🎧 Loneliness: The Silent Public Health Crisis - Part 2 Podcast: Secrets of Survival (S.O.S.) Hosted by Dr. Susan Rashid Episode Summary: In this episode of Secrets of Survival (S.O.S.), Dr. Susan Rashid widens the lens on one of the most pervasive public health crises of our time—loneliness. Moving beyond individual experience, she traces how disconnection unfolds across continents and cultures, revealing loneliness as both a personal condition and a structural reality of modern life. From Tokyo’s silent rooms of hikikomori to the urban isolation of Seoul and Beijing, from the crowded yet solitary cities of South Asia to Europe’s aging and secular societies, Dr. Rashid examines how globalization, migration, and urbanization have reshaped belonging. Across Africa’s rapidly changing cities, Latin America’s megacities, the war-torn Middle East, digitally saturated North America, and the geographic vastness of Oceania, she explores how culture, economy, and history converge to create a shared epidemic of disconnection. Drawing on international research and public health data, Dr. Rashid reveals a sobering truth: loneliness is a global determinant of health, as dangerous to the body as it is to the soul. Yet in recognizing its universality, she also points toward collective solutions—rebuilding kinship, redesigning communities, and restoring connection as a cornerstone of survival. From Tokyo to London, from Delhi to Damascus to Sydney—this episode maps a world united not by proximity, but by longing for belonging. Coming Next: Stay tuned for Part 3, where Dr. Rashid explores The Consequences of Loneliness Across the Lifespan and the Treatments and Solutions now emerging to address it.