Isolation and loneliness have reached epidemic levels, resulting in a profound loss of social capital. Despite mass communications, the spread of technology and social media, a recent survey found 47% of Americans often felt alone, meaningful connections to others.

In this second episode with the author of the new book, "Love Your Enemies", social scientist and president of the American Enterprise Institute, Arthur Brooks, we discuss the need for a stronger sense of community, deeper friendships, and a curiosity for uncomfortable ideas.

"Without a competition of ideas, which is also known as disagreement, we get stagnation and mediocrity," Arthur tells us. "We don't need to disagree less, we need to disagree better."

In this episode, we also discuss the impact of social media on community and status, and what's behind the recent college admissions cheating scandal.

This is a joint episode of "How Do We Fix It?" and "Half-Hour of Heterodoxy" podcasts. Jim and Richard are joined by co-host, Deb Mashek, Executive Director of Heterodox Academy.