What then are the tipping points that drive some to kill? Is violence unnatural? Or is it normal because, deep down, we are all capable of cruelty and can experience, even briefly, the urge to hurt others? The daily news, as well as our cultural landscape, is filled with stories of acts of violence. The impact of violence on the individual, families and communities can be devastating.

This is the first 2024 BBC Reith lecture in the series: Four questions about violence

Speakers

Dr Gwen AdsheadAward-winning forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist, author of The Devil You Know. Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry

Anita Anand (host)BBC Radio presenter and journalist

Further information

Transcript of this Reith lecture