In This Episode
Robert Putnam, renowned political scientist and author of “Bowling Alone” and “The Upswing,” joins Offline to explain why bowling alone and scrolling alone are two sides of the same coin. Putnam has spent his life deciphering why social capitalāour connection to each other and our communitiesāhas been withering away for the last 50 years. The consequences of this trend are the focus of a new documentary, āJoin or Die,ā which explores the importance of civic engagement in America. Bob and Jon talk about the film, why social capital undergirds democracy, and why the internet is no substitute for joining an in-person club.
Join or Die is the inaugural film of the IRL Movie Club – a new initiative for Americans to gather in art house cinemas, watch documentaries in the public interest and then talk about them. To learn more, visit https://www.
For a closed-captioned version of this episode, clickĀ here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
