# Shoshana's Summer Playlist (2/5): What happens to your brain without any social contact? with Dr. Vivek Murthy Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ted-health-388141/shoshana-s-summer-playlist-2-5-what-happens-to-your-brain-without-any-social-contact-with-dr-vivek-murthy Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ted-health-388141/shoshana-s-summer-playlist-2-5-what-happens-to-your-brain-without-any-social-contact-with-dr-vivek-murthy.md Podcast: [TED Health](https://stenobird.com/podcast/ted-health-388141) Published: 2026-07-30T04:03:00+00:00 Episode link: https://audiocollective.ted.com/ Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/67585b08102e6d4448d360b1/e/6a57cc2dc152a357dbd3a77f/media.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ted-health-388141/episodes/shoshana-s-summer-playlist-2-5-what-happens-to-your-brain-without-any-social-contact-with-dr-vivek-murthy Duration seconds: 2319 ## Resource In this episode, Shoshana invites Dr. Vivek Murthy, the 19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States, to discuss the ongoing loneliness epidemic. After the interview, Shoshana shares a TED-Ed talk from Terry Kupers, "What happens to your brain without social contact?" Everyone needs time to themselves, and peaceful solitude has stress-relieving benefits. But when being alone is forced upon you, the effects can be surprisingly extensive. And though different people experience distinct effects, symptoms tend to become more severe and persistent the longer they're isolated. So, how exactly does isolation affect your body and brain? Terry Kupers investigates. [Directed by Camille Bovey, narrated by Addison Anderson, music by Stephen LaRosa]. tid156465tid Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ted-health-388141/episodes/shoshana-s-summer-playlist-2-5-what-happens-to-your-brain-without-any-social-contact-with-dr-vivek-murthy/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/ted-health-388141/shoshana-s-summer-playlist-2-5-what-happens-to-your-brain-without-any-social-contact-with-dr-vivek-murthy.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.