With harrowing period dramas like Schindler’s List, The Color Purple, Empire Of The Sun, Amistad and Munich among his glittering filmography, the legendary Hollywood director knows a thing or two about what drives people to hate. Also on board as an exec producer is documentary-maker Alex Gibney, who has previously covered topics such as Scientology and Al Qaeda.

There are shocking personal stories

From former members of hate groups to ex-terrorists and people who have played key roles in genocide, this series talks to those who have been deeply involved in shocking acts of violence and hatred. But while their testimony may astonish, these individuals also reveal how they eventually managed to extricate themselves from such dangerous ways of thinking.

The show uses top minds

Why We Hate attempts to unravel the science behind what exactly ignites this powerful emotion within people. With the help of cognitive scientists, evolutionary anthropologists, extremism experts and journalists, this six-part series leaves no stone unturned in its quest to better understand the human condition. 

Today’s politics are examined

With populism swelling in popularity across the globe, venomous rhetoric is becoming increasingly common in the modern political landscape. “Political partisanship is getting more and more tribal every day,” says cognitive scientist Laurie Santos, who features on the show. “The distance between the us and them in [the USA] is getting bigger, and it’s developing more of the uglier sides of tribalism.”

Its makers hope lessons will be learned

While Why We Hate shines a fascinating light on, well, why we hate, the show’s creators have stated they want to help viewers understand their own brains and “find ways to work against hate and keep it from spreading.” Now that’s television with a purpose.

What is Why We Hate?

Why We Hate is a brand new six-part documentary series on Discovery which takes a closer look at hatred as an emotion, what leads to humans to feeling it, and how it has shaped history.

When is Why We Hate on TV?

You can watch episode 1 on Sunday 13 October at 10pm on Discovery HD (CH 250) and 11pm on Discovery +1 (CH 258).