In a time of growing polarization and civic breakdown, Aaron Hurst is betting big on connection. The founder of the U.S. Chamber of Connection joins Pacific Time to explore how loneliness and disconnection are threatening our democracy—and what the West Coast can do about it. We talk about Seattle’s “bear hug” movement, the deeper meaning of friendship at work, and why purpose without belonging turns into rage.

Episode Highlights:

• Why purpose without connection can lead to political extremism
• The ROI of building social capital in cities
• “Best friend at work” as an overlooked civic metric
• How Seattle is flipping the “Seattle Freeze” into a “Seattle Bear Hug”
• Onboarding residents like we onboard employees
• Why the future of national service might be local
• The new frontier of pro-social localism

Guest Bio:
Aaron Hurst is a purpose economy pioneer, co-founder of Imperative, founder of Taproot Foundation, and now the architect behind the U.S. Chamber of Connection. He lives in Seattle and is leading a civic experiment to make cities more welcoming, connected, and humane.

Resources:

• uschamberofconnection.org
• Gallup research on workplace friendships
• "Bear hugs to thaw Seattle Freeze" (Q13 Fox/YouTube)

Related Episodes:

• Ep 13: What if National Service Jump Started the West Coast Workforce? With Nicole Trimble
• Ep 08: Leave America And Discover Ecotopia?
• Ep 10: What if Blue Cities Got It Together? With Sandeep Kaushik

Thanks to:

• Our sponsor: Share It Music and instant crush
• Producer: Tim Wohlberg