Acts of kindness and empathy can reduce loneliness, foster understanding, and build trust. Yet, the 2025 Compassion Report from the Muhammad Ali Center found that 61% Americans believe compassion, and the social connection it invites, has declined in recent years. But there is hope: compassion is a skill that we can all cultivate with intentionality and practice.

During Aspen Ideas: Health 2025, Lonnie Ali, Co-Founder of the Muhammad Ali Center, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Director of the Social Connection Lab at Brigham Young University, and Sara Konrath, Director of the Interdisciplinary Program on Empathy and Altruism Research at Indiana University, joined Frederick Riley, Executive Director of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute, to discuss the state of compassion in the U.S. and why it is critical to our individual and collective well-being.