Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is more worried about your phone than your body

Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is more worried about your phone than your body

July 24, 2026 · 1h 1m

About this episode

Former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy discusses the public health implications of America's loneliness crisis and the role of social media in exacerbating it.

Former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy joins Mixed Signals to make the case that America's loneliness crisis is a public health emergency — and that social media is a bigger driver of it than almost anything else we're paying attention to. Max and Ben ask Vivek why he chose to focus on isolation rather than cancer or heart disease after his tenure as Surgeon General, whether the science on social media harms is as definitive as he suggests, and what'd he say to people who think the health risks of drinking alcohol are worth the social benefits. Sign up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media  For more from Think with Google, check out ThinkwithGoogle.com. Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltani If you have a tip or a comment, please email us mixedsignals@semafor.com

Topics covered

More episodes of Mixed Signals from Semafor Media

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Mixed Signals from Semafor Media podcast page.