EP290: Leopold and Loeb - Nein Übermenschen (p1 of 2)
From Crimes and Consequences by Crimes and Consequences
February 28, 2026 · 35 min
About this episode
The episode explores the case of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, two students who attempted to commit the perfect crime, examining themes of morality and privilege.
In 1924, two wealthy, brilliant University of Chicago students set out to commit what they believed would be the perfect crime.Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb believed themselves intellectually superior and beyond ordinary moral restraint. Inspired (and deeply misreading) the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, they convinced themselves that rules applied to other people.It became the first true Trial of the Century. A national referendum on free will, punishment, privilege, youth, psychology, and whether the state should answer killing with killing.Were Leopold and Loeb supermen?Or were they privileged, deluded young men who mistook intelligence for immunity? Join us as we dismantle the myth.Because intelligence without empathy is not superiority. It’s danger.
Topics covered
- Leopold and Loeb
- true crime
- philosophy
- psychology
- moral restraint
Keywords
- Trial of the Century
- Friedrich Nietzsche
- intellectual superiority
- empathy
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