‘The Power of Strangers’: What we gain from listening to others

Joe Keohane grew up in Boston in the 1980s and ’90s, when “stranger danger” served as a national parenting mantra to protect children from potential harm. But from watching his mom and dad, he absorbed a different life lesson about encounters with unfamiliar people.

“My parents have always talked to strangers, and I’ve seen how it’s been super-enriching and exciting and fun for them,” he says. “They’re well into their 70s, and they’re still making friends.”

The example of their openness inspired Mr. Keohane as he worked on his first book, “The Power of Strangers: The Benefits of Connecting in a Suspicious World.” True to that subtitle, Mr. Keohane advances the idea that showing greater interest in our fellow unknown Americans just might remedy the country’s loneliness epidemic and mend its fractured body politic.

The veteran journalist traverses evolutionary biology, psychology, theology, and anthropology as he seeks to counter the stubborn perception of