Why do we help strangers? And why do we love revenge stories so much?  The same thing that connects those questions connects us all - bonding.

There’s an invisible line between groups of people - it can be a thin dotted line between acquaintances, a steel girder between mother and child, or a series of chain links between millions of people in the same country.

In Part 2 of this series on fate and biology, we identify the brain chemical that plays a central role in how we bond, and explore why certain group behaviors are inevitable. 

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Credits:

Written and produced by Gabriel Berezin.

Original music and sound design by Kirk Schoenherr and additional music by Grant Zubritsky.

Opening and closing music by Monuments - featuring Grant Zubritsky (bass), Robby Sinclair (drums) and Bryan Murray (saxophone), Gabriel Berezin (guitar).

Editorial assistance by Melissa "Monty" Montan.

Logo design by Justin Montan.

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Further reading:

• Part 1 of Fate and Biology: The Brain’s Molotov Cocktail
• Counting to Twelve (the ultimate funk on Sesame Street)
• Won’t You Be My Neighbor (Mr. Rogers Documentary)
• Philadelphia greases light posts before 2018 Superbowl
• “Are we the baddies?” Aka, an existential crisis for nazis (mentioned by Inner Voice)
• The Science of Kindness (and oxytocin)
• The Neurobiology of friendship
• Nasal spray and oxytocin increased male cooperation
• The above study debunked (in Vox)
• Book: Sapiens (by Yuval Noah Harari)
• Book: The Power of Us (by Jan Van Bavel and Dominic Packer)
• Paying Mentorship Forward (podcast episode for the NeuroLeadership Institute featuring Josh and Kendrick)
• Panel in the Vatican celebrating the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre