Dr. Dan interviews Sheila Liming, the author of “Hanging Out,”  about why unstructured time is essential and why she urges us to say no to calendar invites and yes to “chilling.” 

Sheila explains to Dr. Dan how simple acts of casual connection are the glue that binds us together, and how community is the antidote to the disconnection and isolation that dominates contemporary life. With constant digital access and smartphones around 24/7, our lives still aren’t connected in a meaningful way. Loneliness is an epidemic and Sheila Liming offers the cure: we need to hang out more.

Dr. Dan and Sheila discuss what it means  to “hang out”; why modeling “chilling” is important for our kids to see; and how we can help future generations embrace “killing time.”

Sheila Liming is an associate professor at Champlain College (Burlington, VT), where she teaches classes on literature, media, and writing. The author of two previous books, her essays have appeared in The Atlantic, McSweeney’s, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and Public Books. Follow her on Twitter. 

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