The Power of Strangers

An interrogation of why we don't talk to strangers, what happens when we do, and why it affects everything from the rise and fall of nations to personal health and wellbeing, in the tradition of Susan Cain's Quiet and Rutger Bregman's HumankindWhen was the last time you spoke to a stranger?In our cities, we stand in silent buses and tube carriages, barely acknowledging one another, even as rates of loneliness skyrocket. Online, we retreat into silos and carefully curate who we interact with. In our politics, we are increasingly consumed by a fear of people we've never met. But what if strangers, long believed to be the cause of many of our problems, were actually the solution?In The Power of Strangers, with the help of sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, theologians, philosophers, and political scientists, Joe Keohane sets out to investigate why we don't talk to strangers, and what happens when we do. He learns that while we're wired to sometimes fear, distrust and even hate strangers, people and societies who have learned to connect with them have benefitted immeasurably. Digging into a growing body of cutting-edge research on the surprising social and psychological benefits that come from talking to strangers, Keohane examines how even passing interactions can enhance empathy, happiness and cognitive development, ease loneliness and isolation, and root us in the world, deepening our sense of belonging. Ultimately, he finds that while strangers are often blamed for the ills of society, learning to talk to them can actually help address our most pressing personal, social, and political problems.Warm, witty, erudite and profound, this deeply researched book will make you reconsider how you perceive and approach strangers, showing you how talking to strangers isn't just not a way to live, it's a way to survive.