For the past few weeks, The Takeaway has been featuring stories of good deeds big and small from our listeners for our series America the Kind. So we’ve gathered them all together — plus some bonus stories you haven’t heard yet — in this special episode dedicated to kindness.

We connect a commuter from California with the thoughtful conductor who brightens her day, and hear from middle schoolers bringing undercover acts of kindness to their classmates. There’s stories of kindness from neighbors old and new, kindness from strangers, and kindness given during hard times — sometimes all three.

Get inspired by the town who made Christmas come almost two months early for a grandmother whose cancer made her worried she couldn’t celebrate her favorite holiday while she still felt strong enough.

We also talk about the science of altruism, with Stanford psychology professor Jamil Zaki, who explains why kindness is literally contagious, and Jay Phelan, a biology professor at UCLA, who gives the evolutionary reason for why humans are nice.

And finally, you’ll learn how to be kind from Heather Havrilesky, the writer behind the advice column Ask Polly and author of “What If This Were Enough?”

Do us a favor and listen — and be kind out there.

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