Deep Dive with Nicholas Epley on Connection

Why do so many of us sit in silence next to a stranger, certain a conversation would go badly, when the data says otherwise? Kelly talks with behavioral scientist Nicholas Epley, author of the new book A Little More Social, about the small, quiet decisions that keep us more isolated than we need to be—and what happens in the rare moments we choose to reach out instead. We're airing this conversation as a part of the Be Hope Podcast Takeover, a project with the United Nations timed to the UN General Assembly — and Kelly makes the case that one of the simplest paths to hope is human connection. Kelly and Nick dig into why our own predictions about other people are so often wrong, what gets lost when we type instead of talk, and how a single question can turn a stranger into something closer to a friend. It's a conversation about the real, measurable cost of loneliness, and why connection might be less about finding the right words than about simply being willing to try.

Thank you to our friends at the Aspen Ideas Festival where this episode was recorded.

Check out Nick's book A Little More Social: How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happiness, Health, and Connection

This episode is part of the BE HOPE Podcast Takeover by Project Everyone, bringing

together podcasts from around the world to explore the theme of hope and how we can

continue to make progress in a rapidly changing world.