The Blitz in London, the Bombing of Civilians in London

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The British government was afraid that people were going to get hysterical if they were bombed every night. Yet, admissions to psych wards went down during the Blitz and then back up when the Blitz stopped. What it seems to be is that if you give people an urgent task, it gives them the opportunity to stop thinking about themselves.

Journalist and author Sebastian Junger talks about his book Tribe with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Junger explores the human need to be needed and the challenges facing many individuals in modern society who struggle to connect with others. His studies of communal connection include soldiers in a small combat unit and American Indian society in the nineteenth century.