Her research established that loneliness carries health risks equivalent to smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. Now Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad — one of the world's leading scientists on social connection — joins Erin to explore how the built environment shapes our social lives, and why fighting loneliness requires looking beyond the personal to the places we inhabit.

Small changes in how a space is arranged can measurably shift how much we want to connect with the people in it. In the second half of their conversation, environmental psychologist Colin Ellard shares the surprising research on what actually makes us happy in our home environments — and what it would take to design spaces that support our social lives rather than quietly undermine them.

Three in five working Americans report feeling lonely. Most of us look inward for the cause. But what if the design of our cities — the streets we can't walk, the stores that closed, the parks that were never built — is one of the least-examined contributors to that loneliness? This episode explores the built environment's role in the loneliness epidemic.

Why does the design of a room affect whether people connect inside it? How do our streets, schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods shape our social lives — often without our awareness? In this introduction to Shared Space, Erin Peavey lays out the case for why architecture and design are among the most powerful and least-discussed levers we have for addressing loneliness and building social health.