Understanding the Age of Loneliness
Mattias Desmet and I discuss the societal epidemic of social isolation with Jan Jekielek on American Thought Leaders.
Here is my latest interview, pairing up again with my friend Mattias Desmet, to discuss the societal and political implications of our current crisis of loneliness.
America is facing an epidemic of loneliness, and it’s as bad for people’s health as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, says U.S. surgeon general Vivek Murthy.
In the past two decades, there’s been a marked rise in suicides and “deaths of despair.”
What’s fueling these trends of social fragmentation, isolation, and atomization? And how are they linked to broader political and social trends?
In this episode, two of the world’s leading thinkers on bioethics and group psychology join together with me for the first time.
Dr. Aaron Kheriaty is a former psychiatry professor and director of the medical ethics program at the University of California Irvine Medical School. He’s the author of “The New Abnormal.”
Mattias Desmet is a professor of psychology at Ghent University and author of “The Psychology of Totalitarianism.”
I hope you find the conversation informative.
It was great fun watching the two of you together. I pray you'll be able to have that God conversation you mentioned.
Thank you for this interesting conversation. Thinking about the idea that loneliness and narcissism are paired led me to think of those I
feel are narcissists and their behavior. They don’t seem to be able to accept the give and take of relationships and often isolate themselves from those who might threaten their views. This then could be where the loneliness comes in. I hope you will meet again and discuss God.