# Michael McCullough (Forgiveness)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/templeton-ideas-podcast-6097833/michael-mccullough-forgiveness
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/templeton-ideas-podcast-6097833/michael-mccullough-forgiveness.md
Podcast: [Templeton Ideas Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/templeton-ideas-podcast-6097833)
Published: 2026-01-15T08:56:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.templeton.org/news/what-do-forgiveness-and-revenge-have-in-common
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/fdd1f335-c791-4a6f-8fde-900314b3f38b/S10_E76_-_Michael_McCullough_FINAL.mp3?dest-id=3881190
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/templeton-ideas-podcast-6097833/episodes/michael-mccullough-forgiveness
Duration seconds: 2007

## Resource

Michael McCullough is a psychology professor at UC San Diego who explores the ways our evolutionary past illuminates how humans today think, feel, and behave. For 25 years, he has pioneered experimental work on forgiveness, gratitude, empathy, religion, and morality. With the support from the Templeton philanthropies, he directs an international effort to better understand the role of gratitude in many different cultures. Among his many publications, Mike has authored the book The Kindness of Strangers: How a Selfish Ape Invented a New Moral Code , as well as Beyond Revenge: The Evolution of the Forgiveness Instinct. Mike joins the podcast to discuss forgiveness, revenge, and our evolutionary and cultural tendencies toward each. In the aftermath of apartheid in South Africa, it's hard to imagine how they could rebuild the fabric of their society–and yet they've done so through an arduous process of truth and reconciliation. To learn more, check out the Templeton Ideas essay Beyond Forgiveness: The Reparative Quest in South Africa , featuring Templeton Prize winner Pumla Godobo-Madikizela. Join our growing community of 140,000+ listeners and be notified of new episodes of Templeton Ideas. Subscribe today. Follow us on social media: Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and YouTube .

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/templeton-ideas-podcast-6097833/episodes/michael-mccullough-forgiveness/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/templeton-ideas-podcast-6097833/michael-mccullough-forgiveness.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.