
The Science of Hate
How Prejudice Becomes Hate and What We Can Do to Stop It
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $33.79
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Mark Meadows
-
By:
-
Matthew Williams
About this listen
Why do people hate? A world-leading criminologist explores the tipping point between prejudice and hate crime, analysing human behaviour across the globe and throughout history in this vital book.
'This should be on the curriculum. A must read.' DR JULIE SMITH
'A key text for how we live now.' DAVID BADDIEL
'Wildly engrossing.' DARREN MCGARVEY
'This is a world-changing book.' ALICE ROBERTS
'Fascinating and moving.' PRAGYA AGARWAL
Are our brains wired to hate? Is social media to blame for an increase in hateful abuse? With hate on the rise, what can we do to turn the tide? Drawing on twenty years of pioneering research - as well as his own experience as a hate-crime victim - world-renowned criminologist Matthew Williams explores one of the pressing issues of our age.
Surveying human behaviour across the globe and reaching back through time, from our tribal ancestors in prehistory to artificial intelligence in the twenty-first century, The Science of Hate is a groundbreaking and surprising examination of the elusive 'tipping point' between prejudice and hate.
'Hate speech online has escalated to unprecedented levels. Matthew Williams, a professor of criminology, is shining a scientific light on who is behind it and why . . . a rallying cry.'
OBSERVER
'Fascinating and beautifully written. I heartily recommend it.'
HUGO RIFKIND, TIMES RADIO
'Fascinating . . . A harrowing but illuminating work.'
EVENING STANDARD
'An indispensable guide to what's gone wrong both here at home and in much of the Western world.'
THE HERALD
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
- The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power
- By: Shoshana Zuboff
- Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella
- Length: 24 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism is neither a hand-wringing narrative of danger and decline nor a digital fairy tale. Rather, it offers a deeply reasoned and evocative examination of the contests over the next chapter of capitalism that will decide the meaning of information civilization in the 21st century. The stark issue at hand is whether we will be the masters of information and machines or its slaves.
-
-
Book Editors failed to trim the word count
- By Todd B on 07-14-19
By: Shoshana Zuboff
-
Corruptible
- Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us
- By: Brian Klaas
- Narrated by: Brian Klaas
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An “absorbing, provocative, and far-reaching” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) look at what power is, who gets it, and what happens when they do, based on over 500 interviews with those who (temporarily, at least) have had the upper hand - from the creator of the Power Corrupts podcast and Washington Post columnist Brian Klaas.
-
-
Not much substance
- By Nathan Parker on 04-06-22
By: Brian Klaas
-
Responding to the Right
- Brief Replies to 25 Conservative Arguments
- By: Nathan J. Robinson
- Narrated by: Nathan J. Robinson
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson has developed a reputation as a meticulous slayer of irrational and bigoted arguments. He has tangled with the likes of Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, and Charles Murray, exposing their flimsy logic and distorted facts with forensic thoroughness and savage wit. In Responding to the Right, Robinson blasts right-wing nonsense with devastating intellectual weaponry, revealing how everyone from Ann Coulter to the National Review uses fear and lies to manipulate the public.
-
-
Fair, brief as necessary, and persuasive
- By Nicholas M. Michalak on 02-25-23
-
Belonging
- The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides
- By: Geoffrey L. Cohen
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Discover the secret to flourishing in an age of division: belonging. In a world filled with discord and loneliness, finding harmony and happiness can be difficult. But what if the key to unlocking our potential lies in this deceptively simple concept? Belonging is the feeling of being a part of a group that values, respects, and cares for us—a feeling that we can all cultivate in even the smallest corners of social life.
-
-
Belonging
- By Danielle on 03-09-25
-
Racism and White Fragility
- Combating Racism and Teaching Race Consciousness
- By: Barry Foster
- Narrated by: Orlena Cain
- Length: 1 hr and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some people say that someone could act in a racist manner because of ignorance. Others say that racist people are being persuaded by others or copying others' behavior. However, none of this tells us how racism began or if we can get to the root cause. Racism is the assumption that one human race is superior to another. The intrinsic biological features of a person predetermine the social and moral features of the human.
-
-
The Narration Was TERRIBLE!
- By J. Brown on 10-28-22
By: Barry Foster
-
The Coddling of the American Mind
- How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
- By: Jonathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff
- Narrated by: Jonathan Haidt
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The culture of “safety” and its intolerance of opposing viewpoints has left many young people anxious and unprepared for adult life. Lukianoff and Haidt offer a comprehensive set of reforms that will strengthen young people and institutions, allowing us all to reap the benefits of diversity, including viewpoint diversity. This is a book for anyone who is confused by what’s happening on college campuses today, or has children, or is concerned about the growing inability of Americans to live and work and cooperate across party lines.
-
-
Only Praise
- By TJ on 12-02-18
By: Jonathan Haidt, and others
-
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
- The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power
- By: Shoshana Zuboff
- Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella
- Length: 24 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism is neither a hand-wringing narrative of danger and decline nor a digital fairy tale. Rather, it offers a deeply reasoned and evocative examination of the contests over the next chapter of capitalism that will decide the meaning of information civilization in the 21st century. The stark issue at hand is whether we will be the masters of information and machines or its slaves.
