Can you teach a police officer better empathy? A doctor, a politician? From a neuroscientist’s perspective, Doctor Jamil Zaki tackles the power of empathy in the mind and all around us. In conversation with award-winning journalist Angie Coiro for This Is Now, Zaki speaks out as a passionate researcher studying this neurochemical gold, kindness, just as the national supply looks scarce.

In the literal processes of the brain, we see less empathetic responses now than ever previous. However, The War For Kindness reassures us that empathy isn’t a neurologically fixed trait, but a specialized muscle that can be grown by practices like compassionate meditation. Nurses who consciously grow empathy can prevent burnout over the long-term. Former neo-Nazis can become community leaders, and kindness itself can be contagious.

Empathy may start in the mind, but the golden rule can nurture global change. Join this incredible researcher from the Stanford Social Science Laboratory for an uplifting, effective re-imagining of our social interactions— where our most effective weapon may be kindness after all.

Photo of Jamil Zaki by Sarah Deragon.