What is schadenfreude, and why do we experience it? This question was originally answered on Quora by Tiffany Watt Smith.

Schadenfreude is feeling pleasure at other people's misfortune. Experts explain the factors that may be leading to this nationwide deficit of empathy.

"A highly specific strain of fire schadenfreude -- hoping for the worst in some distant forest because it is best for one's immediate family and friends -- is endemic on this and many other ...

In “Schadenfreude: The Joy of Another’s Misfortune,” Tiffany Watt Smith explores why “we enjoy nothing more than waiting eagerly for other people’s soufflés to deflate.” ...

Richard Smith explains why sometimes we are secretly pleased when other people suffer misfortunes.

Schadenfreude—raw, gnawing, primal—is the secret glee one takes in another's downfall. Harmless in its cocktail-party variety, but let it fester in grievance and rage, and it signals violence ...

So imagine my shock, awe, delight, and seething jealousy when I met Militia Scunt, a queen in the batch of contestants in Queen of the Universe Season 2, premiering on Paramount+ June 2.

People experience schadenfreude for several reasons, some more defensible morally than others.

Schadenfreude, the sense of pleasure people derive from the misfortune of others, is a familiar feeling to many -- perhaps especially during these times of pervasive social media.

Partisan desires to see opponents harmed has created a vibrant demand for promises of candidate cruelty in the U.S.