8,000,000,000 People Felt It | None Will Admit | Schadenfreude

Someone failed today. And for just a second — before you could stop yourself — something warm flickered inside you. You hid it. You offered the tissues. But it was there. There is a German word for exactly what you just felt. And once you know what it means, you will never look at yourself — or the people around you — quite the same way again. What you will discover in this episode: 1) The German word that explains the feeling nobody admits to having 2) Why your brain chemically rewards you when someone you know fails 3) Why the feeling is stronger toward some people than others 4) The role dopamine plays in that four-second moment 5) Why feeling guilty about it is actually a good sign 6) What your schadenfreude secretly tells you about yourself 7) Why social media turned a quiet human feeling into a public sport Meet Jake and Marcus. Jake is a normal person doing his best at a normal job. Marcus is his colleague — the one who takes all the credit, talks over everyone, and once announced out loud that he was the most strategic thinker in the building. Today, Marcus has a very bad day. And Jake has four very interesting seconds. Follow their story through one of the most honest, least discussed, and most universally felt emotions in all of human psychology. The science behind this episode: This episode draws on published academic research and is not the personal opinion of this channel. All psychological concepts referenced are supported by the following credited sources: ▸ Smith, R. H. (2013). The Joy of Pain: Schadenfreude and the Dark Side of Human Nature. Oxford University Press. Psychologist Richard Smith's landmark work identifying the three core conditions that produce schadenfreude — envy, rivalry, and the sense of justice — and why it is a normal, near-universal human experience. ▸ Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117–140. The foundational research establishing that humans automatically and involuntarily compare themselves to the people closest to their own situation — the psychological engine that powers schadenfreude. ▸ Takahashi, H., et al. (2009). When your gain is my pain and your pain is my gain: Neural correlates of envy and schadenfreude. Science, 323(5916), 937–939. Published in Science. Brain imaging research documenting the dopamine release that occurs during schadenfreude — confirming the chemical reward your brain receives when a rival stumbles. ▸ Paulhus, D. L., & Williams, K. M. (2002). The Dark Triad of personality: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Journal of Research in Personality, 36, 556–563. Research connecting the absence of guilt after schadenfreude to specific personality traits — and why the guilt you feel is actually evidence that your empathy is working. ▸ Poggi, I., & D'Errico, F. (2020). Schadenfreude: Malicious joy in social media interactions. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 558282. Peer-reviewed analysis of how social media concentrates, validates, and amplifies schadenfreude in ways that face-to-face interaction never did. Full credit and appreciation go to all researchers and authors whose published work forms the academic foundation of this episode. A note before you watch: This episode will not make you feel like a bad person. It will make you feel like a human one. There is a difference. And by the time Jake and Marcus are done, you will understand exactly where that difference lives. If this episode made you smile — even slightly guiltily: 👍 Like this video — it helps more people find these stories 🔔 Subscribe and hit the bell — new episodes every week 💬 Comment below — tell us about your own Marcus. We read every single comment. And we promise we will not judge. You may also enjoy: ▸ Episode 1 — Is Your Opinion Actually Yours? The Psychology of Following the Crowd ▸ Episode 2 — Why You Ignore Red Flags — A Guide for Anyone Staying In a Relationship, Job or Friendship ▸ Episode 3 — How To Spot A Narcissist In 3 Minutes — Before They Ruin Your Relationship, Job, or Friendship ▸ Episode 4 — What Prayer Actually Does To Your Brain | A Guide For Anyone Who Prays Disclaimer: The content in this video is for general educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as professional psychological or clinical advice. If you are experiencing persistent patterns of taking pleasure in others' misfortune that are affecting your relationships or wellbeing, please consider speaking with a qualified mental health professional.