Tania Singer – The Power of Two

In this episode, Wendy speaks with social neuroscientist and contemplative researcher Tania Singer. Tania is a world leader in studying empathy and compassion, and her pioneering work explores the interpersonal aspects of the brain and contemplative practice. This conversation covers many topics, including: her lifelong fascination with social interactions; foundational studies on empathy in the brain; distinguishing the physical vs. emotional aspects of pain; a chance meeting with Mind & Life and critical insights from a Buddhism-science collaboration; the difference between emotion contagion, empathy, and compassion; exploring the trainability of empathy and compassion; schadenfreude in the brain; empathy burnout and compassion as an antidote; the importance of correlating subjective reports with brain scans; a landmark longitudinal study of training different aspects of meditation; why what you practice really matters; contemplative dyads and the power of practicing with another person; the benefits of dyads for the negative effects of COVID lockdown; moving dyad work into schools and hospitals; shifting from studying individual change to systems change; and the role of contemplative science amidst current societal challenges. Full show notes and resources

You can listen to Tania Singer – The Power of Two online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Tania Singer – The Power of Two is an episode from Mind & Life by Mind & Life Institute.

This episode is 77:23 long.

This episode was published on May 15, 2025.

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