We aren’t as connected as we should be. But there are things we can do to turn that around.

Societies need strong, trustworthy institutions. Our lack of them makes us feel fearful, insecure, and unsafe.

We do mental work to feel connected with the 7.5 billion people we’ve never met.

It’s not a coincidence that many of our biggest divisions thrive on silence and separation.

“Othering” is the primary force that drives communities apart.

We all adapt to wherever we fall in our social hierarchies, no matter where we fall in the pecking order.

It has to do with how we decide and enforce who’s in…and who’s out.

Shared, genuine, positive emotions are what bind a community together.

Maybe the single most important characteristic of a thriving community is authenticity.

Communities develop organically around people’s shared emotions—not through pummeling people into finding meaning.

When our communities feel threatened, we often do things that weaken them, in the name of strengthening them.

All this intergenerational antagonism may seem natural. But it isn’t.

Our international system of nations isn’t very functional anymore–because many of our problems are now global.

When it comes to political or civic engagement, there’s an important role for online communities.

We have to make an intentional effort to connect people from different local communities.

There are two really big, important things we can do to rebuild our sense of community—and they’re both kind of counterintuitive.