Answered from The Story of Stories · Hidden Brain · 2026-10-26
Cornell psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg argues that depression grows out of a mood system humans share with other mammals, which evolved over millions of years to make us stop and retrench when a problem has no obvious solution. He rejects a pure defect or chemical-imbalance model as incomplete, while saying not every episode carries meaning and that a mismatch with modern life may drive today's high rates. He tells listeners in crisis that depressive episodes do end.
“They don't end always on your timetable, but they do end.” Jonathan Rottenberg · at 1:05:30 — open in the transcript →
Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Hidden Brain (2026-10-26). Read the whole episode summary →