Erik Klinenberg
speaker
26 appearances
1 recordings
1 series
first heard Jul 2026
last heard 15 Jul
Erik Klinenberg’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 1 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 1.
Appearances
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So when I started the research project that became Going Solo, I was under the impression that living alone was an American phenomenon.
I was stunned to learn that the United States is a laggard and not a leader when it comes to living alone.
Living alone, it requires wealth, it requires social security.
So a good welfare state can make a big difference.
You know, if you know that you have access to health care or home care or good public transit or social infrastructure in your community that allows you to engage the world productively.
You don't necessarily need to live with other people.
You can live however it feels best.
And so I learned that living alone is significantly more common in Europe than it is in the United States, in Stockholm, in Helsinki, in Copenhagen, in Paris, in Berlin.
It's roughly 40% to 50% of all households that are one-person households.
I was quite surprised to learn that living alone is actually more common in South Korea and Japan than it is in the United States.
Tokyo is a haven for social life, great bars and restaurants.
And in fact, I think that makes it easier for people to live by themselves.
But still, living alone poses certain kinds of challenges.
And one of the fundamental challenges people face when they start to live alone is, what am I supposed to do when I'm hungry?
I grew up in a family having meals with other people or in school where we all ate together in a cafeteria.
Do I just sit by myself in the kitchen and wolf down something I've stuck in the microwave?
Do I cook elaborately for myself?
That could feel like a strange thing.
Do I go to a restaurant and eat by myself at a table?
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