Dedicated to expanding empathy in the individual and the community. The empathy lessons extend from a light-hearted look to a deep dive into critical issues and controversies on empathy in authentic human relations. This podcast dedicated to the commitment that empathy be less of a rumor and more of a reality in the community!
A Rumor of Empathy with Lou Agosta
Claim This Podcastby Lou Agosta, PhD
45 episodes
Updated Daily
Accepts GuestsHas Sponsors
15
Podcast Authority
BetaPoorBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality30
Social0
YouTube0
Engagement0
Podcast Overview
Dedicated to expanding empathy in the individual and the community. The empathy lessons extend from a light-hearted look to a deep dive into critical issues and controversies on empathy in authentic human relations. This podcast dedicated to the commitment that empathy be less of a rumor and more of a reality in the community!
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
4/5/2021
Unlock The Full Podcast Authority Score Report
See how your podcast performs across key metrics
15
Podcast Authority
BetaPoorBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality30
Social0
YouTube0
Engagement0
6
Excellent Areas
2
Good Performance
11
Growth Opportunities
excellent
Episode Length
33 minutes
Performing excellently!
good
Show Notes Quality
3.0/5
Recommendations available
Unlock the full report to see detailed tips
poor
Publishing Consistency
Every 37 days
Recommendations available
Unlock the full report to see detailed tips
+16 More Metrics
Unlock comprehensive insights including:
- • YouTube presence analysis
- • Social media reach metrics
- • RSS compliance scoring
- • Podcast 2.0 features
- • Technical standards
What's Included in Your Full Report
Detailed Analytics
- Complete breakdown of all 19 authority metrics
- Personalized recommendations for each metric
- Industry benchmarks and comparisons
- Technical RSS feed analysis and compliance scoring
Growth Strategies
- Step-by-step action plans for improvement
- Quick wins to boost your score immediately
- Pro tips from successful podcasters
Get your free podcast insights report
See how your show performs across every key metric
Instant delivery
No spam
Attract Better Guests
High authority scores make your podcast more attractive to industry leaders and influencers who want to appear on credible shows.
Secure Sponsorships
Sponsors look for podcasts with proven authority and engagement. Your score demonstrates your podcast's value to potential partners.
Grow Your Audience
Understanding your strengths and weaknesses helps you make data-driven decisions to expand your listener base effectively.
1 verified contact email on file for A Rumor of Empathy with Lou Agosta
Pitch yourself as a guest, propose sponsorships, or reach out directly to the host.
Recent Episodes
July 24, 2026
Take the other person as your empathy trainer (Empathy Lesson)
<p>As an exercise, consider that the other person is one’s empathy trainer. The other individual calls forth one’s empathy. If the Other behaves in a challenging way, the challenge is to one’s empathy. A surprising powerful technique for practicing and expanding one's empathy: take each person you encounter as your empathy trainer and coach. See what a profound difference it makes!</p><p>If the other person is in an emotional meltdown, the challenge is to one’s empathicreceptivity. If the other person is a conformist, the challenge is to one’s empathic understanding. </p><p></p><p>This may sound backward and paradoxical. </p><p>By standing things on their head—the customer trains the business person in empathy, the student trains the teacher in empathy, the infant trains the parent in empathy and so on—we get a surprisingly refreshing view of how addressing the survivor’s temporary loss of humanity as a suffering lump of battered flesh. The baby, the student, the patient, the customer, the neighbor, are the individuals who bring empathy into existence for the parent, the teacher, the business person, the neighbor, respectively. </p><p>In each case, the empathy lesson is a challenge tothe would-be parent, teacher, sales person, consultant, therapist, nurse, attorney, taxi driver, neighbor, and so on, to expand one’s receptivity,enhance one’s grasp of the possibilities, appreciative different points of view, and practice rapid empathic response. </p><p> If each of these persons—parent, teacher, business person, neighbor, and so on—begin in any other way than with empathy, they areheaded for trouble. The challenge is straightforward: expand one’s listening to include the other individual in the empathic community or fall back into empathic distress; relate from possibility or get mired in stuckness; work on building community or wander aimlessly in the emotional wilderness.</p><p>A surprising powerful technique for practicing and expanding one's empathy: take each person you encounter as your empathy trainer and coach. See what a profound difference it makes!</p><p>Episode art photo credit: David Axelrod confronts Senator Tom Cotton June 2, 2017 in a photo taken by Lou Agosta at the University of Chicago public debate. As one of the architect of Barack Obama's presidential program, Ax (as he is affectionately known) would be likely to disagree with many of Senator Cotton's more-or-less MAGA-oriented views. Take the other person as your empathy trainer! I believe both did! </p><p></p><p> </p><p></p>
July 20, 2026
Hard empathy is different than "Empathy is hard"
