Social isolation

In the second part of Petrie Dish’s exploration of loneliness, host Bonnie Petrie looks at what it takes to fight isolation, from teen gathering spaces to libraries and “chatty cafes,” and how communities can be designed to bring people together.

In the new book “Something Between Us: The Everyday Walls of American Life, and How to Take Them Down” a cultural anthropologist examines the social and political divides in the U.S., examining how physical and social barriers like gated communities, massive trucks, and targeted media create separation — and isolation—and looks for how to restore communal caretaking and a more inclusive society.

A study finds that we are happier the more we talk with different categories of people — colleagues, family, strangers — and the more evenly our conversations are spread out among those groups.

Two hundred and thirty five graduation certificates were served up with mashed potatoes and green beans at a local cafeteria Tuesday. It was the largest…