From 13 Reasons Why to S-Town, the topic of suicide is fast becoming a mainstay in popular culture. 13 Reasons Why offers a particularly robust challenge to the carefree individualism that frequently characterizes our thinking.

But why are we so preoccupied with self-destruction in the first place? After all, we’re healthier, more connected, and more comfortable than we’ve ever been. Why does our cultural moment seem so very sad? This episode considers the inescapably relational nature of human beings, a fact that runs to our cultural assumptions about rugged individualism.