Episode Details

After the death of a beloved colleague known for his optimism, Stanford psychology professor Jamil Zaki began reflecting on his own cynicism. He discovered that cultural stereotypes casting cynics as smarter and more worldly are wrong. Instead, cynicism undermines relationships and confines our vision of the future. We’ll talk to Zaki about how to quiet our inner cynic to appreciate a humanity he says is “far more beautiful and complex than a cynic imagines.” His new book is “Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness.”

Guests:

Jamil Zaki, professor of psychology, Stanford University; director, Stanford Social Neuroscience Laboratory; author of “Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness”