# Tania Singer – The Power of Two

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/mind-life-594422/tania-singer-the-power-of-two
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/mind-life-594422/tania-singer-the-power-of-two.md
Podcast: [Mind & Life](https://stenobird.com/podcast/mind-life-594422)
Published: 2025-05-15T08:17:00+00:00
Episode link: https://mindandlife.podbean.com/e/tania-singer-%e2%80%93-the-power-of-two/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ih2hvtcysz4g34xe/TaniaSinger_250429_AIR.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/mind-life-594422/episodes/tania-singer-the-power-of-two
Duration seconds: 4643

## Resource

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

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## Transcript

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