Episode 9 - Arthur Bremer & Loneliness
Loneliness; It plays a massive role in our physical and mental health, and it has been called the epidemic of the social media age. But unlike depression and anxiety, we don’t have a way to recognize clinical loneliness...until we see the consequences.
Show Notes:
Television and media glamorizes badass loners; from cops who play by their own rules, to cowboys who ride off into the sunset when their job is done. We think of loneliness as a disorder that only strikes the elderly, or fathers who have lost their children in court. But loneliness is on the rise in the age of social media. Loneliness will affect an estimated 70% of us, young and old, and the toll it can take on your health will shock you.
In this episode we explore the “Loneliness Epidemic”, what causes loneliness, and we’ll provide you with steps to examine, and solve, loneliness. We’ll also explore the strange case of Arthur Bremer, the loneliest boy in the world, whose attempted assassination of a racist Alabama governor inspired the movie Taxi Driver.
History Links:
https://www.nytimes.com/1972/05/17/archives/suspect-to-neighbors-was-withdrawn-loner-suspect-was-a-withdrawn.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Bremer#Shooting
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/governor-george-wallace-shot
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/george-wallace-inaugurated-as-alabama-governor
https://www.nytimes.com/1972/05/16/archives/kennedy-guarded-by-secret-service-senator-kennedy-accepts-nixons-of.html
Weather on May 15, 1972 Wheaton, Maryland:
https://books.google.com/books?id=GK4tAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT694&lpg=PT694&dq=May+15,+1972++Wheaton,+Maryland+weather&source=bl&ots=eVEneiUYRd&sig=ACfU3U1edTQ4Y48lt9xV1iK0FnADbbEx7w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiGhvyT_PbpAhULSDABHTXIBdIQ6AEwAHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=May%2015%2C%201972%20%20Wheaton%2C%20Maryland%20weather&f=false
Science Links:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110603122849.htm
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brain-chemistry/201712/the-neuroscience-loneliness
https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/26/pill-for-loneliness-psychology-science-medicine