On the NPR TED Radio Hour, Sunday 12th October, Newstalk FM:

Violence and brutality are grim realities of life. So why are some people violent, and others aren’t? Are some of us born that way, or can anyone be pushed into committing acts of cruelty? What would it take for an ordinary person to become violent?

This week, on Newstalk's TED Radio Hour, we explore the sinister side of human nature, and whether we’re all capable of violence. 

Psychologist Philip Zimbardo knows how easy it is for nice people to turn bad. Zimbardo led the infamous Stanford Prison experiment in the early 70’s, where psychologically healthy young men became sadistic. 

Neuroscientist Jim Fallon uses brain scans and genetic analysis to uncover the wiring in the nature (and nurture) of murderers. And in a stranger than fiction twist, he shares his family history, which makes his work chillingly personal.

Writer Leslie Morgan Steiner tells the harrowing story of her abusive relationship, correcting misconceptions many people hold about victims of domestic violence.

Steven Pinker, a professor of psychology, charts the decline of violence from Biblical times to the present, and argues that, though it may seem illogical and even obscene, given Iraq and Darfur, we are living in the most peaceful time in our species' existence.

The NPR TED Radio Hour on Newstalk 106-108 FM, Sunday's from 6pm. 

Listen back to TED Radio Hour 'The violence within us' here.