-
-
Book Editors failed to trim the word count
- By Todd B on 07-14-19
By: Shoshana Zuboff
-
Corruptible
- Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us
- By: Brian Klaas
- Narrated by: Brian Klaas
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An “absorbing, provocative, and far-reaching” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) look at what power is, who gets it, and what happens when they do, based on over 500 interviews with those who (temporarily, at least) have had the upper hand - from the creator of the Power Corrupts podcast and Washington Post columnist Brian Klaas.
-
-
Not much substance
- By Nathan Parker on 04-06-22
By: Brian Klaas
-
Responding to the Right
- Brief Replies to 25 Conservative Arguments
- By: Nathan J. Robinson
- Narrated by: Nathan J. Robinson
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson has developed a reputation as a meticulous slayer of irrational and bigoted arguments. He has tangled with the likes of Ben Shapiro, Jordan Peterson, and Charles Murray, exposing their flimsy logic and distorted facts with forensic thoroughness and savage wit. In Responding to the Right, Robinson blasts right-wing nonsense with devastating intellectual weaponry, revealing how everyone from Ann Coulter to the National Review uses fear and lies to manipulate the public.
-
-
Fair, brief as necessary, and persuasive
- By Nicholas M. Michalak on 02-25-23
-
Belonging
- The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides
- By: Geoffrey L. Cohen
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Discover the secret to flourishing in an age of division: belonging. In a world filled with discord and loneliness, finding harmony and happiness can be difficult. But what if the key to unlocking our potential lies in this deceptively simple concept? Belonging is the feeling of being a part of a group that values, respects, and cares for us—a feeling that we can all cultivate in even the smallest corners of social life.
-
-
Belonging
- By Danielle on 03-09-25
-
Racism and White Fragility
- Combating Racism and Teaching Race Consciousness
- By: Barry Foster
- Narrated by: Orlena Cain
- Length: 1 hr and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some people say that someone could act in a racist manner because of ignorance. Others say that racist people are being persuaded by others or copying others' behavior. However, none of this tells us how racism began or if we can get to the root cause. Racism is the assumption that one human race is superior to another. The intrinsic biological features of a person predetermine the social and moral features of the human.
-
-
The Narration Was TERRIBLE!
- By J. Brown on 10-28-22
By: Barry Foster
-
The Coddling of the American Mind
- How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
- By: Jonathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff
- Narrated by: Jonathan Haidt
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The culture of “safety” and its intolerance of opposing viewpoints has left many young people anxious and unprepared for adult life. Lukianoff and Haidt offer a comprehensive set of reforms that will strengthen young people and institutions, allowing us all to reap the benefits of diversity, including viewpoint diversity. This is a book for anyone who is confused by what’s happening on college campuses today, or has children, or is concerned about the growing inability of Americans to live and work and cooperate across party lines.
-
-
Only Praise
- By TJ on 12-02-18
By: Jonathan Haidt, and others
-
Behave
- The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
- By: Robert Sapolsky
- Narrated by: Michael Goldstrom
- Length: 26 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the celebrated neurobiologist and primatologist, a landmark, genre-defining examination of human behavior, both good and bad, and an answer to the question: Why do we do the things we do? Sapolsky's storytelling concept is delightful but it also has a powerful intrinsic logic: He starts by looking at the factors that bear on a person's reaction in the precise moment a behavior occurs, and then hops back in time from there, in stages, ultimately ending up at the deep history of our species and its evolutionary legacy.
-
-
Insightful
- By Doug Hay on 07-27-17
By: Robert Sapolsky
-
The Better Angels of Our Nature
- Why Violence Has Declined
- By: Steven Pinker
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 36 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true: violence has been diminishing for millennia and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species's existence.
-
-
I'd kill for another book this good
- By Eric on 11-11-11
By: Steven Pinker
-
The Blank Slate
- The Modern Denial of Human Nature
- By: Steven Pinker
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 22 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker, one of the world's leading experts on language and the mind, explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, Pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no innate traits, denies our common humanity and our individual preferences, replaces objective analyses of social problems with feel-good slogans, and distorts our understanding of politics, violence, parenting, and the arts.
-
-
Don't bother. Outdated science & poor logic...
- By ejf211 on 03-31-10
By: Steven Pinker
-
Biased
- Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do
- By: Jennifer L. Eberhardt PhD
- Narrated by: Jennifer L. Eberhardt PhD
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How do we talk about bias? How do we address racial disparities and inequities? What role do our institutions play in creating, maintaining, and magnifying those inequities? What role do we play? With a perspective that is at once scientific, investigative, and informed by personal experience, Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt offers us the language and courage we need to face one of the biggest and most troubling issues of our time. She exposes racial bias at all levels of society - in our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and criminal justice system.
