The Guilty Pleasure of the Heist

The New Yorker 

Elaborate robberies are a Hollywood staple, and the real-life theft at the Louvre has become a phenomenon. Why are we riveted by this particular type of crime? On October 19th, a group of masked men broke into the Louvre in broad daylight and made off with some of France's crown jewels. Suspects are now in custody, but the online fervor is still going strong. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz discuss the sordid satisfaction of watching a heist play out, both onscreen and off.