‘Wired for Connection’: The Science of Kindness, and Why Hope Outweighs Cynicism

It will take months to clean up all the debris from the Palisades and Eaton fires. Some community members in Pasadena decided to start the work immediately, led by a group of day laborers who saw a need and rushed to fill it. KCRW’s Megan Jamerson reports. And even as as restaurants burned down and Los Angeles residents fled the Palisades and Eaton fires, LA’s food community was stepping up to feed people in need. Those efforts continue, as KCRW’s “Good Food” producer Elina Shatkin explains. Scores of people in Los Angeles have turned out to volunteer to help people in their communities. And it turns out, science shows we humans are actually wired for kindness, connection and empathy. Dr. Jamil Zaki runs the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, and has studied the need for this kind of connection. He’s a professor of psychology and the author of “Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness.” As a part of a new series we’re launching on resilience, Dr. Zaki sat down with host Sasha Khokha to explain the data-driven reasons why we shouldn’t be cynical, even in really hard times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices