The Science of Selflessness and I Am Adam Lanza's Mother

Kathryn interviews award-winning science writer Elizabeth Svoboda, author of “What Makes a Hero? The Surprising Science of Selflessness”. Are those who take it upon themselves to tackle a mad gunman, or stare down a bully by acting selflessly, different from the rest of us? Svoboda travelled the country consulting with top biologists and neuroscientists, to find the answers to “what makes a hero?” She has written for The New York Times, Psychology Today, Popular Science and Wired. Kathryn also interviews educator and mother Liza Long, author of “The Price of Silence: A Mom’s Perspective on Mental Illness”. Long is the mother of a child who has bipolar disorder. When she heard about the Newtown shooting, her first thought was, “What if my son does that someday?” In “The Price of Silence” Long takes a devastating look at how we address mental illness through a system of education, mental healthcare, and juvenile detention that leads far too often to prison.