In this podcast trailer, Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness Communications Coordinator and Podcast Host Ayla Fudala interviews Center Director Dr. K. "Vish" Viswanath. Director Viswanath explains the Center's mission, what listeners can expect to learn from this podcast, and why our first six episodes will explore the issue of loneliness.
Ayla Fudala: Hello and welcome to Frontiers in Health and Happiness, the official podcast of the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. My name is Ayla Fudala, Center Communications Coordinator, and I'll be asking experts how to live a healthy, happy life.
Our podcast will be launching very soon, and to explain what it's all about and why we made it, I'd like to introduce the director of the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness, Dr. K. “Vish” Viswanath. Dr. Viswanath, what is the mission of the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness, and how will this podcast further it?
Dr. K. “Vish” Viswanath: Thank you, Ayla. The mission of the Center for Health and Happiness is to build a rigorous and interdisciplinary science of positive health, happiness and well-being with a focus on health equity, and to translate this science to influence practice and policy. The goal here is to make sure that we have these scientific developments accessible to the public.
Ayla Fudala: What can listeners expect to learn from this podcast, and why should people listen to it?
Dr. K. “Vish” Viswanath: So the podcast will, as I mentioned earlier, further the mission of translation, bring the latest science and scientific findings to people who are interested in it. What we are trying to do as a part of this effort is to bring experts, interview them, explore the frontiers of health and happiness science, and learn about interconnections between social, physical, and psychological well-being and health.
Ayla Fudala: Thank you so much. Do you have any thoughts on the loneliness and wellbeing theme that the first six podcasts will focus on?
Dr. K. “Vish” Viswanath: Absolutely. We chose loneliness as one of the first themes for this podcast. As you know, the Surgeon General of the United States has identified loneliness as an epidemic. Now, given the contemporary society and the demands on people's time, you know, people are increasingly busier, making less time for having social connections, improving social ties, or even maintaining their social ties with family and friends. Moreover, I think in an aging society this will become even a bigger issue down the line. It has some significant implications on both psychological health, social health, and physical health. It is important to understand why loneliness will affect our happiness and health, and what one can do about it. My hope is that these podcasts, and the experts who speak to us, will help us elucidate the problem behind this epidemic, as well as advise us on what we can do to address it.
Ayla Fudala: Thank you so much, Dr. Viswanath, and thank you to everyone listening. We can't wait to share our first episode with you! To launch our Loneliness and Wellbeing series, I'll be interviewing Dr. Jeremy Nobel, professor at the Harvard Chan and Harvard Medical Schools and author of Project Unlonely: Healing Our Crisis of Disconnection. You'll be able to find this episode soon on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and wherever else podcasts are found, as well as our website and YouTube channel. New episodes will be released every two weeks. I look forward to exploring the frontiers of health and happiness with you!