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Articles by Robert D. Putnam
The American campaign to return power to the people
Sometimes a boundary is just a line in the road. But sometimes it’s a gate from one world to another. Driving due south from downtown Los Angeles through what was once the thriving center of Black L.A. now takes travelers through miles of dystopia that look like Mumbai on a bad day: potholed roads, vacant buildings, and mostly Latino young people – and older African Americans – hanging out with seemingly no particular place to go.
Boy Crisis of 2025, Meet the ‘Boy Problem’ of the 1900s
In the early years of the 20th century, America had a “boy problem.” Boys on the street, making trouble. Boys becoming truants. Boys getting caught up in crime. The problem spread across the United States alongside the disruptions of technological change, immigration and growing socioeconomic inequality. Policymakers stepped in — with universal public schooling, for example. But it was the civic response that was truly extraordinary.
Boy crisis of 2025, meet the 'boy problem' of the 1900s
In the early years of the 20th century, America had a "boy problem." Boys on the street, making trouble. Boys becoming truants. Boys getting caught up in crime. The problem spread across the United States alongside the disruptions of technological change, immigration and growing socioeconomic inequality. Policymakers stepped in - with universal public schooling, for example. But it was the civic response that was truly extraordinary.
Opinion | Boy Crisis of 2025, Meet the ‘Boy Problem’ of the 1900s
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. In the early years of the 20th century, America had a “boy problem.” Boys on the street, making trouble. Boys becoming truants. Boys getting caught up in crime. The problem spread across the United States alongside the disruptions of technological change, immigration and growing socioeconomic inequality.
Sue's Daily Stack, Thursday, 30 January, 2025
Hour One: Does the crash show the how important expertise and good quality people are? Plus...Why wouldn't the GOP increase funding to the FAA when Biden ask for it? Article: "'Trump should be investigated': President bashed for 'utterly horrible' comment on tragedy" by Travis Gettys. Article: "Morning Joe Crew Warn DC Crash Brings 'Sharp Focus' On 'Competence' Of Cabinet Picks: 'It's Not Partisan to Question Experience'" by David Gilmour.
Wake Us Up When November Ends?
Soon, America will decide to elect Kamala Harris or Donald Trump to the White House. A vast catalog of excellent reporting and commentary outlines the danger of putting Trump back in office. But even a resounding Trump defeat will not pull us safely back from the precipice. We have been standing on the edge for too long, inching toward the abyss. To elect Donald Trump would be to dangle a foot out and tempt fate. But rejecting him now, after almost ten years of Trump and Trumpism, only buys us time.
Active Aging Week offeds wide variety of activities throughout area
At news-gazette.com A full schedule for this year’s Active Aging Week, set for Sept. 30-Oct. 6, is available on the online version of this story. Active Aging Week was first launched by the International Council on Active Aging in 2003, making this the 22nd anniversary of a week full of fun, education and wellness activities for those 50 and better all across the country. Active Aging Week was created to promote the benefits of healthy aging and healthy lifestyles. During this week, set for Sept.
Our Kids: A Summary of Social Inequality Today
Chapter 1 What’s Our Kids by Robert D. Putnam “Our Kids” by Robert D. Putnam is a book that examines the growing opportunity gap between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds in America. Putnam explores how factors such as family structure, education, and community resources play a role in shaping the opportunities available to children and how this inequality is affecting the future of the country.
A Life Without Nature Is a Lonely One
My Brooklyn apartment is designed for sterility. The windows have screens to keep out bugs; I chose my indoor plants specifically because they don’t attract pests. While commuting to other, similarly aseptic indoor spaces—co-working offices, movie theaters, friends’ apartments—I’ll skirt around pigeons, avert my eyes from a gnarly rat, shudder at the odd scuttling cockroach.
Is It Harder to Make Friends as an Adult?
* * * Today on the show: Angela talks to Mike Maughan, senior executive at Qualtrics, about how to make friends as an adult. * * * Still to come on No Stupid Questions, how do you get your friends to become friends with each other? * * * Now, back to Angela and Mike’s conversation about friendship. This episode of No Stupid Questions was produced by me, Katherine Moncure, with help from our production associate, Lyric Bowditch.
Why is Everyone Having Less Sex?
Episode Transcript * * * Today on the show: why are we having less sex than we used to? * * * Still to come on No Stupid Questions, Stephen and Angela discuss the consequences of the decline in sex. * * * Now, back to Stephen and Angela’s conversation about lust. This episode of No Stupid Questions was produced by me, Katherine Moncure, with our production associate, Lyric Bowditch. And now, here’s a fact-check of today’s conversation.
Networks of opportunity: Social capital and economic mobility
Twitter Join the conversation on Twitter using #SocialCapital Social capital—the strength of an individual’s social network and community—has been identified as a potential determinant of outcomes ranging from education to health. However, efforts to understand what types of social capital matter for these outcomes have been hindered by a lack of social network data.
