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Do you know how to connect with your neighbors?

According to Pew, the share of Americans who know and trust their neighbors is on the decline. There are a lot of structural reasons why you might not trust the people around you and it can be hard to put yourself out there with people you don’t know – and don’t want to bother. But getting to know the people who live near you can bring so much safety, connection, and power to your life. So how can you get to know your neighbors – and what’s standing in the way?

TED Radio Hour producer Katie Monteleone tells Brittany how she built her neighbor community brick by brick – and Brittany hears from experts on why good fences can sometimes make bad neighbors.

(00:00) Why Americans know and trust their neighbors less
(01:28) How do you get out of isolation?
(04:18) Good fences make bad neighbors
(06:01) The space between us and our neighbors
(10:44) Building neighborly relationships brick by brick
(16:13) Can microgrants bring neighbors together?
(18:25) Safety, support, and communal problem-solving
(24:37) Addressing segregation and building cross-class bonds
(30:38) Recovering hospitality and embracing shared destiny

For more episodes on creating better connections in our lives, check out:
Boundaries, bodies, and better sex
The joy of breaking up with dating apps
How to make friends & get good gossip
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Is a return to analog the way to a better future?

While vinyls, DVDs, and CDs might be considered ‘vintage’ to some, for others it’s a way to fight against subscription fatigue. Price hikes, licensing battles, and storage issues can make music, films, TV shows - and even your own photos - inaccessible.  And sometimes without warning, your comfort watch might just vanish from all streaming platforms.

So what does agency look like for the modern consumer? And how has the expectation -- that you own what you pay for -- shifted so dramatically?

To answer that question, digital archivist K.D. Kemp and culture writer at The Cut, Cat Zhang, join the show to break down how physical media and buildable tech could empower us to envision a better future. 

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What does it mean to feel safe during sex these days?

From feeling comfortable with your partner to having access to public health interventions and medication, "safety" comes up a lot in sex. And having the tools you need to feel confident in your own sexual health is an essential part of the pursuit of pleasure. Brittany Luse is joined by Dr. Leisha McKinley-Beach, founder and CEO of the Black Public Health Academy, and Dr. Jasmine Abrams, a research scientist at the Yale School of Public Health, to give us a booster on how to live our best sex lives.

Want more on the culture of sex and dating? Check out these episodes:

The truth about men on the 'down low'
Why can't we be normal about polyamory?

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Do we owe our parents? 

Even in the best of scenarios, caring for an aging parent can be difficult  and intense. But for those who may have had a complicated, fraught, or even abusive parent-child relationship, caring for the person who harmed them can be triggering. So, what options are there?

To answer that question Brittany is joined by Washington Post advice columnist, Carolyn Hax, and Dr. Alexandra Solomon, a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice, adjunct professor at Northwestern University, and the author of Love Every Day to talk through the complexities of managing - or completely opting out of - caring for your parents.

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What makes us change – or not change?

Change happens to all of us – but what actually happens to us when we change, and how does that change stick? Sometimes there isn't a clear answer, but Benoit Denizet-Lewis, associate professor at Emerson College and author of the book You've Changed: the Promise and Price of Self Transformation, tried to find out what makes change happen. He followed bullies who became Buddhists, gay atheists who became straight evangelicals, political party switchers, people in personality disorder therapy, and prisoners seeking parole.
Brittany is joined by Benoit to find out how change happens to us – and how we understand personal transformation in our culture.

(00:00) What makes change happen to us?
(02:29) When your friend changes - and you don't recognize them anymore
(05:47) Can we intentionally change our core personalities?
(11:38) How social media shapes our understanding of change
(18:17) Parole hearings and the performance of change in the prison system
(21:11) Should we spend time trying to change ourselves, or trying to change the world?

For more episodes about how we change or how to make it happen, check out:
This is your summer of self-love
Free will and the cult of "high agency"
How to survive a millennial midlife crisis

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