Pardon if this is something that was already discussed in newer episodes, I'm going through each in order and I'm sure by the end of everything I would've forgotten about the things I thought about on the way so here goes: What if the artist of bad actions is from the present day? I feel this is much more complex than people from the past because even just mentioning their name is potentially boosting their career and enabling them to do more harm. In the past few years this discussion has been hot, many skilled and popular artists have turned out to be terrible people and have shown no signs of remorse or will to better themselves. Emphasis on how they handled the aftermath, because we all make mistakes or even do terrible things, but I'd like to think most people feel terrible about it and want to improve themselves. So focusing on the cases that have made it clear that they are irredeemable people for now. My personal take on this is that it's still possible, but it must be done very carefully to avoid further boosting their success. Knowing how internet works is cruical and it may be impossible to take into account everything. With everything being about views now, even clicking the links to see the content to learn from will boost them. So do following on social media because the platforms highlight you're following someone and advertise it to more people. And of course the obvious is to not purchase any of their paid content. That being said, piracy may sometimes be the ethical solution in this kind of cases. I do also believe that the actual craft is better learned from past artists and teachers of today who are good people, there is no shortage. But these present day bad artists may still have something to offer in how they became successful on the modern platforms, perhaps even give a feeling of relief to learn that their success is probably not because they are a terrible person. It's best to not get too invested though, for the sake of your own sanity.

First, congratulations Stan! Second, that was a very interesting episode! It's not an easy question to answer. It plays with a philosophical level at that point, and I think that ultimately, it's up to you and your personal ethical values. I've always been fascinated by this whole "Good vs Evil" concept and how incredibly complex it really is when you think about it. The "Yin & Yang" philosophy completely blew my mind away when I first heard about it. I personally agree on the whole "are other people involved in this" point. Regarding Art and techniques, I just take what I find interesting/useful and leave the rest. There's no harm done to anyone when learning how to paint flowers. I don't know, maybe it's because I've always been interested in painting and drawing, I can dissociate the craft from the author. In other fields though, the fine line between the two may be harder to determine... or maybe it's just because I'm lacking knowledge in said other fields. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ On a side note, I found Joker (2019) a really astounding movie. It definitely left a lasting mark on me and I was deeply moved by it. From what I've heard, the movie has been very poorly advertised in the US. I mean, I understand why people were wary about it, but frankly, they got it really wrong. It's not about a psychopath clown and mass killings, it's about a world without love nor empathy. It's a dark and kinda poetic tragedy, but I highly recommend watching it.