social isolation

Inflation numbers come in higher than expected, a majority of Americans are lonely, and illegal migrants arrested for multiple crimes. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.

Last year, the University of Michigan’s National Poll on Healthy Aging found that 1 in 3 adults between 50 and 80 years old said they felt isolated. Enter ElliQ, the robot companion created to alleviate loneliness in older adults. She’s programmed to be inquisitive and empathetic and is designed to sit in your home and keep you company. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Dor Skuler, CEO and co-founder of Intuition Robotics, about why he thinks a robot is the right tool to address loneliness.

People are becoming increasingly lonely and are unable to relate to one another. Yet we have more access to more people than ever before. What's going on? Is it technology? Is social media replacing our sense of community with the empty calories of the sweet, sweet For You feed? Or maybe it’s the deterioration of the nuclear family — fewer kids are being born and being raised by fewer parents. Or is it the lack of religion in public life? Or the geographic exodus from small towns and communities towards big anonymous cities? Or the economic inequality and complete loss of work/life balance? These are questions that I, and renowned journalist and author David Brooks, unpack together as we nose dive into the social and emotional disconnect of millions of people. Need lessons on how to talk to the barista making your coffee? Looking to build a better relationship with Gary from across the fence? This episode won’t make you a master of communication overnight, but it’s a fascinating conversation packed with useful insight from beginning to end. Listen to it.

0:00 Introduction 2:46 Why we’re in a social crisis 5:55 The harsh judgment of social media 8:06 The growth of distrust 10:57 The decline of the traditional family 15:14 On communitarian cultures 16:24 Making America more “relationalist” 18:19 The Scandinavian and Israeli success 20:33 Is this success replicable in a diverse society? 23:32 The vice of today’s generation 29:19 David’s take on politics 32:11 Mark on the evolution of self-help 33:57 The recession of religion 38:33 Friction is the point 39:46 The “second mountain” 46:42 What we’re really motivated by 49:55 Can we go straight to the “second mountain”? David Brooks is a journalist and bestselling author of seven books, including his newest, “How to Know a Person.” David has had a popular column at the *New York Times* for over 20 years and teaches courses on philosophy at Yale. David Brooks on Twitter @nytdavidbrooks: https://twitter.com/nytdavidbrooks David Brooks’ column: https://www.nytimes.com/column/david-brooks David's new book “How to Know a Person:” https://www.amazon.com/How-Know-Person-Seeing-Others/dp/059323006X

The U.S. population is aging as Americans choose to have fewer children or none at all. We’ll get into the many reasons millennials hesitate to jump into motherhood and how to change the narrative around parenting. Plus, fewer children mean fewer people to take care of our aging population in a country already dealing with a senior care crisis. And, Patti LaBelle’s infamous performance of “This Christmas” at the 1996 National Christmas Tree Lighting makes us smile.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• • “Aging America faces a senior care crisis” from Axios

• • “How millennials learned to dread motherhood” from Vox

• • Threads post from Business Insider’s Kali Hays

• • “Patti LaBelle’s Disastrous Tree Lighting Performance Is the Only Good Christmas Tradition” from Esquire

• • “Kiwi Eggs Hatch in the Wild Near New Zealand’s Capital” ​​from the New York Times

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This week we discuss reports of Biden's private bouts of rage with his staff, a record numbers of Americans now live alone, CNN attacks Cornel West as a spoiler candidate, RFK Jr's campaign is caught using foreign non union merch breaking from norms, James Li looks at the hidden agenda behind the "School Choice" movement, and Spencer Snyder looks at how publicly funded stadiums are a ripoff to taxpayers.

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