-
-
hoped for more on why bias and how to avoid it
- By Pavan Ongole on 04-04-19
-
Drug Use for Grown-Ups
- Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear
- By: Dr. Carl L. Hart
- Narrated by: Dr. Carl L. Hart
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Drug Use for Grown-Ups, he draws on decades of research and his own personal experience to argue definitively that the criminalization and demonization of drug use - not drugs themselves - have been a tremendous scourge on America, not least in reinforcing this country's enduring structural racism. Dr. Hart did not always have this view. He came of age in one of Miami's most troubled neighborhoods at a time when many ills were being laid at the door of crack cocaine. His initial work as a researcher was aimed at proving that drug use caused bad outcomes.
-
-
Dr Carl Hart should be our drug Czar
- By Steven Todd Gordon on 01-19-21
By: Dr. Carl L. Hart
-
Moral Combat
- Why the War on Violent Video Games Is Wrong
- By: Patrick M. Markey PhD, Christopher J. Ferguson PhD
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The media and politicians have been sounding the alarm for years, and with every fresh tragedy involving a young perpetrator comes another flurry of articles about the dangers of violent media. The problem is this: Their fear isn't supported by the evidence. In fact, unlike the video game-trained murder machines depicted in the press, school shooters are actually less likely to be interested in violent games than their peers. In reality, most well-adjusted children and teenagers play violent video games, all without ever exhibiting violent behavior in real life.
-
-
Not science; not comedy; not very good
- By Anonymous User on 06-23-20
By: Patrick M. Markey PhD, and others
-
Rage Becomes Her
- The Power of Women's Anger
- By: Soraya Chemaly
- Narrated by: Soraya Chemaly
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Women are angry, and it isn’t hard to figure out why. We are underpaid and overworked. Too sensitive or not sensitive enough. Too dowdy or too made-up. Too big or too thin. Sluts or prudes. We are harassed, told we are asking for it, and asked if it would kill us to smile. Yes, yes it would. Contrary to the rhetoric of popular “self-help” and an entire lifetime of being told otherwise, our rage is one of the most important resources we have, our sharpest tool against both personal and political oppression.
-
-
Holy Raging Hell
- By Enid Quimby on 10-17-18
By: Soraya Chemaly
-
The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump
- 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President - Updated and Expanded with New Essays
- By: Bandy X. Lee MD - editor
- Narrated by: William Dufris, Hillary Huber, Alex Hyde-White, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Originally released in fall 2017, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump was a runaway best seller. Alarmed Americans and international onlookers wanted to know: What is wrong with him? That question still plagues us. The Trump administration has proven as chaotic and destructive as its opponents feared, and the man at the center of it all remains a cipher.
-
-
Experts discuss the world's biggest problem
- By Ted on 10-13-17
-
The Hidden Brain
- How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars, and Save Our Lives
- By: Shankar Vedantam
- Narrated by: Steve West
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Most of us would agree that there’s a clear—and even obvious—connection between the things we believe and the way we behave. But what if our actions are driven not by our conscious values and beliefs but by hidden motivations we’re not even aware of? The “hidden brain” is Shankar Vedantam’s shorthand for a host of brain functions, emotional responses, and cognitive processes that happen outside our conscious awareness but have a decisive effect on how we behave.
-
-
Adjunct Instructor of Psychology
- By Anne on 02-16-10
By: Shankar Vedantam
-
Survival of the Friendliest
- Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity
- By: Brian Hare, Vanessa Woods
- Narrated by: René Ruiz
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A powerful new theory of human nature suggests that our secret to success as a species is our unique friendliness. For most of the approximately 300,000 years that Homo sapiens have existed, we have shared the planet with at least four other types of humans. All of these were smart, strong, and inventive. But around 50,000 years ago, Homo sapiens made a cognitive leap that gave us an edge over other species. What happened?
-
-
Weak Arguments and Bad Science
- By R. MacDonald on 04-09-21
By: Brian Hare, and others
-
Black Fatigue
- How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit
- By: Mary-Frances Winters
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the first book to define and explore Black fatigue, the intergenerational impact of systemic racism on the physical and psychological health of Black people - and explain why and how society needs to collectively do more to combat its pernicious effects.
-
-
Great Book— For Certain Audience
- By Taylor on 05-06-21
-
The Science of Good and Evil
- Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule
- By: Michael Shermer
- Length: 2 hrs and 21 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Science of Good and Evil, psychologist and science historian Michael Shermer explores how humans evolved from social primates into moral primates, how and why morality motivates the human animal, and how the foundation of moral principles can be built upon empirical evidence. Along the way he explains the implications of scientific findings for fate and free will, the existence of pure good and pure evil, and the development of early moral sentiments among the first humans.
-
-
Read by author
- By Gregory A. Townsend on 04-16-23
By: Michael Shermer
What listeners say about The Science of Hate
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- tetrahymena
- 03-17-22
A Great if Disturbing View of Human Nature
Matthew Williams pulls information from biological and social science to explore why we hate and how easily events can trigger it. He looks not just at the horrific treatment of our fellow humans triggered by prejudice and hatred, but at the root causes of those feelings and what triggers them. The reader also did an excellent job, with a voice ideal for this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!