Michael Ventura

Welcome to the first edition of this newsletter—where I’ll be exploring ideas around empathy, purpose, leadership, and the intersections that matter most to how we work, lead, and live.

To kick things off, I want to share a piece I wrote for The New York Times this past weekend.

It’s an OpEd that’s sparked a lot of spirited feedback—some of it challenging, all of it thought-provoking. The article centers on a core idea: that empathy, once widely celebrated as a virtue, is now being weaponized by some of the most influential figures in business and culture.

Yes, empathy can still be a bridge for connection, healing, and trust—but it can also be a tool for manipulation, control, and performance without accountability.

Rigney has written against “untethered empathy” for years, and he’s not the only Christian to do so. Last October, Allie Beth Stuckey of the popular Relatable podcast published Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion. Stuckey does not write as a pastor; in her world, women can’t do that. Instead she is a “content creator” and podcaster, and her book reads more like a script than a sermon. Still, there’s a logic at work, and it’s similar to Rigney Thought: Stuckey believes there is a difference between “toxic empathy” and biblical compassion. “If you really care about women, you’ll support their right to choose,” she complains. “If you’re really compassionate, you’ll welcome the immigrant.”

Gil Duran

The war on empathy, led by Elon Musk & Donald Trump, is a war on democracy. They seek to dramatically activate and polarize the Republican party

We write a lot about empathy here at FrameLab. As Dr. George Lakoff has said, democracy depends on empathy:

American democracy is based on empathy — citizens caring about other citizens and working through their government to provide public resources for all, making both decent lives and flourishing markets possible.

Why is empathy so crucial?

The logic is simple: Empathy is why we have the values of freedom, fairness, and equality – for everyone, not just for certain individuals. If we put ourselves in the shoes of others, we will want them to be free and treated fairly. Empathy with all leads to equality: no one should be treated worse than anyone else. Empathy leads us to democracy: to avoid being subject indefinitely to the whims of an oppressive and unfair ruler, we need to be able to choose who governs us and we need a government of laws.

Many leaders dismiss empathy as an optional, “touchy-feely” skill. But failing to demonstrate it can lead to low morale, poor retention, and a culture where people withhold ideas and concerns. If you want to drive better results, use these strategies to make empathy part of how you lead—consistently and clearly.

Start with a shared definition. Without agreement on what empathy actually is, your team will default to assumptions. Collectively define empathetic behaviors—for example, perspective-taking and respectful disagreement—and be specific about how they show up in your culture.

Be other-focused. Empathy means making space for others to feel heard, not filling the silence with your own experiences. Be present. Listen deeply. Ask open-ended questions. Resist the urge to rescue or relate.

The case for hellfire-and-brimstone empathy
For show notes and more information, visit:
https://www.christianitytoday.com/podcasts/the-russell-moore-show/

People with Alzheimer's disease may retain their ability to empathize, despite declines in other social abilities, finds a new study led by University College London (UCL) researchers.

The researchers found that people with Alzheimer's disease scored slightly higher on a measure of empathy than peers of the same age with mild cognitive impairment, despite scoring worse on other measures of social cognition such as recognising facial emotions and understanding the thoughts of others.

The authors of the study, published in Alzheimer's & Dementia and supported by Wellcome, say this may be the first time a cognitive domain has been found to improve in dementia

Embracing Rational Compassion

“We don’t live in an age of reason; we live in an age of empathy.” Frans de Waal

Empathy. What exactly is it? Do all humans naturally exude empathy? What happens when we don’t agree with the lifestyles, life choices or actions of the people we are working with or support? When faced with morally complex decisions does empathy, rather than rational compassion, sometimes mean we get things wrong?

Aim: This one-day training course, encourages learners to embrace a more rational approach to working with customers / service users. Using up to date research and analysis, learners address their own bias and conceptions and explore how to work compassionately with all manner of customers.

Objectives: By the end of the day, all learners will have:

1. Described what is meant by empathy

2. Explained and explored the need for more rational compassion

3. Addressed the passion versus compassion debate

4. Discovered where dangerous ‘gut feelings’ can lead, especially in relation to empathy, anger, disgust and love

5. Described the importance of facts

6. Explored the difference between feeling and understanding

7. Examined the escalation factors that create challenges and conflict

8. Described how effective communication can support your colleague or customer to resolution

9. Explained how to work with all manner of customer irrespective of their lifestyle, life choices, words or actions

10. Explored meditation and self-care activities that will benefit people experiencing either empathy fatigue or burnout.

Listen to this episode from A Rumor of Empathy with Lou Agosta on Spotify. The podcast engages the difference between standard empathy and radical empathy. When standard empathy breaks down, fails, goes off the rails, in the face of confronting experiences such as trauma, compassion fatigue, soul murder, and empathic distress, then radical empathy is born and comes forth.

Radical empathy bridges the abyss of empathic distress to commitment to empathizing even in the face of empathic distress. The first in a series - find out how to take your standard empathy to the next level with radical empathy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjlC8Jnw70c

In this episode Scott welcomes Gad Saad, professor of marketing at Concordia University in Montreal and visiting professor at Northwood University. Professor Saad has pioneered the use of evolutionary psychology in marketing and consumer behavior. His works include several books and published papers, many at the intersection of psychology, advertising, medicine, and economics.