Meta Platforms : What the Research on Social Media's Impact on Democracy and Daily Life Says (and Doesn't Say)
(FB) Real-time Estimate Cboe BZX - 04/22 03:00:36 pm EDT 184.63 USD -1.83% 02:27p Wall St benchmarks drop 2% on weak earnings, rate hike worries RE 02:27p Wall St benchmarks drop 2% on weak earnings, rate hike worries RE 02:18p META PLATFORMS : What the Research on Social Media's Impact on Democracy and Daily Life Says (and Doesn't Say) PU Summary Quotes Charts News Ratings Calendar Company Financials Consensus Revisions Summary Most relevant All News Analyst Reco.
Reading recommendations on risk management: 4 books to add to your April reading list
How to recognize, prioritize and mobilize solutions for the risks you face in your organization This is the fourth in a year-long series where I share my top risk management reading recommendations. These are the books I review regularly regarding the discipline of risk management and related issues. Each of these gives you hints on how to recognize, prioritize and mobilize solutions for the risks you face in your organization.
How America Can Rebuild the Community Bonds It Needs to Face the Next Pandemic
As the Omicron variant spreads across the globe, we are reminded again that a pandemic is a disease of populations, not of individuals, and population-level problems require collective solutions. This is why societies with high levels of social capital—bonds of affection and networks of trust among people—have better weathered the COVID-19 pandemic and suffered lower rates of hospitalization and death from the virus.
The Upswing
Chapter 1: What’s Past Is Prologue 1 WHAT’S PAST IS PROLOGUE “… what’s past is prologue, what to come, in yours and my discharge.” —William Shakespeare, The Tempest In the early 1830s a French aristocrat named Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to America at the behest of his government, with a mission to better understand the American prison system. At the time the United States was a fledgling democracy, barely half a century old, and many nations looked to it as a bold experiment.
UPSWING by Robert D Putnam Shaylyn Romney Garrett contributor Read by Arthur Morey | Audiobook Review | AudioFile Magazine
Narrator Arthur Morey delivers statistical concepts with insightful tonal variations that enhance comprehension and maintain the listener's interest. Robert Putnam posits that the last 120 years of economic history have followed an "I-we-I" trajectory. The Gilded Age was marked by massive inequality and exploitation of workers. Then the New Deal and civil rights shared gains with the masses. Now we're in a new Gilded Age, with a return to inequality and individualism.
Studying Elite Political Culture: The Case of “Ideology”
References 1 1 Cf. Robert A. Dahl's notion of “the political stratum”—“a small stratum of individuals much more highly involved in political thought, discussion, and action than the rest of the population.” See Who Governs? (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1961), p. 90 Google ScholarPubMed. For brief introductions to the enormous literature on “elite theories of politics,” see: Bottomore, T.
Book review: Putnam's 'Upswing' envisions new communitarian era for U.S., with provisions
Book review: Putnam's 'Upswing' envisions new communitarian era for U.S., with provisions The Upswing IN THEIR INSTANT analyses, armchair historians will likely point to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, as the moment the United States reached its nadir. While the storming of the Capitol will be an insoluble stain on the nation’s fabric, it’s premature to say it’s the low-water mark.
Searching for an American "We"
The genre of “we have a polarized and screwed up political society, here’s how we got here, and here’s how we can get out of here” is a crowded field. Few can enter it and write a noticeable, let alone noteworthy, book. Robert Putnam is one of the few.
Trust Me (Ep. 266 Rebroadcast) - Freakonomics
Societies where people trust one another are healthier and wealthier. In the U.S. (and the U.K. and elsewhere), social trust has been falling for decades — in part because our populations are more diverse. What can we do to fix it? Listen and subscribe to our podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or elsewhere. Below is a transcript of the episode, edited for readability. For more information on the people and ideas in the episode, see the links at the bottom of this post.
Guest opinion: Why did racial progress stall in America?
In the popular narrative of American history, Black Americans made essentially no measurable progress toward equality with white Americans until the lightning-bolt changes of the civil rights revolution. If that narrative were charted along the course of the 20th century, it would be a flat line for decades, followed by a sharp, dramatic upturn toward equality beginning in the 1960s: the shape of a hockey stick. In many ways, this hockey stick image of racial inequality is accurate.
Opinion | Why Did Racial Progress Stall in America?
The answer may show us the path out of our fractured and polarized present. By Shaylyn Romney Garrett and Robert D. Putnam Robert D. Putnam is a political scientist. Shaylyn Romney Garrett is a writer. Dec.
