Lifestyle
How Healthy Is Your Social Biome? Take Our Quiz.
We interact with people every day: A brief nod to a neighbor. A friendly chat in the school pick-up line. A heart-to-heart with a friend.
Together, these moments add up to your “social biome,” a term coined by the communication researchers Andy Merolla, of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Jeffrey Hall, of the Universy of Kansas, to describe the complex ecosystem of relationships that can shape your quality of life.
In their new book, “The Social Biome,” Dr. Merolla and Dr. Hall argue that there are several key elements that contribute to a vibrant, healthy social biome.
Our daily routines and rhythms are different, the researchers acknowledge, and there is no one right or best way to boost social well-being. But this 15-question quiz can help you take stock of your habits, and the results will offer simple suggestions to strengthen your social biome.
Don’t overthink it. Social patterns can change over time, so just pick the answer that feels right for you now.
Diverse Social Interactions
It takes a village to have a healthy social life. “Friends, family, colleagues, teammates, neighbors, spouses and children all have something different to offer us,” Dr. Merolla and Dr. Hall write. How diverse are your daily interactions?
I am friendly with my next-door neighbors — and make an effort to say hello whenever I see them.
1 of 15
2 of 15
When I don’t see eye to eye with someone on a topic, I try to get out of that conversation as fast as I can.
I have people in my life who challenge my viewpoints respectfully. 3 of 15
Restorative Solitude
We all need alone time. “Because all social interactions are energy depleting, time alone is restorative,” Dr. Merolla and Dr. Hall contend. How do you handle solitude?
Even when I’m alone, I feel a sense of connection to the important people in my life.
4 of 15
I can sense when I’ve had too much social interaction and need to be alone.
5 of 15
When I’m alone, my first instinct is usually to grab my phone to catch up on news or social media.
6 of 15
Meaningful Talk
The quality of our social interactions is just as important as the quantity. “A healthy social biome is both cause and consequence of these little acts of kindness and sociability,” Dr. Merolla and Dr. Hall write. How meaningful are the words that you share throughout your day?
7 of 15
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a meaningful face-to-face interaction with a friend.
Throughout the day, I often find moments to joke around with others. 8 of 15
I make a point of expressing affection, whether it’s telling family members I love them or offering colleagues genuine compliments.
9 of 15
Communication With Strangers
Small talk can have big benefits. “On days when people feel happier, more upbeat and more energetic, they tend to be more open to the world, friendlier and warmer,” according to research cited in “The Social Biome.” How often, and how easily, do you interact with strangers?
I can’t remember the last time I had a conversation with a stranger.
10 of 15
I feel comfortable chatting with people when I’m out in public, like at a grocery store or a coffee shop.
11 of 15
12 of 15
Meeting new people is stressful! Most times, I don’t enjoy it.
Choosing Sociability
Wanting to connect with others is powerful. “Choosing an interaction is a sign that people want to invest energy in a person, conversation or situation,” the authors find. How much agency do you have over your social interactions?
I make sure lunch or dinner with friends is regularly on my calendar. 13 of 15
If I have plans to hang out with friends, but just don’t feel like going, I will probably cancel.
14 of 15
I don’t mind being the one who reaches out to people to make plans to hang out.
15 of 15
The American Library Association’s list of the most frequently challenged books of 2025 includes Sold by Patricia McCormick, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer: A Memoir.
American Library Association
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American Library Association
The American Library Association has released its annual list of the most commonly challenged books at libraries across the United States.
According to the ALA, the 11 most frequently targeted books include several tied titles. They are:
1. Sold by Patricia McCormick
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
3. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
4. Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
5. (tie) Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
5. (tie) Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
7. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
8. (tie) A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
8. (tie) Identical by Ellen Hopkins
8. (tie) Looking for Alaska by John Green
8. (tie) Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Many of these individual titles also appear on a 2024-25 report issued last October by PEN America, a separate group dedicated to free expression, which looked at book challenges and bans specifically within public schools.
The ALA says that it documented 4,235 unique titles being challenged in 2025 – the second-highest year on record for library challenges. (The highest ever was in 2023, with 4,240 challenges documented – only five more than in this most recent year.)
According to the ALA, 40% of the materials challenged in 2025 were representations of LGBTQ+ people and those of people of color.
In all, the ALA documented 713 attempts across the United States in 2025 to censor library materials and services; 487 of those challenges targeted books.
According to the ALA, 92% of all book challenges to libraries came from “pressure groups,” government officials and local decision makers. While 20.8% came from pressure groups such as Moms for Liberty (as the ALA cited in an email to NPR), 70.9% of challenges originated with government officials and other “decision makers,” such as local board officials or administrators.
In a more detailed breakdown, the ALA notes that 31% of challenges came from elected government officials and and 40% from board members or administrators. In its full report, the ALA states that only 2.7% of such challenges originated with parents, and 1.4% with individual library users.
Fifty-one percent of challenges were attempted at public libraries, and 37% involved school libraries. The remaining challenges of 2025 targeted school curriculums and higher education.
The ALA defines a book “ban” as the removal of materials, including books, from a library. A “challenge,” in this organization’s definition, is an attempt to have a library resource removed, or access to it restricted.
The ALA is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to American libraries and librarians.
Promo image with Phil Pritchard, Alzo Slade, and Peter Sagal
Bruce Bennett, Arnold Turner, NPR/Getty Images, NPR
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Bruce Bennett, Arnold Turner, NPR/Getty Images, NPR
This week, Phil Pritchard, NHL’s Keeper of the Stanley Cup, joins us to about taking the cup jet-skiing and panelists Alonzo Bodden, Adam Burke, and Dulcé Sloan beef with the Pope and get misdiagnosed.
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