Going Bowling

Robert Siegel talks with Robert Putnam who is author of Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Putnam uses an observation about the decline in bowling leagues in the U-S as a metaphor to describe the increasing alienation of Americans from their families and communities, and the political process. One crucial factor leading to the social isolation is television. Says Putnam, "People watch Friends on TV — they don't have them." (7:30) Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community is published by Simon & Sh