After September 11th, social scientists really began to focus on the psychological impact of trauma, and the power of resilience. But long before that horrible event, and certainly since, there have been brutal wars, natural disasters, mass shootings, and bombings — not to mention the chronic stress of poverty, illness, or domestic abuse.

An emerging field of science is looking at ways trauma of all sorts gets embedded in the body and brain, and who weathers it best. Stay with us for the half-hour documentary — “Life After Stress: The Biology of Trauma and Resilience.”

First broadcast on New England Public Radio, November 13, 2014. Edited by Sam Hudzik. Original Music by John Townsend. Funding contributed by the Falcon Fund and the Knight Fellowship in Science Journalism at MIT.

Full transcript available at NEPR.net