From the ACLU, this is at Liberty. I'm Kendall Seasmeyer, the producer of this podcast and your host for this episode.

As many Americans stare down the end of their sixth month of social distancing, we are rerunning a

conversation we recorded back in April that unfortunately

still has a lot of relevance to our lives today. Visiting it again, I can't help but think both that we were

maybe a little naive in the spring, and that what we're going through is only a sliver of the

social isolation many people face in our country.

I hope it brings you the fresh perspective it has brought me. Enjoy.

For some people, the advent of social isolation came long before the coronavirus.

At the ACLU, we work with many communities who deal with the long-term

impacts of social isolation, people living with disabilities who often experience accessibility

issues, people held in detention, and people imprisoned in solitary confinement, just to name a few.

Joining us today is Dr. Julianne Holt-Lundstad, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at

Brigham Young University, who understands the impacts of isolation and how we can mitigate

them for both ourselves and others.

But first, we spoke with a few people who know a thing or two about social distancing.

Their circumstances have made them familiar with isolation long before COVID-19.

I'm a wheelchair user and I've had periods of my life where I had to stay isolated due to being injured or sick.

So this definitely isn't my first experience living like this. And I think that's true

of a lot of disabled people. This is Anna Landry, a student at Georgetown University. For Anna,

COVID-19 quarantine may not feel as difficult as it does to other people. In some ways, it's actually

leveling the social playing field

for her. On a regular basis, I even have to turn down invitations to outings or parties at school

...