Politics And America's Loneliness Epidemic

03/15/22 • 13 min

4 Listeners

Even before the pandemic, three in five Americans reported feeling like they are left out, poorly understood and lacking companionship.
Communities with low social connectedness have higher rates of crime, lower educational achievement, and poorer physical health than more connected communities. As Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone documented more than 20 years ago, a frayed social fabric also makes governing much harder.
NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben talks to the author about how much worse things have gotten in the two decades since his book came out and what makes things him optimistic about the future.
Putnam's latest work is The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again.
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From A Basement In Lviv, The Latest On Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

The UN says more than 600 civilians been killed, though the true number is likely far higher. Russia's attacks have begun to reach the westernmost parts of the country, including on a military installation near Ukraine's border with Poland.
This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, and correspondent Ryan Lucas.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's President, Addresses Congress

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a video address before Congress Wednesday, in which he asked for additional support to protect the country's citizens against Russian military brutality.
Following the speech, Biden pledged to send an additional $800 million to Ukraine to boost security measures. This is in addition to $200 million in military aid to Ukraine Biden approved on Saturday.
One ask that Zelenskyy is not likely to see answered: a U.S.-led no fly zone, which the Biden administration opposes as it seeks to avoid a direct military conflict with Russia.
This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, acting congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh, and senior political editor and correspondent Ron Elving.
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