Hate and distrust feel like opposites of love and trust—but they aren’t.

At their core, they’re about fear. Fear of being wrong. Fear of being hurt. Fear of death itself.

But how does the brain decide who to trust and who to fear?

Why do we hold onto hatred even when it harms us?

And most importantly, how do we break the cycle?

Let’s dive in.

(And enjoy a special open-door ending!)

If you have any topic suggestions for future episodes, don't hesitate to reach out! Send us an email at info@brainblownpodcast.com.

We'd love to hear from you.

REFERENCES

• The Anatomy of Hatred: Multiple Pathways to the Construction of Human Hatred Randall E. Osborne, Ph.D., Christopher J. Frost, Ph.D. Texas State University-San Marcos
• A Brain Mechanism for Hate Mario F. Mendez, M.D., Ph.D.
• Neuropolitics in the age of extremism: Brain regions involved in hatred Henry A. Nasrallah, MD
• Trust is heritable, whereas distrust is not Martin Reimann, Oliver Schilkeb, and Karen S. Cook
• Medical education and distrust modulate the response of insular-cingulate network and ventral striatum in pain diagnosis Giada Dirupo, Sabrina Totaro, Jeanne Richard, Corrado Corradi-Dell’Acqua
• Understanding Emotions: Origins and Roles of the Amygdala Goran Šimić Mladenka Tkalčić Vana Vukić Damir Mulc Ena Španić Marina Šagud Francisco E Olucha-Bordonau Mario Vukšić Patrick R Hof