A Bad Guy's Search For Meaning & How Dante Saved My Life

Zachary Lazar's father was killed in a contract hit. Now he, the son, is drawn to real-life crime stories. For years, he's been trying to answer one question: what happens when 'bad' people try to become 'good' people?

Say you're reading a book, or watching a movie. What does it take to get you hooked and keep you there? The novelist Zachary Lazar has a theory: he says when you see a bad person searching for meaning, it's a lot more interesting than a good guy doing the same thing.

In his latest novel, I Pity The Poor Immigrant, he imagines the final years of a real-life mobster. Zachary has also spent time inside American's largest maximum-security prison, talking to men who will spend the rest of their lives doing time. You can read more about the inmates he met in this article. 

In this episode, Lazar tells Mary why so much of his work is set in the seamy shadows of life. 

Also on the show, the greatest self-help book ever written... and it's probably not what you think. The journalist Rod Dreher found himself totally lost at midlife. He was confused and bereft. The guide to getting himself back on track? Dante's The Divine Comedy. Turns out, wisdom from the 14th-century still resonates seven hundred years later.

Read Rod's article about Dante's influence on his life or check out his book How Dante Can Save Your Life.