What if violence is contagious? Dr. Gary Slutkin argues that violence spreads like an epidemic, and that public health strategies can help stop it. We explore social pain, belonging, violence interrupters, and the science behind preventing violence before it spreads.

[0:00] Intro and Speed Round with Dr. Gary Slutkin

[8:23] Why Do We Treat Violence as a Moral Problem?

[11:25] What Happens When Our Diagnosis Is Wrong?

[20:00] Exposure, Susceptibility, and the Pain of Violence

[25:12] Can Belonging Stop the Cycle of Violence?

[31:26] Finding the Warning Signs Before Violence Happens

[37:44] Why Community Health Workers Matter

[41:30] How to Cool Down a Potentially Violent Situation

[47:54] How Communities Can Build Systems to Prevent Violence

[49:00] Grooving With Gary: Music, Guitar, and Leonard Cohen

[54:13] Grooving Session: Breaking the Cycle Through Connection

©2026 Behavioral Grooves

About Dr. Gary Slutkin

Cure Violence Global

The End of Violence by Dr. Gary Slutkin

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Dire Straits - So Far Away

John Coltrane - Locomotion

Why do we do what we do? Behavioral Grooves explores the science of human behavior with researchers, authors, and thinkers who help us make sense of ourselves, each other, and the world around us.

Have we misunderstood two of psychology’s most famous experiments? We revisit the Stanford Prison Experiment and the Robbers Cave experiment with science historians Thibault Le Texier and Gina Perry, who uncovered a much messier story behind the research we learned about in school. What can these experiments actually tell us about human behavior, and what happens when researchers become more invested in a specific conclusion than challenging their own assumptions?

[0:00] Two Famous Experiments, One Bigger Problem [6:47] Part One: The Stanford Prison Experiment [12:26] Were the Guards Coached to Be Cruel? [18:14] Is the Real Lesson About Leadership? [19:22] Part Two: The Robbers Cave Experiment [24:04] The Forgotten Middle Grove Experiment [28:38] Engineering the Robbers Cave Experiment [32:38] What Can We Actually Learn From These Experiments? [36:09] When the Story Gets in the Way of the Science [41:36] What Happens When a Story Sounds Too Tidy?

©2026 Behavioral Grooves

Investigating the Stanford Prison Experiment: History of a Lie by Thibault Le Texier

About Gina Perry

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