Pete Davis on Why He Believes So Much in the Importance of Community and Social Capital That He Made and Entire Film About It

Pete Davis was a young undergraduate college student when he took a class from Professor Robert Putnam. By this time, Dr. Putnam was an academic celebrity, based largely on the huge success of his seminal work on social capital, Bowling Alone. In the time since, Pete has made advocating for more civic engagement the focus of his work and in addition to writing the book, Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in An Age of Infinite Browsing, he and his sister have produced a documentary feature film, provocatively titled, Join or Die. The film describes the social unraveling that has taken place in the US for the past 50 years, with an emphasis on the work of Robert Putnam, who is featured prominently. While this subject matter can be discouraging, Pete Davis is an optimist and he provides many helpful ideas about how we can pull ourselves out of this place. Pete is enthusiastic and engaging and he brought this energy to this Blue Sky episode, giving us plenty to think about, and many reasons to remain hopeful.

Chapters:

03:41 Conversation with Pete Davis Begins The interview with Pete Davis on community engagement, his background, and the importance of reconnecting with others for a stronger society.

10:11 Civic Decline and Rejuvenation Exploration of the decline in civic engagement over the years and the potential for rejuvenating community connections to improve various aspects of society.

12:06 Impact of Community Decline Discussion on the negative effects of the decline in community engagement, highlighting statistics and the importance of addressing these deficiencies.

18:17 Community and Health Focus on the link between community engagement and health, emphasizing the significance of social capital and its impact on overall well-being.

22:14 Designing for Community Exploration of how various sectors, from architecture to education, can be designed to promote community connections and enhance social capital.

24:41 Joining Clubs and Community Efforts Encouragement to join clubs and community initiatives, discussing the diversity of clubs and the importance of fostering community spirit in modern times.

29:26 Community Bonding through Potlucks and Parades Exploration of the essence of community gatherings like potlucks, parades, and Halloween, where individuals come together to celebrate and contribute

31:01 The Impact of the Pandemic on Community Discussion of how the pandemic disrupted community routines, leading to increased awareness of the importance of community

35:47 Technology's Role in Building Real Community Connections Pete talks about the role of technology in fostering genuine relationships within communities, distinguishing between meaningful connections and superficial online interactions that may hinder true community building.

42:08 Community and Extremism Discussion of the relationship between lack of community and vulnerability to extremist ideologies

49:07 Robert Putnam's Community Legacy Pete Davis reflects on Robert Putnam's contributions to popularizing the concept of social capital and community