Try This: Anyone can be an altruist
The 7
The Washington Post
4.5 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 24 December 2025
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
You can read today’s edition of The 7 newsletter here. In the meantime, we’re sharing something else you can listen to now or over the holiday weekend. It’s the first “class” of the recent Try This series on giving.
What’s really going on inside the brain of an altruist? Why do altruists care so much more for a stranger who needs help? Why are they so willing to give away a kidney?
In this episode, host Cristina Quinn explores what it means to be an altruist with Abigail Marsh, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Georgetown University. Together, they break down how altruists view their own actions and how others can become more altruistic too.
Marsh offers insight into what scientists know about altruists and shares surprising findings from her own research. She also tells us how you can build the muscle of giving more in simple steps that fit your lifestyle.
Read more about Marsh’s work on altruism here.
Also, read Washington Post Brain Matters columnist Richard Sima’s story on how doing good is good for you.
Subscribe to The Washington Post or connect your subscription in Apple Podcasts.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, it's Hannah. I hope you've been enjoying the holidays and have managed to get all your gifts in time. I have not. The Seven will be back on Monday. But in the spirit of giving, this close to Christmas day, we wanted to share an episode of Try This With You. It's the first in a two-part series on Giving. Our colleague and friend of the seven, |
| 0:24.2 | Christina Quinn, will help you figure out whether you're an altruist or not, and if altruists |
| 0:29.6 | are truly different from the rest of us. She talks to neuroscientist and psychologist Abigail |
| 0:35.3 | Marsh about how you can build your altruistic muscle. |
| 0:39.2 | I hope you enjoy this listen as much as I did. |
| 0:41.7 | And if you do, please give Try This a nice rating or review wherever you listen to podcasts. |
| 0:52.2 | Hey, welcome to Try This from The Washington Post. |
| 0:55.8 | Try This is a series of audio courses to help you take on common challenges and learn something new without having to make a big time commitment. |
| 1:04.6 | I'm Christina Quinn, and I'll be learning with you. |
| 1:08.2 | This time, we're giving it all away. |
| 1:14.4 | Okay, not quite. More specifically, we'll be digging deep into altruism and giving and why we're more hardwired to care about strangers than you might |
| 1:21.1 | think. If you're new here, welcome. This course will have two classes, aka two episodes. |
| 1:28.5 | First, we'll learn what it means to be altruistic, what that looks like, and how you |
| 1:33.7 | can actually build up your altruism like a muscle. |
| 1:37.9 | Then we'll get into practical ways to give, whatever your budget allows. |
| 1:41.5 | Okay, classes in session. |
| 1:43.6 | Let's try this. |
| 1:48.0 | Sometimes a chance encounter can change the course of your life. |
| 1:53.4 | This is something Abigail Marsh learned when she was 19. |
| 1:57.3 | Many, many details of the evening haunt me. |
| 1:59.6 | But the biggest one is that I think I would have died |
| 2:02.7 | if it hadn't been for the actions of this stranger |
... |
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