America's Past Has Shown the Power of 'We.' Here's How We Can Revive It
Unprecedented political polarization; deep and accelerating inequality; vitriolic public discourse; a fraying social fabric; public and private self-centeredness–Americans today seem to agree on only one thing: this is the worst of times. But we’ve been here before. The Gilded Age of the late 1800s was much like today. America then was highly individualistic, starkly unequal, fiercely polarized and deeply fragmented–what we might call an “I” society.
America's Past Has Shown the Power of 'We.' Here's How We Can Revive It
Unprecedented political polarization; deep and accelerating inequality; vitriolic public discourse; a fraying social fabric; public and private self-centeredness–Americans today seem to agree on only one thing: this is the worst of times. But we’ve been here before. The Gilded Age of the late 1800s was much like today. America then was highly individualistic, starkly unequal, fiercely polarized and deeply fragmented–what we might call an “I” society.
Why the Left Had to Steal the Right’s Dark-Money Playbook (Bonus Episode) - Freakonomics
The sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh spent years studying crack dealers, sex workers, and the offspring of billionaires. Then he wandered into an even stranger world: social media. He spent the past five years at Facebook and Twitter. Now that he’s back in the real world, he’s here to tell us how the digital universe really works.
The Best Reviewed Books in History and Politics, October Edition
H. W. Brands’ The Zealot and the Emancipator, Martin J. Sherwin’s Gambling With Armageddon, Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett’s The Upswing, Margaret MacMillan’s War, and Toby Wilkinson’s A World Beneath the Sands all feature among October’s best reviewed history and politics books. Brought to you by Book Marks, Lit Hub’s “Rotten Tomatoes for books.” 1. The Zealot and the Emancipator: John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, and the Struggle for American Freedom by H. W.
October's Best Reviewed History and Politics Books
H. W. Brands’ The Zealot and the Emancipator, Martin J. Sherwin’s Gambling With Armageddon, Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett’s The Upswing, Margaret MacMillan’s War, and Toby Wilkinson’s A World Beneath the Sands all feature among October’s best reviewed history and politics books. 1. The Zealot and the Emancipator: John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, and the Struggle for American Freedom by H. W.
The Upswing
Chapter 1: What’s Past Is Prologue 1 WHAT’S PAST IS PROLOGUE “… what’s past is prologue, what to come, in yours and my discharge.” —William Shakespeare, The Tempest In the early 1830s a French aristocrat named Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to America at the behest of his government, with a mission to better understand the American prison system. At the time the United States was a fledgling democracy, barely half a century old, and many nations looked to it as a bold experiment.
Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital
Select your citation format: MLA (Modern Language Association 8th edition)Chicago Manual of Style 16th edition (full note)APA (American Psychological Association 7th edition) Read the full essay here. About the Author Robert D. Putnam is Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University. View all work by Robert D. Putnam Image Credit: Brett Sayles
The Engagement Gap: Social Mobility and Extracurricular Participation among American Youth - Kaisa Snellman, Jennifer M. Silva, Carl B. Frederick, Robert D. Putnam, 2015
Abrams, Tanya . 28 March 2013. 7 of 8 Ivy League schools report lower acceptance rates. New York Times. Google Scholar Alon, Sigal . 2009. The evolution of class inequality in higher education. American Sociological Review 74 (5): 731–55. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI Anderson, Jenny . 26 March 2012. Private schools mine parents’ data, and wallets. New York Times. Google Scholar Bailey, Martha J., Dynarski, Susan M. 2011. Inequality in postsecondary education. In Whither opportunity?
How to "think little"-w/ Mary Berry, Executive Director of The Berry Center
“We have not settled America. We have colonized America. Now, we’ve got to figure out … how to actually live here. How are we going to move forward? Everybody needs to be an agrarian now.” We live in a culture that pushes us to keep moving. Obsessed with upward mobility, we keep searching for something more. But this ‘problem of mobility’ robs us of the opportunity to belong to a place. To develop deep cultural ties with the land and each other.
2020 Civil Society Awards
2020 Civil Society Awards For more information, please visit www.civilsocietyawards.com or contact events@manhattan-institute.org. For nearly 20 years, Manhattan Institute has sought to advance America’s long tradition of civil society by honoring nonprofit leaders who address and prevent some of our most pressing public problems. Amid the challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, civil society efforts continue to be critical—even life-saving—forces in communities all over the country.
International Organization
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THE UPSWING | Kirkus Reviews
A top-notch addition to the why-America-is-in-such-a-mess genre. Writing with Garrett, Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard and winner of the National Humanities Medal, portrays a prosperous nation driven by technological innovation but burdened by massive, concentrated wealth and widespread poverty: Corruption and sex scandals fill the media; politics is gridlocked; xenophobia and white supremacist violence are rising; substance abuse runs rampant.
