Beyond the mask: Conversations with psychopaths

By Jessica Severin de Martinez,

Khaleel Rahman, Meg Dalton, Megan Fitzgerald, Catie Talarski, Chion Wolf

Published November 21, 2023 at 1:42 PM EST

Illustration of three faces/masks as side view silhouettes, white on blue background. The masks get smaller from left to right. A black silhouette of a person stands behind the last mask.

1 of 2 — psychopaths_audacious_promo.png

Mark Airs / Getty Images

2 of 2 — Dr. James H. Fallon is a neuroscientist who discovered after a brain scan that he is a psychopath. He writes about it in his book, "The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain". This is a photo from his time at Burning Man.

Dr. James H. Fallon is a neuroscientist who discovered after a brain scan that he is a psychopath. He writes about it in his book, "The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain". This is a photo from his time at Burning Man.

Jessica Garrison

When you think of the word, "Psychopath", what do you picture?

A serial killer? A dictator? A cut-throat CEO? Your ex?

Sure, a few of those folks may be psychopaths. But many people with this mental health condition would argue that the usual stereotypes are way off. They are incapable of feeling empathy or developing any attachments, but that doesn't mean they are compelled to cause harm.

Today, two people who are psychopaths talk about how they've learned to adapt to a world full of feelings.

Listen to the extended version of our conversation with Athena Walker.

GUESTS:

Athena Walker: Writes about her experiences with psychopathy on her substack and Quora, where she has over 40,000 followers
Dr. James H. Fallon: A neuroscientist who discovered after a brain scan that he is a psychopath. He writes about it in his book, The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain

Jessica Severin de Martinez, Khaleel Rahman, Meg Fitzgerald, Meg Dalton, Carol Chen, Stacey Addo, and Catie Talarski contributed to this show.

Audacious with Chion Wolf is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Tune In, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Join the conversation onFacebook,Twitter, and email.