January 20, 2026
Your Brain on Revenge with Oprah and James Kimmel, Jr.
Is revenge the root of all forms of violence? Oprah sits down with James Kimmel, Jr., a revenge and violence researcher and lecturer in the psychiatry department at the Yale University School of Medicine and the bestselling author of the eye-opening book, The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World’s Deadliest Addiction - and How to Overcome It. From bullying to school and mass shootings to terrorism and even war, James Kimmel Jr’s 20-year research argues that the root cause of all human aggression and violence in the world is the one universal human emotion: revenge. After being bullied as a teenager, James Kimmel, Jr shares the horrific moment he almost became a mass shooter himself, and why that became the catalyst for his life’s work. James Kimmel Jr shares a research study that could reveal just how prone you might be to seeking revenge. He has also created The Non-Justice System & The Miracle Court App, a 5-step scripted virtual courtroom where a person who has been wronged can play all the roles in a simulated trial - victim, defendant, judge, jury, and warden. Oprah and James Kimmel Jr also hear searing stories from the audience including a woman whose neighbor shot and killed her dog, a woman who got revenge on a boyfriend who cheated on her, a wife and mother whose intense revenge addiction landed her in the hospital. And how a mother, who lost her precious 6-year-old son to gun violence at Sandy Hook Elementary, came to forgive her son’s killer.BUY THE BOOK!The Science of Revengehttps://amzn.to/4g35d7p00:00:00 - Welcome James Kimmel, Jr. author of “The Science of Revenge”00:04:00 - James Kimmel share his story of revenge00:10:15 - Lawyers sell revenge to the masses00:13:15 - How revenge is an addiction00:16:00 - Understanding how revenge leads to crimes00:17:30 - When revenge becomes addiction00:27:00 - Woman shares her desire for revenge00:28:20 - Types of forgiveness00:37:55 - How can we speed up forgiveness00:39:30 - How this man resisted getting revenge00:43:30 - Mother of son killed at Sandy Hook00:50:50 - Recovering revenge addict00:57:00 - The motive is revenge00:59:00 - The power of forgivenessAdditional Resources:https://www.revengeanonymous.orgThe Non-justice System: miraclecourt.comWhat's Your Revenge Score? https://www.jameskimmeljr.com/quizConnecticut Violence Intervention and Prevention - https://www.ctintervention.org/Choose Love - https://chooselovemovement.org/Follow Oprah Winfrey on Social:https://www.instagram.com/oprahpodcast/https://www.facebook.com/oprahwinfrey/Listen to the full podcast:https://open.spotify.com/show/0tEVrfNp92a7lbjDe6GMLIhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-oprah-podcast/id1782960381
Also available on Apple Podcasts