The loneliness cure: How 'third spaces' help people build connections

Here & Now Anytime

WBUR

News

4.6 • 911 Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A café. A dog park. A gym. A library. A playground. A bar. We often take these spaces for granted, but they're vital for fighting the loneliness epidemic. We look into how these spaces help people combat isolation and form new connections. And, birds serve as a guide for social advocacy and joy in Tracy O'Kane's memoir "Birding to Change the World." O'Kane explains her newfound passion for birding and how birds influence her activism. Then, the sea glass hunting community is robust and often marked by controversy over what constitutes as 'real' sea glass. Dave Lee Valle, a 'glasser' or sea glass collector, shares a look into the community.

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0:00.0	Support for here and now anytime comes from MathWorks, creator of MATLAB and Simulink software for technical computing and model-based design.
0:09.2	MathWorks, accelerating the pace of discovery in engineering and science.
0:13.8	Learn more at MathWorks.com.
0:16.3	You know, maybe a silent book club is the thing for you.
0:19.3	So really you have to figure out, like, what is the
0:21.2	experience that you're looking to have? And then it's intentionality. After that, we have to, you know,
0:27.9	make it a point to go to these places. The cure for loneliness is hanging out in person. Simple
0:34.6	enough. But there are fewer places to actually do that these days.
0:47.7	This is here and now anytime from NPR and WBWR. I'm Chris Bentley.
0:56.3	Today on the show, our series on loneliness continues with a look at third spaces and the
1:02.8	importance of coming together, IRL. And we'll hear about some ways people are finding community
1:09.2	in the natural world, from birding to hunting for sea glass.
1:13.8	I call it my sanctuary.
1:15.2	I come here, you know, it helps me find a better me.
1:19.8	That's really what it is.
1:21.6	My favorite time of year is this year when it cools down
1:24.2	and the crowds disappear because then it's my beach again.
1:28.5	But first, when we set out to have some conversations about loneliness, we realized we couldn't do it
1:34.5	alone. We asked you about feeling lonely. Here's what three of our Boston listeners told us.
1:40.9	I have felt most lonely when I'm surrounded by a lot of people, but I'm not able to
1:47.1	connect with them in a way that feels meaningful, whether that be in high school or social situation.
1:55.0	I wanted a chance to fall in love with Boston, but it felt cold in the beginning, being
	...

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