BYU Professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad on the loneliness epidemic and the power of connection
Church News
Church News
4.9 • 782 Ratings
🗓️ 14 September 2021
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After months defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people across the globe are longing for social connection. This episode of the Church News podcast features Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University, who addresses the long-term health effects of social connection. According to her research, isolation and loneliness are risk factors for early mortality. Dr. Holt-Lunstad has worked with government organizations aimed at addressing the issue. She has also provided expert testimony in a U.S. congressional hearing and expert recommendations to the U.S. surgeon general. She talks about how human connection is the key to fighting the current loneliness epidemic and shares tools to eliminate loneliness in ourselves and others.
The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Host Sarah Jane Weaver, reporter and editor for The Church News for a quarter-century, shares a unique view of the stories, events, and most important people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Sarah Jane Weaver, editor of the church news. |
| 0:12.2 | Welcome to the church news podcast. |
| 0:14.4 | We are taking you on a journey of connection as we discuss news and events of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with leaders, members, and others on the church news team. |
| 0:24.7 | We end each church news podcast by giving our guests the last word |
| 0:28.8 | and the opportunity to answer the very important question. |
| 0:32.8 | What do you know now? |
| 0:34.5 | We hope each of you will also be able to answer the same question and say, |
| 0:38.5 | I have just been listening to the Church News podcast and this is what I know now. |
| 0:46.3 | It seems like so many of us after 18 months of dealing with the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic |
| 0:52.2 | are longing for social connection right now. |
| 0:55.6 | However, long before coronavirus, millions of individuals across the globe face loneliness and isolation. |
| 1:02.6 | This episode of the Church News podcast features Julianne Holt-Lundshead, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University. Her research |
| 1:12.4 | is focused on the long-term health effects of social connection. Dr. Holt-Lunstead has worked |
| 1:18.0 | with government organizations aimed at addressing the issue. She has provided expert testimony |
| 1:23.3 | in a U.S. congressional hearing and provided expert recommendations to the U.S. Surgeon General. |
| 1:29.3 | Her work has been covered in the New York Times, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, Scientific America, The Today Show, and other major media outlets. |
| 1:38.1 | She also runs the social connections and health research laboratory at Brigham Young University. |
| 1:43.6 | Welcome to the Church News podcast. |
| 1:45.8 | Thank you. |
| 1:47.1 | I'm so grateful that you would take some time for us today to talk about this important |
| 1:52.0 | issue. |
| 1:53.0 | Your research is focused on long-term health effects of social connection. |
... |
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