Author: Shankar Vedantam
Submitted by: Catherine Hagele, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Some people are good at putting themselves in another person's shoes. Others may struggle to relate. But psychologist Jamil Zaki argues that empathy isn't a fixed trait. On this episode of Hidden Brain, they talk about calibrating our empathy so we can interact with others more mindfully. This podcast focuses on how to exercise our empathetic muscles and cultivate one of our most precious human abilities. Empathy, at a deep level, is the understanding that someone else's world is just as real as yours. Empathy is like a muscle — it can be strengthened with exercise and it can atrophy when idle. The pros and cons of empathy in the medical profession are discussed.

Hear the NPR podcast or read the transcript here.

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