People & Blogs
A peak in the minds behind true crime #TEDTalks
Psychopathic killers are the basis for some must-watch TV, but what really makes them tick? Neuroscientist Jim Fallon talks about brain scans and genetic analysis that may uncover the rotten wiring in the nature (and nurture) of murderers. In a too-strange-for-fiction twist, he shares a fascinating family history that makes his work chillingly personal.
@Laurabedisccutu1985
October 31, 2025 at 4:04 pm
This channel is an oasis of positivity in a space that often lacks encouragement and support 🥳🎉
@silver1step
November 1, 2025 at 5:52 am
I’ve noticed many killers have been abused as children or have had absent parents, or have hurt themselves (fall/fight/alcohol/drugs), and/or may have been genetically predisposed due to mental illness.
Yet many people with the same issues are normal people. So there definitely is more to it.
Like it’s really sad sometimes listening to true crime, and every event in the kid’s life was just awful, and it almost feels like they never had a chance. Other times the person has a mostly normal family but holds a grudge at 4 and kills small animals and keeps dead birds to munch on in his pockets and believes in an otherworld vampire hierarchy ….
@Dx-Dm
November 2, 2025 at 8:53 am
This suggests a role of the diathesis-stress model in the development of a mental disorder. If you don’t know about it, it’s a well established scientific framework and you might want to check out the Wikipedia article.
@bluemarblemark
November 1, 2025 at 10:43 pm
Peek
@RyanK-100
November 2, 2025 at 12:29 am
I do not believe this guy. It’s just too simple. If you are a “brain specialist” and tasked with finding something you will certainly find SOMETHING. Imagine his report saying, “Nope. Nothing in the brains to explain it.”
@Optamizm
November 2, 2025 at 3:46 am
It was a blind experiment.
@jasonbullmusicincorporated
November 2, 2025 at 6:37 am
Was he allowed to look after he’d felt around for a while? @Optamizm
@danielmorse4213
November 2, 2025 at 6:54 am
He stares it’s a general pattern, not a rule. Environment is everything.
@Hikaribloo1
November 2, 2025 at 8:00 am
“This guy is an expert, but I’ll call him a liar because me, obviously not an expert, doesn’t understand it”-LITERALLY YOU my god do actual research my guy, psychopathy isn’t a mental illness it’s a list of diagnostic criteria , people aren’t diagnosed just as psychopaths they’re a set of traits that manifest in different patterns because brains are different
@Dx-Dm
November 2, 2025 at 9:04 am
@Hikaribloo1
Psychopathy as a trait is going to track very tightly with the phenotype of antisocial personality disorder, and the latter is a mental disorder, so I don’t understand your first point. For your second point, genes and environment play a role in both traits and mental disorders, so I don’t understand what you’re trying to say there either. Despite your comment, I agree with what I inferred from it: that the original commenter has some learning to do.
@Optamizm
November 2, 2025 at 3:46 am
Oh, it’s Jimmy Fallon.
@danielmorse4213
November 2, 2025 at 6:55 am
I am doomed
@marymadelynevangelista9799
November 2, 2025 at 7:02 am
This should never have been “short” b/c it is a TEDtalk which is already a truncated, compressed, & shortened summary.
@Dx-Dm
November 2, 2025 at 8:55 am
We live in the age of TikTok, so the term short is relative and depends on your audience. I’m assuming they want people to get curious and watch the full video based on the clip. Personally, I just jumped to a scientific publication instead, haha.
@gio5969
November 2, 2025 at 8:07 am
Any chance we can get him to analyze Steve Millers brain?
@Dx-Dm
November 2, 2025 at 8:57 am
Or maybe just make that a requirement of having a job that affects the lives of tons of people? It’s tricky though, because correlation is often not causation.
@OktoberStorm
November 2, 2025 at 10:40 am
You’re posting a video short and can’t even link link to the full length video?
@tedtalks3459
November 3, 2025 at 6:16 pm
All of our shorts link to the full TED Talk at the bottom. Let us know if it’s not working for you!
@ryanrex297
November 3, 2025 at 5:48 pm
What actor does this guy look like? He plays side character roles. Looks just like him.