Episode 105 opens with a stark truth: America is living through a loneliness epidemic so widespread that the Surgeon General warns it harms both individual and societal health. From collapsing social infrastructure to the rise of AI companions, the hour traces how isolation became a national crisis — and why millions now turn to machines for the connection they can’t find in each other.  The show then shifts to Terrlyn L. Curry Avery, Ph.D., MDiv., whose work bridges spirituality, psychology, and racial healing. Her book Dismantling Racism: Healing Separation from the Inside Out examines prejudice as a lived experience shaping families, communities, and institutions. Rev. Dr. Avery brings pastoral warmth and analytical rigor, guiding listeners through the emotional and moral architecture of racism with clarity, compassion, and unflinching honesty.