Many Faces of Jekyll and Hyde

Many Faces of Jekyll and Hyde

From Imaginary Worlds by Eric Molinsky | Daylight Media

May 6, 2026 · 40 min

About this episode

This episode explores the Jekyll and Hyde archetype in pop culture and its psychological implications.

Pop culture has been full of Jekylls and Hydes: Bruce Banner and The Hulk, Norman Bates and Mother, Walter White and Heisenberg, The Nutty Professor and Buddy Love. They all echo the archetype that Robert Lous Stevenson established 140 years ago in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I explore at how these variations reflect different ideas about duality, depending on how “bad” the Hydes are and what the Jekylls choose to do about their alter egos. Lewis University professor Jamil Mustafa draws parallels between the original 1886 novel and modern stories like Twin Peaks, Fight Club, and Black Swan. Plus, I talk with Yannie ten Broeke, who teaches psychology at Touro University, about why the Jekyll and Hyde archetype reflects how little we understand our own minds. This episode is sponsored by There Is No Antimemetics Division, the national bestselling science-fiction horror novel by qntm. Get your copy now wherever books and audiobooks are sold. To support the show, you can donate on Patreon where you get access to the ad-free version and our companion show Between Imaginary Worlds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Eric Molinsky

Guests: Jamil Mustafa, Yannie ten Broeke

Topics covered

  • dualism
  • Jekyll and Hyde
  • pop culture
  • psychology
  • literature
  • archetypes

Keywords

  • Jekyll and Hyde
  • dualism
  • pop culture
  • psychology
  • archetypes
  • literature
  • modern stories

Sponsors

There Is No Antimemetics Division

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Touro University, Lewis University

Products: There Is No Antimemetics Division

Books & works: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Twin Peaks, Fight Club, Black Swan

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