He’s also working on a new book Suicidal Empathy which follows the 2020 release of his previous bestseller The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense. They discuss the psychology behind irrational behavior of the public, especially young adults, and what might come next in the interplay between the media, universities, politics, and public behavior.

This video explores the "Empathy Paradox" in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), where individuals excel at recognizing emotions in others but often misinterpret them as negative due to heightened sensitivity. This distorted perception can lead to overreactions and impulsive behavior, especially in emotionally charged situations. While people with BPD have strong empathic skills, their heightened sensitivity often makes them feel overwhelmed and impairs decision-making.

Chronic social dysfunction is also driven by a learned distrust of others, making it difficult for those with BPD to form stable, positive views of people. This often results in an expectation of disrespect, hurt, or abandonment in interactions.

 
 

Shop Empathy and Understanding In Business - by Chris Voss & Nick Nanton (Hardcover) at Target. Choose from Same Day Delivery, Drive Up or Order Pickup. Free standard shipping with $35 orders.

Biologist and primatologist Frans de Waal reminds us that empathy is not uniquely human—it’s a mammalian trait.

Empathy is the emotional bridge that binds us—not only to each other but to the animals we care for. And it’s this very quality that forms the roots of human morality.
 
 

Empathy is a powerful force that shapes workplace culture and leadership effectiveness. Yet, under pressure, it often takes a backseat. That’s where leaders come in. The real effort is in finding ways to make empathy a natural part of how they lead—both in big-picture decisions and everyday conversations.

While many leaders equate empathy with kindness, employees seek tangible expressions such as flexible work arrangements, career development opportunities, and meaningful diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives. A Businessolver survey highlights a gap—while 86% of employees consider flexible work hours an essential demonstration of empathy, only 42% have experienced it. It’s time to move past surface-level gestures and build a culture where empathy is lived, and an integral part of leadership’s way of work!

Anand Giridharadas

El-Sayed argues, therefore, that the pro-democracy movement must obsessively seek to separate the posse from the bully. Which means adopting a posture that some fellow Democrats may not like: showing what he calls “radical empathy” for Trump voters, and viewing the choice millions made as an expression of desperation in an unresponsive system, a shout into the void.

That means not lapsing into the condescension toward lay voters that feels so satisfying and, oftentimes, so justified. It means not calling them Magats and brainwashed and irredeemable racists all. It means strategically biting your tongue and opening your arms. For winning’s sake.

By Tara Van Bommel, PhD

In recent years, there has been a great deal of discussion about the importance of empathy in the workplace. Empathy helps bond colleagues together and forms the foundation of a resilient and inclusive workplace.

Although it is often underestimated as a business skill, our findings suggest that empathy skills are a business imperative and essential to success in the future of work. It is important for organizational leaders to know the following about empathy: it is possible to cultivate and develop empathy; there are three aspects of empathy: cognitive (head/thinking), affective (heart/feeling), and behavioral (action/doing); and empathy is linked to many positive outcomes that teams can leverage to become more agile and innovative in times of crises.

Nadella also highlighted empathy as a driving force behind meaningful innovation. Understanding the end-user experience, he said, is critical to anticipating needs that aren’t always visible on the surface. Even technical data, he added, can offer human insights: if one is willing to look beyond the numbers.

On the topic of rapid technological advancement, Nadella encouraged openness to change and continuous learning. As new tools reshape industries, he urged professionals to focus on how they can use these tools to amplify their own impact rather than resist them.

by Michael Ventura
In an interview earlier this year with Joe Rogan, Elon Musk quipped that “the fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.” He seemed to blame it, in part, for the decline of America’s cultural vitality. He said he believed in empathy but cast it as being “weaponized” by the woke.

For all his derision of empathy, Mr. Musk is quite good at employing it for his own needs. In fact, I’d argue he’s one of the most effective empathic operators in modern business and public life.

Though we often think of empathy as synonymous with kindness, that isn’t entirely accurate. Empathy is not the same as compassion. At its core, empathy is the ability to understand others’ perspectives — what they feel, what they think, what they fear, what they want.

Empathy connects us but strains under demanding settings. This study explored how third parties evaluated AI-generated empathetic responses versus human responses in terms of compassion, responsiveness, and overall preference across four preregistered experiments. Participants (N = 556) read empathy prompts describing valenced personal experiences and compared the AI responses to select non-expert or expert humans.

Results revealed that AI responses were preferred and rated as more compassionate compared to select human responders (Study 1). This pattern of results remained when author identity was made transparent (Study 2), when AI was compared to expert crisis responders (Study 3), and when author identity was disclosed to all participants (Study 4). Third parties perceived AI as being more responsive—conveying understanding, validation, and care—which partially explained AI’s higher compassion ratings in Study 4.

These findings suggest that AI has robust utility in contexts requiring empathetic interaction, with the potential to address the increasing need for empathy in supportive communication contexts.