Go To on Why Empathy Doesn't Scale

There's a problem with leading with your heart: empathy doesn't scale. One sick child and we open our wallets. A thousand sick children and we change the channel. Behavioral psychologist Paul Slovic has spent years studying this—the more people suffering, the less we feel. Kelly reflects on her conversation with investor and philanthropist Olivia Walton, who figured out how to beat compassion fade by doing something smarter than making the moral case for maternal health. She built a business case: for every dollar you invest in maternal health, you get eleven back. It's about understanding that empathy burns hot and burns out, but when you make the business case, you've built a diesel engine—it just keeps running.

This episode has been made possible by a grant from Ingeborg Initiatives, a social impact platform dedicated to improving maternal health and making it easier to raise a family. To learn more, please visit: ⁠https://www.ingeborginitiatives.com⁠.