How many of us are lonely? What is loneliness and how does it affect us? Approximately 25 years ago, when asked the number of friends in whom we could confide, most people in the United States said “three.” When that question was asked recently most people said “none.” Inquires reveal that twenty per-cent of people, — 60 million in the Untied States alone — are feeling lonely at any given moment. And, it appears that chronic loneliness may well compete with smoking, obesity and lack of exercise as a significant health risk.
In this edition of Radio Curious we visit with William Patrick, the founding editor of The Journal of Life Sciences and co-author of “Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection,” along with University of Chicago psychology professor John Cacioppo. My conversation with William Patrick, recorded on October 13, 2008, began when I asked him to define loneliness as used in their book.
The book William Patrick recommends is “The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian Origins,” by Burton Mack.
Barry Vogel, Esq. is the host and producer. Ignacio Ayala is the assistant producer.
As Radio Curious begins the 33d year of weekly broadcast, we're proud to be a part of the Library of Congress Audio Division. Our interviews cover a curiously wide variety of topics about life and ideas. Currently all of our half-hour, long-form interviews are from the Radio Curious archives. The website is www.radiocurious.org.
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William Patrick— "Loneliness and How It Affects Us"
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