I have a confession to make. I enjoy talking to people I don't know. I like learning about them and hearing their stories. I'm sure it explains why I started this podcast nearly six years ago.

Yet I know a lot of people who avoid talking to strangers. And if, for any reason, they have to, they dread it. But these feelings of dread work against us. Study after study shows that when we talk to strangers, we nearly always feel good afterwards.

And in a time where people feel more isolated and lonely than ever, the good feeling that comes from talking to strangers may be just the thing we need to bring us closer together.

That's why I reached out to Joe Keohane to talk to him about his incredibly entertaining and enlightening book, The Power of Strangers: The Benefits of Connecting in a Suspicious World. He explains how we got to be so suspicious of strangers and what it's cost us. And for anyone who avoids talking to strangers because they don't know what to say, he's got you covered. Joe shares things he's learned from workshops he attended while writing the book.

Episode Links

Georgie Nightingall and Trigger Conversations

Gillian Sandstrom

Nicholas Epley

Juliana Schroeder

The Lesser Minds Problem

Michael Tomasello

Douglas Fry

S tranger Danger

Stanley Milgram and Stanford Prison Experiment led by Philip Zimbardo

Oscar Ibarra

Theodore Zeldin and The Feast of Strangers

Braver Angels

The Ezra Klein Show

The Team

Learn more about host, G...

CM 194: Joe Keohane on the Benefits of Talking to Strangers

Curious Minds at Work