After months defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people across the globe are longing for social connection. This episode of the Church News podcast features Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University, who addresses the long-term health effects of social connection. According to her research, isolation and loneliness are risk factors for early mortality. Dr. Holt-Lunstad has worked with government organizations aimed at addressing the issue. She has also provided expert testimony in a U.S. congressional hearing and expert recommendations to the U.S. surgeon general. She talks about how human connection is the key to fighting the current loneliness epidemic and shares tools to eliminate loneliness in ourselves and others.