This podcast explores the remarkable journey of Pastor Gennadiy Mokhnenko, who has adopted over 40 street children in war-torn Ukraine. It raises questions about the limits and complexities of love, drawing on insights from biology and anthropology. Hear personal stories that challenge traditional views of familial love, including a heartwarming discussion on the deep connections formed through adoption. Unique perspectives on love, altruism, and resilience provide a powerful reflection on humanity amidst chaos.
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Gennadiy's Escape
Gennadiy Mokhnenko, a pastor in Mariupol, had to evacuate his 41 children when Russia invaded Ukraine.
He had only minutes to gather his family, documents, and his Bible amidst the chaos.
insights INSIGHT
Limitless Love?
Gennadiy adopted 38 children in addition to his 3 biological children.
He started adopting street children after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
insights INSIGHT
The Science of Love
Dr. Anna Machin suggests we can maintain around 150 relationships, with a core support group of 5.
Dr. Liat Yakir explains love's depth depends on oxytocin, released through quality time.
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In this book, Helen Fisher uses fMRI brain scanning to investigate the brain circuitry of romantic love, arguing that it is a primary mating drive hardwired into our brains by millions of years of evolution. Fisher discusses romantic love among peoples around the world, the activation of brain regions associated with intense addiction when in love, and the evolution of love. She also explores other primary mating drives such as lust and attachment, and the future of romantic love in the digital age.
The expanding circle
Ethics and Sociobiology
Peter Singer
In 'The Expanding Circle', Peter Singer integrates insights from sociobiology and ethics to argue that human altruism, initially driven by genetic instincts to protect kin and community, has evolved into a consciously chosen ethic with an expanding circle of moral concern. Singer contends that our capacity for reason allows us to extend moral consideration beyond biological and social groups to include all beings capable of feeling pleasure or pain. The book discusses the relationship between reason, ethics, and the biological basis of human behavior, and it includes a new afterword in the 2011 edition that reflects on recent research in the field[1][5][4].
After the break up of the Soviet Union in the 90s, the problem of street children in Ukraine began to grow. Pastor Gennadiy Mokhnenko started taking them off the streets in the now devastated city of Mariupol and adopting them. The 56 year-old is now father to over 40 kids, serves as a military chaplain on the frontline and continues to adopt throughout the war.
Matthew Syed asks whether it’s possible to truly love so many children. He hears from a biologist about the scientific limits of love and an anthropologist about the unique ways in which humans can grow and flex their love, almost like a muscle. He also delves into his mother’s deeply personal experience of raising a non-biological child, relates expert analysis to her complex emotions and questions whether human beings really do have the capacity for limitless love.
With Ukrainian pastor and military chaplain Gennadiy Mokhnenko, anthropologist and author Dr Anna Machin, biologist Dr Liat Yakir and Matthew’s mum, Dilys Syed.
Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Vishva Samani
Editor: Georgia Moodie
Sound Design and Mix: Daniel Kempson
Theme music by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for BBC Radio 4
Sideways 
