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Rhett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness Podcast.

So for this past year I've been doing a lot of research on the benefits of face-to-face

conversation and looking for ways to incorporate it more in my life.

One of the books I found extremely helpful in my research is a book called The Village

Effect by Susan Pinker and in it she highlights all this research, not just the psychological

benefits of face-to-face contact because I think that's what we usually focus on when

we talk about the benefits of conversation but also there's physiological benefits of face-to-face

conversation.

It reduces blood pressure, increases longevity and that's just a start with.

So today on the podcast I have Susan Peaker on and we're going to discuss how face-to-face

contact can make us healthier, happier and smarter and how you can get more of it in your

life.

Let's do this.

Susan Pinker welcome to the show.

Thank you very much.

So your book is The Village Effect.

It's all about the science of face-to-face conversation or interaction.

I'm curious was there an experience that you had that inspired your decision to research

and write about the benefits of face-to-face conversation?

There was in fact, you know when I finished my last book which is called The Sexual Paradox

I was struck by a puzzle and that's that everywhere in the developed world women live

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