WorkLife: The psychology of forgiveness with Michael McCullough
In this season of WorkLife, we’re pairing each of our regular episodes with a companion interview to do a deeper dive into the topic. This is the companion for our episode on the secrets of a great apology. Michael McCullough is a psychology professor at UC San Diego and a pioneer in the study of forgiveness, gratitude, and empathy—he finds that although forgiveness is important, it isn’t always the answer to conflict. Michael and Adam discuss why humans evolved to forgive, examine what causes people to hold grudges, and settle last episode’s debate about whether it’s appropriate to ask for forgiveness.
Host: Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: adamgrant.net/)
Guest: Michael McCullough (Website: michael-mccullough.com/)
Links
psychology.ucsd.edu/people/profiles/mmccullough.html
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Worklife with Adam Grant
You spend a quarter of your life at work. You should enjoy it! Organizational psychologist Adam Grant takes you inside the minds of some of the world’s most unusual professionals to discover the keys to a better work life. From learning how to love your rivals to harnessing the power of frustration, one thing’s for sure: You’ll never see your job the same way again. Produced in partnership with Transmitter Media.
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- No. of episodes: 228
- Latest episode: 2025-07-29
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