# The psychology of forgiveness with Michael McCullough | from WorkLife with Adam Grant

An episode of [TED Health](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/470623173), 21 Apr 2026, 30 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/67585b08102e6d4448d360b1/e/69d6cfae086c93c18bcfed84/media.mp3

In this season of WorkLife, we’re pairing each of our regular episodes with a companion interview to do a deeper dive into the topic. This is the companion for our episode on the secrets of a great apology. Michael McCullough is a psychology professor at UC San Diego and a pioneer in the study of forgiveness, gratitude, and empathy—he finds that although forgiveness is important, it isn’t always the answer to conflict. Michael and Adam discuss why humans evolved to forgive, examine what causes people to hold grudges, and settle last episode’s debate about whether it’s appropriate to ask for forgiveness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.