The Rest Is Science

Episode: “This One's a Tear Jerker”

Date: December 2, 2025
Hosts: Professor Hannah Fry & Michael Stevens (Vsauce)

Episode Overview

This episode plunges into the science and mystery of emotional crying — a uniquely human phenomenon. Hannah Fry and Michael Stevens dissect why humans alone shed emotional tears, what triggers crying, its biological underpinnings, the evolutionary purpose, cultural perceptions, and whether it’s really under our control. Through heartfelt stories and humorously skeptical science, they explore how tears are both intensely personal and deeply social signals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Humans and Emotional Tears

• Uniqueness of Human Crying:
  • Only humans are confirmed to cry emotional tears.
    • “Anything with wet eyeballs is gonna have tears... but we produce a bunch when we're emotional, and we have not seen that in other mammals or birds.” — Michael [03:31]
• Types of Tears:
  • Lubricating (to prevent dryness)
  • Reflex (to expel irritants)
  • Emotional (loaded with distinct hormones and neurotransmitters)
    • “The third one is the emotional tears, which supposedly has all kinds of hormones inside of it which make it chemically distinct...” — Hannah [03:47]

2. Personal Crying Stories

• Hannah: Cried at her father’s funeral, reflecting on the overlap of memory and present emotion.
  • “It’s the bigness and smallness simultaneously of those moments that can be overwhelming, isn't it?” — Hannah [09:36]
• Michael: Cried alone at a poignant movie scene and when watching humble political speeches and military funerals.
  • “The circumstance and pomp of these ceremonies... it's just so big. The funeral procession... it's so human. It's so weak and humble, but yet so significant at the same time.” — Michael [08:23]
• Both use these stories to illustrate how crying can be triggered by both direct and vicarious emotional experiences.

3. Crying as Communication & Signaling

• Purpose:
  • Signaling need, vulnerability, sincerity.
    • “It's about the picture. It's about signaling something.” — Michael [05:46]
• Volition & Control:
  • Lack of agency when we cry, especially in high emotion.
    • “You don’t necessarily have agency when it comes to crying.” — Hannah [06:17]
• Social Importance:
  • Judgments about sincerity, warmth, instability, or manipulation.
    • “People look at criers as being more sincere and honest, warmer, friendlier, but also probably more emotionally unstable, possibly incompetent and also possibly manipulative.” — Michael [31:21]

4. Development & Evolutionary Roots

• Infant Crying:
  • Babies cry for attention — an evolutionary mechanism; initially without tears.
  • Vocal crying is a distress call, seen in many animals; emotional tears only appear later.
    • “What these two-day old babies don't do is cry with emotional tears.” — Michael [16:03]
  • Darwin’s baby: Reflex tears before 139 days old; emotional tears observed after ~4.5 months. [18:43]
• Animal Behavior:
  • Elephants and whales show mourning behavior, but scientific evidence for emotional tears in animals remains inconclusive.
    • “We've had lots and lots of reports... who've claimed that they have seen emotional tears in these situations. But it's just really difficult to prove.” — Hannah [24:51]

5. Questionable Science: Crying Equations

• Michael introduces a (tongue-in-cheek) equation:
  • Crying = (Meaning + Vulnerability) / Sensory Threshold
• Hannah comically dismantles it for its pseudo-science.
  • “Putting it into an equation gives it this false sense of precision...” — Hannah [12:19]
• Both agree the threshold concept (some are more sensitive than others) is useful, but an equation is reductive.

6. Hormones, Mood, and Context

• Hormonal shifts (prolactin, androgen suppression) and factors like tiredness or environment (e.g., airplanes) can lower the threshold for crying.
  • “The presence of prolactin can increase... He cries all the time now. Like, he'll watch, you know, like a puppy commercial or something, and there'll be a puppy on the screen and he'll just start crying.” — Hannah [33:39]
  • “People are more likely to cry watching movies, on airplanes... Maybe you're more tired, but also you're captive.” — Michael [34:18]
  • Possible effects of mild hypoxia at altitude discussed. [34:58]

7. Is Crying Adaptive, Maladaptive, or Just Accidental?

• Darwin’s View: Possibly a vestigial, maladaptive trait (scrunched face, impaired vision), but may now play important social and communicative roles.
• Conflict De-escalation: Seeing someone cry can dampen aggression or provoke empathy, serving social cohesion.
  • “Crying as a sign of vulnerability is literal. When you are crying, you are more vulnerable. Your vision is compromised.” — Michael [38:15]
• Crying helps signal social or emotional need, sometimes even unconsciously.

8. The Release: Why Crying Feels Good

• Crying may cause the release of oxytocin and endorphins, providing relief after distress.
• Some cultures (e.g., Japan) offer spaces to cry deliberately as therapeutic.
  • “Hotels would have crying rooms...where you could go and watch a sad movie and just enjoy a good old cry.” — Hannah [35:42]
• Not only is crying cathartic, it may have a physiological role in releasing stress.

9. Human Social Niche and Crying

• Homo sapiens’ survival hinges on sociality; crying is one of many uniquely human signals that foster connection.
  • “Our niche is very much about communing with others.” — Michael [39:46]
• Discussion of “phatic communion” — those automatic social signals (“enjoy your meal!” — “You too!”).
  • “It’s a way of showing we do need each other...” — Michael [40:55]
• Hermits & survival: Even those “alone” often still depend on social systems; connection is deeply embedded.

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On the uniqueness of human emotional crying:

  • “I want to know why. Because there's only one animal on this planet that cries emotional tears.” — Michael [03:11]

• On evolutionary signals:

  • “Trying to cure cancer isn't like following a path. It's like trying to map out an entire forest.” — Hannah [00:17, sponsor section – content but not core subject]

• On the indescribable power of small, meaningful moments:

  • “It's the bigness and the smallest... of those moments that can be overwhelming.” — Hannah [09:36]

• On pseudo-scientific formulas:

  • “I have a severe allergic reaction to them. They make me actively angry.” — Hannah [11:14]

• On culture and judged behavior:

  • “People look at criers as being more sincere and honest... but also possibly manipulative.” — Michael [31:21]

• On catharsis:

  • “In my experience, I’ve only ever felt better after crying. I’m glad to be doing it.” — Michael [36:11]

• On evolutionary maladaptation:

  • “He thought this was something that humans practiced and could suppress... just a kind of something.” — Hannah [37:31]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Start of main topic (crying): [02:57]
• Types of tears & human uniqueness: [03:47]
• Hosts’ personal crying experiences: [05:18]–[10:00]
• Signaling, agency, and suppression: [05:46], [06:17], [30:07]
• Crying in infancy, Darwin’s studies: [13:03]–[18:52]
• Discussion of animal mourning/”elephant names”: [22:10]–[24:51]
• Hormones, tiredness, and threshold: [33:39]–[34:41]
• Cry-rooms and catharsis: [35:42]
• Evolutionary function (Darwin, conflict de-escalation): [37:31]–[38:40]
• Phatic communion & human connection: [40:54]
• Hermits, isolation, and survival: [41:28]–[44:52]
• Recap/Reflection on crying’s evolutionary origin: [45:50]–[46:36]

Conclusion

The episode is a candid, scientifically skeptical, and emotionally honest exploration of why humans cry. Fry and Stevens blend moving personal stories, classic studies, and cultural context, giving listeners both laughter and insight. They argue that tears are a social tool, a vulnerability signal, and a deeply cathartic experience — a marker of our unique human capacity for connection.

Final Note:
“I think it's ultimately about connection.” — Hannah [46:30]