The End of Loneliness

A live performance of my New Yorker article

I once read that Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company bought the movie rights to Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller Blink. This made me wonder if something similar might happen to my own somewhat less bestselling books. Perhaps How Pleasure Works could become a Netflix series? Maybe Ryan Gosling would consider starring in a movie version of The Sweet Spot?

No such luck so far, but something very cool has just happened with an article I wrote. I was chuffed when the New Yorker asked if I would be willing to have A.I. is about to solve loneliness. That’s a problem performed live by actors as part of a call-in radio show. (“Performed” in the sense that the actors will read an abridged version of the article aloud.) Here is the summary.

AI companionship can soothe loneliness, but can technology meet our human need for connection, as painful and messy as it can be? Psychologist Paul Bloom probed that quintessentially modern question in “A.I. Is About to Solve Loneliness. That’s a Problem,” published in 2025 by The New Yorker. Now, actors Bill Murray (Lost in Translation, Rushmore), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window at BAM), and Lois Smith (East of Eden, Five Easy Pieces) will perform Bloom’s article in a live call-in radio show, presented by Theater of War On The Radio on stage at BAM’s Harvey Theater.

The reading will be followed by a discussion led by Kai Wright (WNYC’s Notes from America, The Guardian’s Stateside) and Bryan Doerries (Artistic Director, Theater of War Productions), featuring calls from listeners. Audience members will also be able to participate in the discussion following the conclusion of the radio broadcast. …

Or tune in on Wednesday, May 27, at 8pm EDT on WNYC 93.9 FM or on WNYC.org to catch the live broadcast!

You can buy tickets here.

So excited! I would be there myself, but this is not an ideal time for me to travel.