This is an I-Heart podcast.

There's a measured psychopathy, I guess you could say, embedded in the human brain, right?

You need to disengage sometimes when it's important for your survival.

But nowadays, I think that these systems are being taken advantage of, I think.

And we're really starting to see this disengagement from people who really should stay in our good graces. I think that I see a lot of this in families. You know, it's heartbreaking to see, you know, families fracture because they disagree politically. And, you know, and I hate to talk about politics, too, because it's controversial and people get upset about it. But, you know, it's reality. And I'm not here to preach anything, but to just share the neuroscience on it,

that, like, this is a real significant phenomenon that's affecting our country and affecting

our brains.

Hello, and welcome to the psychology podcast, where we explore the depths of human potential.

Today, we have Ben Ryan on the show. Dr. Ryan is a

neuroscientist at Stanford University and a renowned science communicator. Dr. Ryan has spent

over a decade studying the neuroscience of social interactions and has written a book on the topic

called Why Brains Need Friends, the Neuroscience of Social Connection. In addition to being a

researcher, Dr. Ryan also has a popular Instagram page where he makes scientific findings accessible

and interesting. In this episode, we discuss why humans need social interaction, why we are

becoming more isolated, and how social interaction affects the mind and brain.

We also discuss the neurobiology of empathy and whether it's possible to become more empathetic.

I found this episode really honest and also hopeful.

I've been following Ben on Instagram for a while now, and I really appreciate the care he takes

in being scientifically informed and conveying the

information in an accessible manner.

So that further ado, I bring you Dr. Ben Ryan.

Dr. Ryan, so great to have you on the Psychology Podcast.

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