{"podcast":{"title":"Book Club with Michael Smerconish","slug":"book-club-with-michael-smerconish-4372437","podcast_index_feed_id":4372437,"rss_url":"https://feeds.simplecast.com/Xjj1yH0V","website_url":"https://www.siriusxm.com","image_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/8436e3c1-2479-4466-ac48-fa58259960bb/9ed196e7-928b-4e34-8cad-cd044ed64d43/3000x3000/podcast-20on-20dark-6.jpg?aid=rss_feed","author":"SiriusXM","episode_count":543,"summary":"Reading for Independent Minds. Unlike many author interviews, if Michael didn't actually read the book, you won't hear about it. If he read it, you'll hear it and you'll love it. Insights into a wide range of topics, including many titles you've probably never heard of. The perfect book is just one listen away.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/book-club-with-michael-smerconish-4372437"},"episode":{"title":"Robert Putnam Revisits \"Bowling Alone\" with The Mingle Project","slug":"robert-putnam-revisits-bowling-alone-with-the-mingle-project","published_at":"2026-05-07T14:55:31+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/book-club-with-michael-smerconish-4372437/robert-putnam-revisits-bowling-alone-with-the-mingle-project","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/book-club-with-michael-smerconish-4372437","url":"https://www.siriusxm.com","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/sxm.simplecastaudio.com/e3dd7ada-28ed-4fb2-9a98-2aa2a4696c24/episodes/5af4fa20-3014-44c2-bbfa-2b1b93af81a5/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=e3dd7ada-28ed-4fb2-9a98-2aa2a4696c24&awEpisodeId=5af4fa20-3014-44c2-bbfa-2b1b93af81a5&feed=Xjj1yH0V","summary":"Michael sits down with Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam, author of \"Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community\" (2000), for a timely conversation about America’s growing social isolation and political polarization. In this special episode talking about The Mingle Project, Putnam explains how the decline of civic life, community ties, and shared experiences helped create the conditions for today’s populism — and why rebuilding “social capital” is essential to restoring democracy. From school buses and bowling leagues to social media algorithms and Silicon Valley, Smerconish and Putnam explore what tore Americans apart, what history teaches about recovery, and how communities can reconnect before it’s too late. Original air date 7 May 2026.","meta_description":"Michael sits down with Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam, author of \"Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community\" (2000), for a…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1737,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/book-club-with-michael-smerconish-4372437/episodes/robert-putnam-revisits-bowling-alone-with-the-mingle-project/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/book-club-with-michael-smerconish-4372437/robert-putnam-revisits-bowling-alone-with-the-mingle-project.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}