hostages” for the latest, most egregious example. 

Why do humans long to forget? Why do we hide the truth from ourselves? What is the function of memory in democratic societies? 

On this episode, senior editor Matt Boudway speaks with Mark Lilla, professor of humanities at Columbia University and author of the new book Ignorance and Bliss: On Wanting not to Know.

For further reading: 

• Matt Boudway on a memoir by Julian Barnes
• Tal Howard reviews Mark Lilla’s Shipwrecked Mind
• Timothy Snyder on the indignity of voting for Donald Trump 
• Tomáš Halík on what some in the Church prefer to forget