ON HALLO:RADIO & COMMUNITISM
Dear Stranger is a radio programme that is a practical, experimental and playful guide on how to talk to strangers, build connections with other people, and feel less lonely in this world.
It was created by us, Sophie Allerding and Daniel Siegersma, during the Tiny Spaces Deep Connection slow travel Residency 2026. Along our way traveling from Hamburg to Athens, we experimented with different ways of making connections. From small games and ice breakers to informal interviews. This guide also includes conversations with other people and projects, who have worked and done research around the theme of connecting with strangers and the loneliness crisis in Europe.
Made on the road, our material is diverse and comes with rough edges. We recorded on train rides, in public spaces, cafes with bad internet connections and during live radio shows. We hope it inspires you to explore the possibilities and world of unexpected encounters.
reach out to us here if you want to get in touch.
- Gillian Sandstrom — Once Upon A Stranger
- Priya Parker — The Art of Gathering
- Kae Tempest — On Connection
- Sylke V. Schnepf et al. — Loneliness in Europe
- Sara Stein Lubrano — Don’t Talk Politics
- David Brooks — How to Know a Person
- How to with John Wilson · BBC — 12 ways to make small talk
- Loneliness and You — Podcast · Spotify
- The Guardian — On the loneliness epidemic
- The Guardian — How conversation cards became our favourite tools
- Zhang et al. / HRI, University of Chicago — Ice-breaking technology
- Aron et al. — Study on interpersonal closeness (1997)
- Loneliness in Europe
- unexpectedencounter.com
- We Are Not Really Strangers
- PRAHO! Project
- Atlas of Loneliness (Atlasul Singurătății · Scena9)
- Pearse Anderson
- Hannah Masters & Asrin Yenihayat — Loneliness EU project
- Ionuț Dulămiță & Andrei Dudea — Atlas of Loneliness
- Lorenzo Lin Angeli — The four levels of engagement
- Viernes en Las Nubes x wetprotocols
- Cerebral Productions — Deep connections through role-play
- Praho! Project — Reclaiming public spaces
- Communitism — Making communal places
- Joran Koster — The unexpected Encounter Manifesto
- The Sidequest Crew (Penny, Nikolas, Elpida, Yiorgi)
- Angel (Communitism) — DJ Set