See Something, Do Nothing: Government Kidnappings & the Bystander Effect


In this episode, we ask, what does the average citizen do when a group of masked men kidnap someone off the street? The Bystander Effect is alive and well, especially when the government is doing the kidnapping, and the ‘silent observer’ role has never been more on-brand. We’re talking about the shocking rise of government-sanctioned disappearances, and how watching women be attacked in public & doing nothing is as American as apple pie. Why do we, as citizens, fail to act despite our love for heroic films & tv? Is it fear? Laziness? Or are we just too busy scrolling through our feeds to notice? Tune in as we dive into the darker side of the Bystander Effect, break down how dictatorships turn abductions into an Olympic sport, and maybe, just maybe, figure out why we all seem to watch, then look the other way. Spoiler alert: it’s not as funny as it sounds… but we’ll still try to make it one.