Paul Slovic

Keeping Toni Warm — The Arithmetic of Compassion How Kyiv Zoo staff protect Ukraine’s only gorilla during war-driven winter blackouts, and what this act of care reveals about human values in crisis.

Toni is a 52-year-old gorilla in a zoo in Ukraine.
He lies on his back and watches television.
Outside, missiles hit energy plants.
Inside, someone feeds the stove at midnight.
Even in hard times, protecting others gives us hope.
bit.ly/4kUxJJp

The Right to Be Forgotten — The Arithmetic of Compassion The internet has a longer memory than people. This article explores the Right to Be Forgotten, examining how permanent digital records affect ordinary lives, where law draws the line between privacy a...

A false accusation. A teenage mistake. An old debt that no longer exists.

Online, these moments don’t fade.
Our systems remember long after people have changed.

Why the Right to Be Forgotten matters: bit.ly/3NJqjw5

Inside Iran’s Internet Shutdowns and Digital Resistance — The Arithmetic of Compassion Internet shutdowns are a powerful tool of repression. In Iran, blackout after blackout cuts visibility, not just connectivity. This article looks at how a few fragile connections — satellite internet,...

When the internet goes dark, abuse becomes easier to hide. This piece looks at Internet shutdowns and the fragile channels keeping the outside world informed.
bit.ly/4bF8NCQ

Would you invite the “enemy” to dinner? — The Arithmetic of Compassion An AOC article exploring how shared meals interrupt fear and psychological numbing, using real examples from history and community initiatives to show how food helps turn “enemies” back into people.

Numbing isn’t broken by more headlines.
It’s broken by presence.
Eating together forces presence: smell, taste, stories, eye contact.
That’s why food shows up again and again in peace-building efforts.
🔗 bit.ly/49akH6g

Joanna Macy and the Psychology of Looking Away — The Arithmetic of Compassion A tribute to Joanna Macy (1929–2025), reflecting on her observations of emotional withdrawal in times of crisis and her emphasis on connection, shared feeling, and action without guarantees.

What happens when the world asks us to carry more suffering than we feel able to handle?

Joanna helped us understand why we grow numb — and how we can come back.

A tribute to Joanna Macy (1929–2025).

bit.ly/3YMvvRU

Did Our Ancestors Feel Different Emotions—and What Does That Mean for Compassion at Scale? — The Arithmetic of Compassion What if emotions aren’t timeless? This article connects the history of emotions, behavioral science, and psychic numbing to rethink compassion at scale.

Biology limits how much suffering we can process.
Culture decides whose suffering matters.
Large-scale indifference emerges when those two align.
bit.ly/3MQUX6f

When the Threat Is Sacred: Understanding Crocodile Risk in Timor-Leste — The Arithmetic of Compassion Crocodile attacks are rising in Timor-Leste, but cultural beliefs make risk communication complex. Explore how tradition, psychology, and conservation intersect.

In Timor-Leste, the deadliest risk isn’t a storm or a tsunami — it’s crocodile attacks.
The challenge? Crocodiles are also sacred ancestors.
How do you talk about danger when the “threat” is part of who people are? 🔗Read more: bit.ly/3KCvTyV

Beachcombers of the Invisible Ocean — The Arithmetic of Compassion Most ocean damage is invisible, but shorelines make it visible. Each tide leaves evidence of pollution, disasters, and global connections. A simple walk on the beach shows what the ocean is carrying—a...

Most ocean damage is invisible. But the shoreline doesn’t lie.
Every tide brings fragments of our consumption, our disasters, our history — right to our feet.
If we want to protect the ocean, we have to start by seeing it.
🔗 Read the full article: bit.ly/3Mr5uEK

The Fight for Dark Skies in the Atacama — The Arithmetic of Compassion Chile’s Atacama Desert hosts some of the world’s most powerful observatories—and one of humanity’s last truly dark skies. As mining, cities, and satellites flood the night with light, astronomers and ...

