So many major stories are happening simultaneously.

We are all experiencing a devastating health crisis for the United States and much of the world.

We are living through a self-induced economic coma and are we also experiencing a

social recession? Is that another one of the risks of this

pandemic? Well that's one of our questions here on this week's Reliable

Sources Podcast, so let's cue the music. I am your host

Brian Stelter coming to you as I have been for the past month or so or a little bit more

from my apartment in New York City.

I think everybody's getting pretty good at this remote recording, remote producing business.

And everybody's wondering how much longer it's going to last.

So my guest today can answer some of those questions.

You know that we use this podcast to go in depth with media leaders and newsmakers.

Today I have invited Dr Vivick Morthy,

the former U.S. Surgeon General under President Barack Obama,

to join me to talk about the media coverage of the pandemic, what to expect in the months ahead, and his new book, which is about

loneliness and the way to heal by coming together. Of course he wrote this book well before the pandemic. The title of the book is

together, the healing power of human connection in a sometimes lonely world. He argues that humans have an innate desire to connect

and that loneliness is a real serious public health concern. So now Dr. Morthy

is promoting this book at a time of social distancing or at least of physical distancing.

So let's dig into that and a lot more.

Dr. Morthy, thanks for joining me.

It's nice to be with you, Brian.

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