Robert Putnam

Actually, he would say, Bob, I've been over this. There's a really funny New York Times interview in which the New York Times interview was trying to say, I'm New York Times reporter, pretty well connected. I know Robert Putnam. And Barack just says, no, it's Bob.

about 20 years ago, well, maybe not quite that, 15 years ago, maybe, I was trying to run a seminar. I was running a seminar of people. And the idea was to bring people from very, very diverse backgrounds together Once every three months for a couple of years to try to figure out how to solve the problem of social isolation in America and its political consequences. It's not just loneliness.

about 20 years ago, well, maybe not quite that, 15 years ago, maybe, I was trying to run a seminar. I was running a seminar of people. And the idea was to bring people from very, very diverse backgrounds together Once every three months for a couple of years to try to figure out how to solve the problem of social isolation in America and its political consequences. It's not just loneliness.

It's also affects, as you said, and we're going to come back to that, the chances of democracy surviving. We had a big multidimensional matrix. We want to make sure we had enough men and women and blacks and Asians and Latinos and whites. whites and old and young and rich and poor and business and labor, et cetera. You can imagine this multidimensional scheme.

It's also affects, as you said, and we're going to come back to that, the chances of democracy surviving. We had a big multidimensional matrix. We want to make sure we had enough men and women and blacks and Asians and Latinos and whites. whites and old and young and rich and poor and business and labor, et cetera. You can imagine this multidimensional scheme.

And we got it all filled, but we had one box that we had not yet filled for a young black community organizer. And my son, who had been at Harvard Law School, said, you know, you ought to check out this really bright guy I know who I play basketball with. Because it turns out my son, this is going to make you believe in the conspiracy theory of American life.

And we got it all filled, but we had one box that we had not yet filled for a young black community organizer. And my son, who had been at Harvard Law School, said, you know, you ought to check out this really bright guy I know who I play basketball with. Because it turns out my son, this is going to make you believe in the conspiracy theory of American life.

My son happened to be on the Harvard Law Review with Barack. And they played basketball together. Wow. He said, well, he's a community organizer out in Chicago. I said, bingo, that sort of fits the right matrix. So we got this guy here. He's one of the youngest people in the group. And he's very ambitious. It's clear he's very ambitious. But he's also cute. He's a little bit like the mascot.

My son happened to be on the Harvard Law Review with Barack. And they played basketball together. Wow. He said, well, he's a community organizer out in Chicago. I said, bingo, that sort of fits the right matrix. So we got this guy here. He's one of the youngest people in the group. And he's very ambitious. It's clear he's very ambitious. But he's also cute. He's a little bit like the mascot.

Like a mascot in this group. And so, you know, like in a summer camp, people develop nicknames. And our nickname for him was the governor because we thought, what a joke. This guy's ambitious and he thinks he's going to eventually become governor of Illinois. This is a guy who five years later is the president of the United States. So you weren't wrong. Governor was a joke.

Like a mascot in this group. And so, you know, like in a summer camp, people develop nicknames. And our nickname for him was the governor because we thought, what a joke. This guy's ambitious and he thinks he's going to eventually become governor of Illinois. This is a guy who five years later is the president of the United States. So you weren't wrong. Governor was a joke.

There was something else that's important about him. Yes. You know he's very smart, but he's also, at least he can be very... quiet. So, and this is a group of big eagles. And so the first, you know, we gather on Friday night, Friday night and all day, much of Saturday up until lunch, everybody else was doing what we called station identification.

There was something else that's important about him. Yes. You know he's very smart, but he's also, at least he can be very... quiet. So, and this is a group of big eagles. And so the first, you know, we gather on Friday night, Friday night and all day, much of Saturday up until lunch, everybody else was doing what we called station identification.

That is, they were telling us how important they were and why their views were the most important. And Obama kept silent during all of that. And then after lunch, he'd say, you know, I've been listening to this. I've been listening, especially to Susan and to Josh, and they think they disagree. But I think underneath Susan and Josh agree. And they did.

That is, they were telling us how important they were and why their views were the most important. And Obama kept silent during all of that. And then after lunch, he'd say, you know, I've been listening to this. I've been listening, especially to Susan and to Josh, and they think they disagree. But I think underneath Susan and Josh agree. And they did.

And everybody around the table was open-mouthed. How did he see that? We've been all sitting through the same conversation. And the whole conversation was polarized in many different ways. But he saw a way in which he could frame an issue in ways that would be productive for the whole group going forward. Oh, wow. He's able to see through... All this, you know, all the fighting.

And everybody around the table was open-mouthed. How did he see that? We've been all sitting through the same conversation. And the whole conversation was polarized in many different ways. But he saw a way in which he could frame an issue in ways that would be productive for the whole group going forward. Oh, wow. He's able to see through... All this, you know, all the fighting.

Well, of course, there are reasons to worry about people being lonely. That's indeed the title of this film that's now out and about on Netflix and in theaters. That's Join or Die, yeah. Join or Die. Your chances of dying, well, your chances of dying are high, actually. Sorry to say that, but your chances of dying over the next year are cut in half by joining one group.

Well, of course, there are reasons to worry about people being lonely. That's indeed the title of this film that's now out and about on Netflix and in theaters. That's Join or Die, yeah. Join or Die. Your chances of dying, well, your chances of dying are high, actually. Sorry to say that, but your chances of dying over the next year are cut in half by joining one group.

And that is their real serious health effects. And this is controlling for everything you like. It is really social isolation that causes premature death, but it also undermines the foundation for democracy. And that's