What’s the difference between shame and guilt?

Episode 205: Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada dive into one of the year’s most unexpected viral moments — not to rehash the gossip, but to explore what it reveals about the culture we live in.

You’ve probably seen the clip: a Coldplay concert in Boston, a playful moment on the jumbotron and two people who instinctively pull away from the camera. Within hours, internet sleuths had identified the pair as high-ranking executives at a tech company — and the fallout was swift. The CEO was married, but not to the woman next to him. Both resigned. Social media had a field day.

But in this conversation, Kyte and Rada move past the memes and into the moral gray area: What drives the rush to judgment when private moments become public? Is there any room for compassion in a digital world that thrives on humiliation?

They explore how public reactions often hinge less on what’s right or wrong and more on whether someone gets caught. Along the way, they dig into the deeper difference between being accountable to your own values and reacting to the judgment of others — a line that separates two powerful emotions often confused with each other.

This episode also looks at how viral incidents pressure companies to act, regardless of policy or due process. Did the company involved really have no choice but to cut ties with its leaders? Does the fact that one of them was in charge of HR change the equation?

In the end, Kyte and Rada ask: What does our fascination with these moments say about us — and how can we create a culture that values understanding over outrage?

Links to stories discussed during the podcast

Public shame is having a moment again and the Coldplay kiss cam scandal explains why, by Kaylee Holland, Fox News

Shame and humiliation at a Coldplay show, New York Times letter writers

Scott Rada is a digital strategist with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Kyte is also the author of "Finding Your Third Place: Building Happier Communities (and Making Great Friends Along the Way)."

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