Al Jazeera Podcasts.

Hey, I'm Tamara Ken Dacker.

I'm a producer with the take coming to you with another take,

where we resurface stories from the archives.

Climate change, the economy, born policy, all issues that have played a big part in shaping the political landscape

leading up to the U.S. election. But another has been playing a role more quietly in the background,

the epidemic of loneliness.

Research shows social isolation doesn't just impact our personal lives.

It influences how we engage with democracy.

Lonely people are more likely to support extreme political positions and less likely to vote. A recent German studies found links

between loneliness and anti-democratic attitudes, like an inclination towards conspiracy theories

and approval of political rule-breaking, even violence. Last year, we looked at how we got here

and how to fix it.

All dates and references are from December 13, 2023.

Thank you. An epidemic is sweeping the United States.

Researchers say it's as deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes every day

and could lead to wide-ranging consequences.

It can have profound effects on mental health as well as heart disease, stroke, and dementia,

and links all of this to billions of dollars in health care costs.

The U.S. government's top doctor, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, even issued an advisory.

He called it the epidemic of loneliness.

Social connection is as fundamental to our mental and physical health as food, water, and sleep.

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