How ‘To Catch a Predator’ indulged America’s appetite for humiliation and punishment

The show presented itself as a crusade to protect children. But its appeal may have had as much to do with the pleasures of being able to play judge, jury and executioner from your living room couch.

By: Daniel LaChance, Emory University and Paul Kaplan, San Diego State University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: September 21, 2026

Words: 1,368

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 6 days ago

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By Daniel LaChance, Emory University and Paul Kaplan, San Diego State University

For a television show that was canceled nearly two decades ago, “To Catch a Predator” has been having quite a moment.

For years, the show entertained Americans by finding men seeking sex with minors in online chatrooms and luring them into decoy houses. The host, “Dateline NBC” correspondent Chris Hansen, would then confront the men on camera.

Now a fictional account of …

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