Most of us inherited a vision of home built around privacy — and are living with the social consequences. Urban policy expert Diana Lind joins Erin to examine how the design of our homes and neighborhoods shapes our social health, and what it would look like to build for connection instead of just ownership.

This is a very special Best Of podcast episode, taking the best pieces from Season 2 and stich them together into one episode!

We talk with architects, psychologists, designers, activists, writers, urban planners – a host of amazing community changemakers on season two and we weave all of those together for you all. We start with a basic understanding of what is loneliness, social health, and social capital and why is it so important?

Then we dive into office spaces, public places, housing, and more – exploring examples from across the globe as to what types of design strategies and approaches foster social connection and combat loneliness.

The holidays amplify everything — including loneliness. In this personal episode, Erin shares strategies from psychologists, philosophers, and wellbeing researchers for navigating seasonal isolation, along with stories from listeners trying something new. Sometimes the most powerful antidote to loneliness isn't a conversation. It's a place.

We evolved in spaces sized to the human body — spaces where we could see across a room, hear a conversation, sense the presence of others without being overwhelmed. When architecture forgets human scale, the body notices. In this episode, Erin explores how designing at human scale creates the conditions for comfort, safety, and social connection — with a real-world example from UC San Diego.