This episode ispares nicely with the recent interview we did with, i did with johan harry and his book, lost connections. And there he's looking at the role of lost connections in potentially explaining depression,. But this, your book is more about we got here and what we might do to deal with it. Obviously, loneliness is not a new phenomenon. Why do you think it's a growing? What evidence do we have that it's growing or that it's a some kind of crisis? Let's start with that.
Author and economist Noreena Hertz of University College London talks about her book, The Lonely Century, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Hertz blames social media and the individualist, pro-capitalism worldviews of leaders like Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan for the rise in loneliness in the developed world. Russ suggests some alternative causes. The result is a lively conversation about understanding and explaining social trends.