Empathy is in short supply. We struggle to understand people who aren’t like us, but find it easy to hate them. Studies show that we are less caring than we were even thirty years ago. But it doesn’t have to be this way, as Zaki shares cutting-edge research, including experiments from his own lab, showing that empathy is not a fixed trait – something we’re born with or not – but rather a skill that can be strengthened through effort.