We've Never Been Meaner. Here's Why. episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 6, 2026 · 50 MIN

We've Never Been Meaner. Here's Why.

from The Oprah Podcast

BUY THE BOOK!The Power of Us by Jay J. Van Bavel and Dominic J. Packerhttps://amzn.to/4ch3Y23Do you feel like people have become meaner and ruder recently? Does it sometimes feel like civility has left the building? If you feel that way, you are not alone. A recent study found that 53% of Americans believe society is uncivil while more than a third say they almost always or often see people behaving rudely when they go out in public. To get to the bottom of why this is happening and what we can do about it Oprah sits down with Dr. Jay Van Bavel who is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at New York University, and the director of the NYU Center for Conflict and Cooperation. He's also the coauthor of The Power of Us: Harnessing our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony. Dr. Jay breaks down what is causing this rise in incivility and shares some ideas about how we can all do better. Oprah and Dr. Jay are also joined by a flight attendant, an emergency medicine doctor, a fast food worker, a barista and several influencers who talk about the extreme levels of rudeness they have experienced at work and online.00:00:00 - Oprah and why did we get so mean? 00:03:50 - Welcome Dr. Jay Van Bavel author of “The Power of Us”00:05:20 - How our environment makes us meaner00:10:30 - How AI harms our relationships 00:12:00 - Why are people mean on planes?00:14:00 - Flight attendant Cher shares 00:17:30 - What can we do everyday?00:19:30 - The most dangerous profession 00:24:50 - Is reality TV normalizing bad behavior? 00:26:33 - We are in this together00:28:00 - When you’re the target of anger00:30:00 - Dealing with confrontation 00:33:40 - Impatience and meanness 00:35:30 - Dealing with mean comments 00:39:50 - Oprah reading negative letters00:45:50 - Can things change?Follow Oprah Winfrey on Social:https://www.instagram.com/oprahpodcast/https://www.facebook.com/oprahwinfrey/Listen to the full podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0tEVrfNp92a7lbjDe6GMLIhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-oprah-podcast/id1782960381

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We've Never Been Meaner. Here's Why.

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