© 2025 KUNR
Illustration of rolling hills with occasional trees and a radio tower.
Serving Northern Nevada and the Eastern Sierra
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Congress voted to defund public media. Now more than ever, we need your help protecting this vital service.
Learn what you can do to support KUNR today ➡️

How compassion fatigue can turn to apathy

In the last year, we’ve seen devastating destruction and loss of life: Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Texas floods, wildfires in Los Angeles, the shooting of two lawmakers in Minnesota and the ongoing war in Gaza.

The scale of tragedy is difficult to comprehend, as our brains struggle with compassion fatigue and numbing. We hear from Paul Slovic, a psychologist and researcher studying decision making and apathy.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2025 WBUR

Here & Now Newsroom