When we light up the night, we turn off the stars.
In Chile’s Atacama, people are fighting to save one of the darkest skies on Earth 🔗 Learn more: bit.ly/3XhSvHI

Jane Goodall’s final lesson: hope is an antidote to numbness — The Arithmetic of Compassion Jane Goodall’s legacy unites science and compassion. Her final lesson: hope is an antidote to paralysis and despair in the face of global crises.

We chose six moments to capture Jane Goodall’s extraordinary life and work.

Each moment reflects the same truth: hope is not naïve — it is a discipline, and the antidote to numbness in the face of crisis.

Read the full article here
www.arithmeticofcompassion.org/blog/2025/10...

Art Against Forgetting: 80 Years After Hiroshima — The Arithmetic of Compassion By Nancy Nuñez and Emiliano Rodriguez Nuesch Eighty years is a long time. Long enough for memories to fade. Long enough for pain to turn into numbers. That’s why we need art. Because numbers don’t c...

From August 6–9, 1945, Hiroshima and Nagasaki endured unimaginable loss. Eighty years later, art still cuts through the numbness, reminding us that behind every number was a life.

www.arithmeticofcompassion.org/blog/2025/8/...

How can humor bridge our compassion gap?
We explore this in our latest article ⬇️

Want to make a difference? Find your role. Start by reading our recently article ⬇️

Check what's inside the newsletter this month:
We reflect on Sebastião Salgado’s legacy of making suffering visible, revisit The Eternaut’s call for collective survival, and consider the Pope’s role in uncertain times.

Explore these perspectives with us: www.arithmeticofcompassion.org/newsletter

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Once a month, we explore why we feel and act the way we do—and how understanding can lead to meaningful change.

Compassion begins with insight.

👉 www.arithmeticofcompassion.org/newsletter

Sebastião Salgado: A Lens For Justice — The Arithmetic of Compassion Sebastião Salgado died at 81. His lens captured 20th-century tragedies and reminded us that real compassion begins with truly seeing others.

Remembering Sebastião Salgado — a photographer who goes beyond just pictures.

His black & white photography breaks through the numbness we sometimes feel and shows the powerful stories behind people and places.

Read our last article here www.arithmeticofcompassion.org/blog/2025/5/...

The Eternaut: Only The Collective Can Survive — The Arithmetic of Compassion The Eternaut, Argentina’s iconic sci-fi graphic novel, comes to Netflix. A deadly snowfall, an alien invasion — and a message: no one survives alone.

What if the end of the world started… with snow?

Based on the iconic Argentine graphic novel The Eternaut, Netflix’s new series flips the script: the real hero isn’t one person — it’s the collective.

Read the full article here: www.arithmeticofcompassion.org/blog/2025/5/...

Global Warming's Six Americas, Fall 2024 Our Fall 2024 Climate Change in the American Mind survey finds that 26% of Americans are Alarmed about global warming, and that the Alarmed outnumber the Dismissive (10%) by a ratio of about 2.5 to 1.

New #Yale study: More Americans than ever (26%) are Alarmed about climate change. The Alarmed now outnumber the Dismissive by 2.5 to 1, but is that enough to drive real action? #ClimateCrisis #YaleClimate
bit.ly/3FU7jXF @yaleclimatecomm.bsky.social @climateconnections.bsky.social

Can Documentaries Change Behavior? The Power of Narrative Empathy — The Arithmetic of Compassion Can documentaries change behavior? Through the power of narrative empathy, films like Blackfish, The Cove, and An Inconvenient Truth have shaped public opinion and sparked real-world action. Discover ...

Facts tell. Stories move. Documentaries like Blackfish and The Cove turned awareness into action. How? Through narrative empathy. Read more: bit.ly/41PYAhT

Compassion for the victims of the Myanmar earthquake: How You Can Help — The Arithmetic of Compassion Myanmar's 7.7 magnitude earthquake has caused widespread destruction, with families searching for loved ones and communities rallying to provide aid. Rescue teams are working tirelessly, but resources...

The people of Myanmar need our compassion now more than ever. Learn how you can support relief efforts after the devastating earthquake
bit.ly/43zIvOD

Extremism and Empathy — The Arithmetic of Compassion Extremism thrives on selective in-group empathy, while narrative empathy and participatory ecological storytelling can challenge radical ideologies by building broader cognitive and affective connecti...