<p>The innovation proposed here is to think of empathy, like so many things these days, as existing on a spectrum between empathy as “empathic listening” and empathy as “tough love.” </p><p>A rigorous and critical empathy includes both options, which maps to the difference between “soft empathy” and “hard empathy,” and a sliding scale of possibilities in-between. </p><p>Soft empathy does not work (or at least does not work well) with bullies or a short list of difficult individuals including psychopaths and the criminally insane. How does hard empathy apply? If a bully is attempting to bully you, the empathic response is “de-escalation.” That includes saying something like “This does not work for me” and leaving, departing, escaping. However, suppose the person is the boss or a romantic partner who is throwing a temper tantrum. The best response may still be de-escalation: “I declare a breakdown in communication and am taking a ten minute [or one hour or one day] time out.” Ultimately the solution may require updating one’s resume or finding a calmer partner, but we are talking here about dealing with the moment of crisis and upset.</p><p>Taking a step back, what if walking away is not workable? Then the empathic response consists in several further steps restore or sustain safety and get back your power to de-escalate empathically - which are covered in detail in the podCast. Check 'em out! Not to be missed!</p><p><br></p><p>Image Credit: Lou Gossett Jr as Drill Sargent Emil Foley, with acknowledgement to Paramount Pictures and Screen Daley</p>
July 14, 2026
Empathy SELLS - but empathy's limitations sell even better! Find out what's going on with the anti-empathy movement and how to answer and debunk the dangerous half truths, lies, and total nonsense.
<p>One can always make a splash by throwing a rotten tomato, and the would-be critique of empathy uncharitably takes the weakest version of empathy and refutes it. In contrast, a rigorous and critical empathy engages in aprocess of continuous improvement of empathy by “cleaning up” the empathicbreakdowns of emotional contagion, projection, conformity, and communicationslost in translation, resulting in the expansion of empathy in the individual and the community.</p><p>Yet another reason that the practice of empathy sells but empathy’s limitations sell even better is a consequence of empathy’s own success. Empathy works. Empathy makes a profound and lasting difference tothose who are treated with empathy. But in the age of TikTok does empathy work fast enough? Empathy and its many successes are themselves the occasions for the skepticism, resistance, and embracing the obstacles to empathy. A rigorous and critical empathy can be hard work; being empathic can leave onevulnerable; better to take the easy way out. The reader may say, I want instant empathy, like instant coffee, just add hot water and stir. Wouldn’t it be nice? Nor is anyone saying such a thing as “instant empathy” is impossible. It may work well enough in a pinch; but like instant coffee, the quality may not be on a par with that required by a more demanding or discriminating appreciation and taste – or a more challenging situation. Thus podcast debunks the debunkers of empathy and delivers the answers and responses to the dangerous half truths, alternative facts, and total nonsense being published by the anti-empathy cohort. It shows the way to a renewed rigorous and critical empathy and how empathy makes a profound difference to the individual and the community! Not to be missed.</p><p></p>
45 total episodes available
Recent guests on A Rumor of Empathy with Lou Agosta
Guests from recent episodes — sign up to see every guest that has ever appeared on this show.
Rob Volpe
Guest
Lou Agosta
Guest
Arnon Rolnick
Guest
Deep-dive analytics for A Rumor of Empathy with Lou Agosta
Frequently asked questions
Have a different question and can't find the answer you're looking for? Reach out to our support team by sending us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
- What is A Rumor of Empathy with Lou Agosta?
- How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
Legal Disclaimer
Pod Engine is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected with any of the podcasts displayed on this platform. We operate independently as a podcast discovery and analytics service.
All podcast artwork, thumbnails, and content displayed on this page are the property of their respective owners and are protected by applicable copyright laws. This includes, but is not limited to, podcast cover art, episode artwork, show descriptions, episode titles, transcripts, audio snippets, and any other content originating from the podcast creators or their licensors.
We display this content under fair use principles and/or implied license for the purpose of podcast discovery, information, and commentary. We make no claim of ownership over any podcast content, artwork, or related materials shown on this platform. All trademarks, service marks, and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
While we strive to ensure all content usage is properly authorized, if you are a rights holder and believe your content is being used inappropriately or without proper authorization, please contact us immediately at hey@podengine.ai for prompt review and appropriate action, which may include content removal or proper attribution.
By accessing and using this platform, you acknowledge and agree to respect all applicable copyright laws and intellectual property rights of content owners. Any unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or commercial use of the content displayed on this platform is strictly prohibited.