“Loneliness does not come from having no people around you, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to you.”
That Carl Jung quote anchors this entire conversation.
In a time where the Surgeon General has declared loneliness a public health epidemic, we break down how we got here — not because we lack people, but because we’ve lost depth. We talk about why you can be in a room full of friends and still feel alone, how technology replaced real presence, and how shallow interactions slowly erode meaning without us noticing.
Ryan and MJ explore:
Why our lives are 100 miles wide and one inch deep
How phones became the Trojan Horse that stole our attention
Why we skip from video to video but can’t sit through a song
The compounding path toward disconnection
Why connection requires two people willing to put the phone down
How to rebuild depth through rituals, presence, and intention
The counterculture that might save us — and how you can join it
This episode is a direct challenge to the superficiality shaping modern life. It’s a reminder that connection doesn’t happen by accident — it happens by attention.
If you’ve been feeling more overstimulated yet more empty, more occupied yet more alone, this conversation will help you understand why, and what to do next.