The "Us vs. Them" thinking fuels division. But extremist ideologies don’t just create enemies—they create victims within the in-group, reinforcing a false sense of righteousness. When empathy is selective, exclusion follows. bit.ly/4hl3ckB

How to Stop Dehumanization Before It Goes Too Far Once societies become “hate-curious,” they've embarked on a path that can lead to genocide. But all of us can take action to halt this progression.

Genocide doesn’t happen overnight—it’s a slow process of dehumanization. How can we recognize early warning signs and take action before it’s too late? @svobodster.bsky.social explores the psychology behind hate and intervention. Read more: bit.ly/4iOsOb8

Participatory Ecological Storytelling and Empathy — The Arithmetic of Compassion Participatory ecological storytelling fosters ecological empathy and narrative empathy, helping people confront eco-anxiety and psychic numbing by co-creating stories that give voice to the more-than-...

Stories shape how we see the world. But what if nature itself had a voice? Participatory ecological storytelling invites us to listen—to animals, forests, even oceans—and rethink our place in the web of life.
bit.ly/3R8bq4C

Empathy as Exercise — The Arithmetic of Compassion Empathy, like music, is an exercise—a practice that deepens our humanity and strengthens our connection to others. In a world where apathy dominates headlines, this article explores why empathy is ess...

Empathy is an act of humility—it reminds us that another person’s suffering could have been ours. @musicalmakiko.bsky.social explores how music helps us exercise this essential human capacity. Read more:
bit.ly/41Wfviy

Playing Hamlet Inside a Video Game During Lockdown: How Storytelling Helps Us Navigate Uncertainty — The Arithmetic of Compassion When theaters shut down during the COVID-19 lockdown, a group of artists reimagined Hamlet inside Grand Theft Auto Online, transforming a chaotic virtual world into an unpredictable stage. This innova...

Shakespeare meets Grand Theft Auto. When theaters shut down, actors took Hamlet into GTA Online—improvising in a world of chaos, strangers, and serendipity 🔗 Read more: bit.ly/3QTqeny

When the Oscars Become a Stage for Social Visibility — The Arithmetic of Compassion The 2025 Oscars became a platform for social visibility, spotlighting No Other Land, L.A. firefighters, and Anora—stories that challenge us to see differently.

Can the Oscars be a stage for social visibility? "Anora" made the unseen visible. "No Other Land" bore witness to destruction. Firefighters reminded us of unsung courage. When stories like these are told, we can’t look away. 🔗 bit.ly/4h2YJCJ

Ecological Empathy — The Arithmetic of Compassion Discover how ecological empathy and narrative empathy are redefining our relationship with nature, paving the way for sustainable coexistence.

We often think of empathy as a human-to-human experience. But what if it could help us rethink conservation? Ecological empathy shifts the focus from human-centered views to life-centered perspectives—helping us recognize the interdependencies between species and landscapes. bit.ly/4be03kT

The hidden risks of the unregulated use of AI — The Arithmetic of Compassion Unregulated AI chatbots and social media algorithms can create a dangerous illusion of support while exposing vulnerable users to harm. The tragic cases of Sewell Setzer III and Molly Russell highligh...

Can AI replace human connection, or just create a dangerous illusion of support? Sewell Setzer III's tragic case highlights the risks of unregulated AI. The cost of indifference is too high.
www.arithmeticofcompassion.org/blog/2025/2/...

Sandra the captive orangutan wins right to freedom from Argentine zoo YouTube video by On Demand News

Sandra, an orangutan, spent 20 years in captivity before an Argentine court ruled she was a "non-human person" with rights. 
www.youtube.com/watch?v=proX...

What can a horse teach us about compassion? — The Arithmetic of Compassion Discover the heartwarming story of Peyo, the therapy horse who offers comfort to cancer patients in Calais. Learn how equine-assisted therapy is transforming mental health, autism care, and emotional ...

A horse walking into a hospital seems improbable? Meet Peyo, a horse who comforts cancer patients, showing that empathy transcends species. Read more: bit.ly/3CQAs52