Alone in America
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Remember when living alone carried something of a stigma? According to the latest research, those days are gone. Nearly half of adult Americans are single, nearly a third of all households have just one resident. Guest host Judy Muller looks at this phenomenon, what's driving it, and the consequences for those choosing to live alone and for the community as a whole. Also, a US double agent foils an al Qaeda bombing plot, and political upset in Indiana and an overwhelming rejection of gay marriage in North Carolina.
Banner image: Alamo Square in San Francisco, California. Photo by PhotoEverywhere.co.uk
Making News
Double Agent Foils Bombing Plot ()
We're hearing more details today about the CIA's take-down of an al Qaeda plot to blow up a US-bound airliner with a more sophisticated underwear bomb. Like something out of a John Le Carre novel, the CIA worked with Saudi intelligence to infiltrate al Qaeda in Yemen with a double agent. Scott Shane is national security reporter for the New York Times.
Guests:
- Scott Shane: New York Times, @ScottShaneNYT
Main Topic
Living Alone: What Are the Consequences of Going Solo? ()
Remember when living alone carried something of a stigma? Well, according to the latest census, those days are gone. Nearly half of adult Americans are single and nearly a third of all households have just one resident. Thirty-one million Americans live alone, almost eight times as many as in 1950. Are all these "singletons," as they're called, happy and healthy, or lonely and isolated?
Guests:
- Eric Klinenberg: New York University, @EricKlinenberg
- Sasha Cagen: Quirkyalone movement, @sashacagen
- Ronni Bennett: Time Goes By, @Ronni7
Links:
Reporter's Notebook
Troubling Signs for Both Parties in Yesterday's Elections ()
There were no real surprises in election results last night, but there were some surprises in the margins of the vote. In Indiana, State Treasurer Richard Mourdock was expected to beat incumbent Senator Richard Lugar, who valued cooperation over confrontation, but not by 20 points. In North Carolina, Amendment One banning gay marriage and civil unions was expected to pass, but not by twenty points. We hear more about yesterday's results from Karen Tumulty national political correspondent for the Washington Post, and Larry Sabato, Director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.
Guests:
- Karen Tumulty: Washington Post, @ktumulty
- Larry Sabato: University of Virginia, @larrysabato
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