Where this was said
Social Gatherings; Blessings of Children with Down Syndrome
At 1:51:20 · chapter starts 1:47:00
Huberman notes the uptick in church attendance and other communal gatherings post-pandemic, suggesting people crave structured environments where connecting with strangers is the expected norm. Epley agrees and pivots to the story of Lindsay, their youngest, whose Down syndrome diagnosis during a prior pregnancy triggered genuine fear — and whose eventual adoption after that pregnancy ended in stillbirth was enabled by data-driven courage. The Epleys called every family they could find raising a child with Down syndrome, and every single one described their child as a blessing. Lindsay — abandoned in China, arriving malnourished and with eyes that conveyed a relentless smile — has become the magnetic social center of the Epley family, greeting every stranger in grocery stores and triggering the same joyful reaction in each of them. The statistical anchor: Epley's 30,000-participant database predicted that reaching out to Lindsay would go better than feared. It did.
