{"podcast":{"title":"Office Hours with Arthur Brooks","slug":"office-hours-with-arthur-brooks-7443626","podcast_index_feed_id":7443626,"rss_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/107fc00dc/podcast/rss","website_url":"https://arthurbrooks.com/","image_url":"https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_nologo/44189231/44189231-1754764801223-80431bcc2dada.jpg","author":"Arthur Brooks","episode_count":52,"summary":"Hi Friends, I’m Arthur Brooks, a social scientist, professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, columnist at The Free Press. I write, speak, and teach about the science of human happiness, blending neuroscience, behavioral science, philosophy, and religion for insights on how to live better and be happier. Each week on Office Hours, you’ll get a glimpse into the cutting edge research on happiness, and explore how you can use it to improve your life—and share what you learn with those you love. Join me in the movement to build a happier world–starting with you.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-27T22:17:04.549075+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/office-hours-with-arthur-brooks-7443626"},"episode":{"title":"4 Ways to Be Less Lonely","slug":"4-ways-to-be-less-lonely","published_at":"2026-02-02T12:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/office-hours-with-arthur-brooks-7443626/4-ways-to-be-less-lonely","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/office-hours-with-arthur-brooks-7443626","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/arthurbrooks/episodes/4-Ways-to-Be-Less-Lonely-e3e9fdl","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO7312842894.mp3","summary":"If you’ve been feeling empty or lonely and are looking for immediate solutions, I hope today’s episode helps—and if you want to go deeper, you can order my new book, The Meaning of Your Life , out March 31. Today’s topic: the loneliness epidemic. We know more people than ever before, but do we actually know them? In a world of constant connection, many people still feel unseen, unknown, and disconnected from those around them. In this episode of Office Hours, I explore why loneliness has become so widespread and how it shows up in our relationships. I talk about the difference between being known and being understood, why feeling understood matters so much for happiness, and how modern habits and technologies can make it easier to stay in touch while avoiding real connection. Change means pushing back against our instincts and doing things that feel like the opposite of what we want. That can sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. In this episode, I share four simple habits that, with practice, become easier and help lay the groundwork for more meaningful relationships. If you’ve been feeling lonely, this episode explores what happens when we stop waiting for that feeling to fix itself. — Brought to you by: • ⁠ David Protein ⁠ —The most effective portable protein on the planet ⁠http://www.davidprotein.com/arthur⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ — Where to find Arthur Brooks: • Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://arthurbrooks.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.arthurbrooks.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/arthurbrooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/arthurcbrooks/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/ArthurBrooks/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http…","meta_description":"If you’ve been feeling empty or lonely and are looking for immediate solutions, I hope today’s episode helps—and if you want to go deeper, you can order m…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2266,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/office-hours-with-arthur-brooks-7443626/episodes/4-ways-to-be-less-lonely/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/office-hours-with-arthur-brooks-7443626/4-ways-to-be-less-lonely.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}