We're lonelier than ever — and it's a public health crisis. The U.S. Surgeon General has declared loneliness an epidemic, and studies show it's as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. So how did we get here?

Pete O'Dell is the CEO and co-founder of Perdata.ai and Conexus, and author of Dying for Friendship — a comprehensive look at the loneliness epidemic and how to fix it. In this conversation, we unpack the cultural, technological, and social forces driving disconnection, why Gen Z is the loneliest generation, why adult friendship is so hard, and what individuals and organizations can actually do.

Pete also shares the founding story behind Conexus — an AI-powered platform designed to help people find real friends in real life, built on shared interes ...