Why are we so fascinated by characters we would never want to meet in real life?

Some fictional people lie, manipulate, deceive, and kill—yet we continue turning the page, sometimes even hoping they succeed. In this episode of The Oracle's Desk, we explore the enduring appeal of the unlikeable protagonist through Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley, asking what our fascination with Tom Ripley reveals about morality, identity, and the uneasy relationship between admiration and condemnation.

A conversation on performance, perception, and the strange comfort of seeing ourselves reflected in someone we know we shouldn't admire.