Our Kids
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Streaming Television Might Just Bring Us Together After All
The fall television season is upon us: The season when we not only hunker down to catch new shows and the return of our favorites, but also, the season when we gather around the water cooler or dinner table to compare notes with our fellow TV fans. But is TV still bringing us together—or does online video mean it’s now pushing us apart? Not long ago, TV watching looked like a fundamentally social experience. For one thing, watching TV meant gathering as a family, as Amanda D.
Catholic School Matters
A few weeks back, I became aware of a blog post by a parish priest arguing that children don’t necessarily belong in the sanctuary. I heard echoes of what people often argue about school culture—that is elusive and only understood by a select few. His central argument: There is something in Catholic Church culture that insists kids belong in the sanctuary for Mass. I must say I don’t totally understand it, but it is definitely a Catholic thing.
Catholic School Matters
During my first year of graduate school, I lived in a dorm with medical students. I learned that the choice of specialty for them was much more than simply which branch of medicine looked interesting or which ones they could get into. It was about personality, lifestyle, and tolerance for further training. I saw that not every doctor and not every specialty was created equally. Some specialties put a high demand on analytical thinking while others demanded quick thinking.
Catholic School Matters
NCEA Convention Preview Fresh off of Catholic Schools Week, we should all be feeling great about our schools. Before that great feeling wears off, remember that Catholic Schools can tend to become isolating. We all subscribe to a certain degree to the principle of subsidiarity—meaning that as many decisions should be made at the local level. We all celebrate our agility and faithfulness to our own communities and cultures.
E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the Twenty‐first Century The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture
Ethnic diversity is increasing in most advanced countries, driven mostly by sharp increases in immigration. In the long run immigration and diversity are likely to have important cultural, economic, fiscal, and developmental benefits. In the short run, however, immigration and ethnic diversity tend to reduce social solidarity and social capital. New evidence from the US suggests that in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods residents of all races tend to ‘hunker down’.
Increasing socioeconomic disparities in adolescent obesity
Increasing SES disparities in adolescent obesity Carl B. Frederick, Kaisa Snellman, Robert D. Putnam Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jan 2014, 201321355; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1321355110
New mayor chosen to lead Charlottesville
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The city of Charlottesville, still coping with the aftermath of white nationalist rallies last year, has a new mayor. Nikuyah Walker, an independent who was one of two new council members elected in November, was chosen by her fellow councilors at a meeting Tuesday night. News outlets report Walker will be the Virginia city’s first black female mayor. Walker has been an outspoken critic of local leaders’ response to the rallies and a frequent presence at council meetings.
Trust Me (Rebroadcast) - Freakonomics
Our latest Freakonomics Radio episode is called “Trust Me (Rebroadcast).” (You can subscribe to the podcast at Apple Podcasts or elsewhere, get the RSS feed, or listen via the media player above.) Societies where people trust one another are healthier and wealthier. In the U.S. (and the U.K. and elsewhere), social trust has been falling for decades — in part because our populations are more diverse. What can we do to fix it? Below is a transcript of the episode, modified for your reading pleasure.
Trust Me (Replay)
Hey there, it’s Stephen Dubner. Welcome to our final episode of the year! It’s called “Trust Me” and it’s about how to build more social trust. We first put this out just after last year’s rather dramatic presidential election. 2017 has been an amazing year at Freakonomics Radio, and we’d like to thank you for that. You are the reason we make this show, and you are also an important reason we’re able to make this show.
The real scandal the DNC should avoid
The work that used to be done here was outsourced long ago, and only since Donald Trump’s election has there been reason to hope that might change. For decades, distant managers have called the shots. Consultants made promises about new technology. Local conflicts were too costly. Design could be done better, faster, slicker, far away. The enterprise didn’t shut down entirely. But it came to be run by a skeletal staff. A generation has grown up never imagining the front gates wide open.
He was a shorty when he started playing music. Here’s how he’s training the next generation
Jeffrey Brown: These days, Troy Andrews is one of this city’s leading musical ambassadors, given the honor of closing the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, known as Jazz Fest.And he takes the role of educator very seriously as well, through his now 6-year-old Trombone Shorty Foundation and its musical academy.
How these famous women used food as social status
Laura Shapiro: “Cosmopolitan” was full of food stories, and there were two kinds. Here is a classy little buffet dinner you can make for your friends, and it would be a bunch of recipes not that different from what you would find in any other magazine. Then, there would be dieting stories, each more crazed than the last, and all of them packed with diet pills and chemical sweeteners.
Worried about your water? Documentary shares stories of communities taking action
Debbie Baker: Our state toxicologist called me. And I will never forget that day.He was like, I don’t want you cooking with your water. I don’t want you bathing in your water. He goes, I wouldn’t even give my dogs or my animals this water.This is our first time, expecting our first child. We’re very excited to start our new life.We actually got in touch with someone from Duke, and asked them about the plant, that we’re living here. We’re new.
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