New Self-Improvement Podcast: Staying Human with Dr. Vivek Murthy

**Vivek Murthy** (0:00)
There are many people whose work I've called on to illustrate our crisis of loneliness and the importance of human connection. Among the most important is a man I consider a friend and mentor, Robert Putnam. Robert is a professor of public policy at Harvard, and he has written multiple books and is perhaps best known for his seminal one, Bowling Alone, The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Bob put the issue of community decline and revival on the map for millions of people in America, and he did that years ago, before people were really talking or thinking about this. Bob has featured in a recent documentary called Join or Die, which has been screened hundreds of times in communities all across the country.
And beyond his seminal book and the subsequent ones that he has written, including most recently Upswing, Bob has been an inspiration to so many people, including me. Which is why when I was invited to do a live taping of Staying Human at WBUR in Boston, I knew I wanted it to be a conversation with Bob. Our time together was a chance for Bob to reflect and offer his wisdom, collected over his 85 years, wisdom on how to build community. This episode is a distillation of our conversation.
One more thing. I'd like to dedicate this episode to all of you out there who, like Bob and his wife Rosemary, have taken up the cause of building community. Thank you for giving your time and spirit toward creating genuine human connection. We need it now more than ever.
We'll be right back. I'm Dr. Vivek Murthy, and this is Staying Human.
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**SPEAKER_2** (2:12)
Political tensions, anxiety and loneliness are on the rise. But problems like these aren't new, and the solutions don't have to be either. For thousands of years, societies have asked questions about how to live, thrive and love. And it was spiritual traditions that offered wisdom and tools to help people find their way.
Tools that science is now discovering offer real benefits. Join me, Dave Distano, to explore how we can all use this wisdom, whatever our beliefs. Listen to How God Works from PRX, wherever you listen to podcasts.

**Vivek Murthy** (2:45)
So Bob, as you know, the idea behind this podcast, Staying Human, is to talk about what we need to do to protect the things that make us most fundamentally human in a world which seems to be pulling us in the opposite direction.
And I want to start with a personal question for you. When you think back to when you were a kid, where did you find community?

**Robert Putnam** (3:08)
Thanks, and thanks for having me here, and thanks to all of you for coming.
I thought a lot about that question actually. As you get older, you begin to think about the whole arc of your life.
As a kid, I was very lonely. For a variety of reasons, I had been an infant and a toddler during World War II. My family had moved around a lot, and therefore, I didn't really have close friends. One of my earliest memories is standing at a linked fence, looking through the fence at other kids who were playing. I still vividly remember, gosh, I could wish I could be playing with them, but I couldn't because I was too young.
And my mom, I had two great parents, but my mom was especially concerned that I learned to play with other kids. I'm not going to let this go on too long, but moms are important. I mean, moms are obviously important, but in my case, they were important. She was afraid I was going to be, I was a little precocious, and she was afraid I would not make friends, so she thought, well, how do I get this kid to make friends? There's some of the ideas that we would talk about now, if we're talking about how to get kids more involved. She thought I should play baseball, but I didn't know how to throw. So my mom, who was at this point probably in her 40s, would get up at seven in the morning before I would go off to school and play catch with me. She was actually not very good, but she was better than me.