Why small talk matters more than ever

How we interact with others has changed a lot since the pandemic. Some avoid face-to-face contact, bail from plans, work from home or text friends instead of meeting in person. What has this avoidance done to our capacity for talking to strangers? That is what Gillian Sandstrom, psychology of kindness researcher at the University of Sussex and author of Once Upon a Stranger: The Science of How “Small” Talk Can Add Up to a Big Life, specializes in. She joins us to discuss why small talk with strangers might be more meaningful than we think.