In a world racing toward smarter machines, empathy speakers and authors Rob Volpe and Maria Ross get curious in this limited subseries about what only humans can feel, do, and be — and why that's our greatest competitive advantage. Enjoy this limited subseries on The Empathy Edge.

We may be the only species that lives with the conscious knowledge of our own death. Maria and Rob sit with an uncomfortable truth of human existence: that we are finite, and that knowledge shapes how we love, create, grieve, and find meaning. Something AI cannot even register.

We explore what it means to be a time-malleable species - aware of the past, present, and future in ways no other animal appears to be - and we are most when time starts to run out.  We look at evidence of grief in elephants and chimps, asking whether mourning requires mortality awareness or whether it's something else. 

Rob asks Maria about her own 2008 near-death experience from a brain aneurysm, and together they wrestle with the near-death experience as a pivot point: the moment when abstract knowledge of death becomes real, and life suddenly looks completely different. 

To access the episode transcript, go to www.TheEmpathyEdge.com and search by episode title.

"One of the fundamental aspects of the human experience is knowing that death’s coming, but we all, as humans, deal with that knowledge very differently." —  Rob Volpe

Episode References: 

• Rob’s project: Cross-generational conversations: form.typeform.com/to/Mf5GDlYT
• Rob’s newsletter: Hardwired to be afraid: readingbetweenthelines.beehiiv.com/p/the-only-thing-we-have-to-fear-is-the-story-fear-tells-us

The Empathy Edge:

• Ashley Jones: How to Courageously Lead and Support Through Grief
• Stephanie Sarazin: What Is Ambiguous Grief and How To Show Up
• Ron Gura: How Technology Helps People Navigate Grief and Loss
• Jane Goodall Institute on chimp grief: news.janegoodall.org/2019/07/24/now-we-must-redefine-man-or-accept-chimpanzees-ashumans
• Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever: cnn.com/kara-swisher-wants-to-live-forever
• San Junipero episode: Black Mirror: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Junipero
• Rebooting My Brain by Maria Ross
• My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor
• The Tibetan Book of the Dead
• Upload 

Washington Post:

• Perspective piece by a hospice worker: wapo.st/4oPoZGp
• 7 Things to Know about Death, per Death Doulas: wapo.st/4oSLOZU

About Maria Ross: 

Maria Ross is a speaker, author, empathy strategist, and host of The Empathy Edge podcast, now in its sixth year. She believes cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™, and has spent decades helping leaders balance empathy with accountability to drive better results, stronger teams, and lasting impact. She is the author of four books, including the award-winning The Empathy Dilemma, a Forbes.com contributor on Workplace Empathy, and creator of two LinkedIn Learning empathy courses. 

About Rob Volpe: 

Rob Volpe is the Founder/CEO of Empathy Activist and the creator of The 5 Steps to Empathy, which he chronicles in his award-winning book Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation at a Time. He is a recognized thought leader,  speaker, and consultant in the improvement of communication and collaboration in organizations of all sizes in all industries.  

Connect with Rob Volpe:  

Website: robvolpe.expert 

Book: Tell Me More About That: Solving the Empathy Crisis One Conversation

X: x.com/rmvolpe 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rmvolpe 

Facebook: facebook.com/EmpathyActivist 

Instagram: instagram.com/empathy_activist 

Connect with Maria:

Get Maria's books: Red-Slice.com/books

Hire Maria to speak: Red-Slice.com/Speaker-Maria-Ross

Take the LinkedIn Learning Courses! Leading with Empathy and Balancing Empathy, Accountability, and Results as a Leader 

LinkedIn: Maria Ross

Instagram: @redslicemaria

Facebook: Red Slice