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How to Know What’s Real

‘Everyone Used to be Nicer,’ And Other Persistent Myths

How to Know What’s Real

The Atlantic Monthly Group, LLC

Education, Self-improvement, Science, Social Sciences, Society & Culture

41.4K Ratings

🗓️ 27 July 2023

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A lot of people are plagued by the feeling that society used to be better, that neighbors were more helpful, that strangers once talked to you. Some people channel that belief into political action, as in the Make America Great Again movement. A new study explains why the sense that people and the culture have gotten worse is a psychological illusion. This special episode features Hanna Rosin, the host of Radio Atlantic. Subscribe and find new episodes of Radio Atlantic every Thursday. If you have any comments or suggestions about the show, submit feedback at theatlantic.com/listener-survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:53.1

So Julie, even though I get annoyed when other people say people used to be nicer, I kind

1:00.1

of think I might feel that way too.

1:03.0

If I have a vision of my childhood and I'm walking down the street from the playground,

1:07.3

I imagine all my neighbors saying, like, hi, little Hana, and the mailman coming by.

1:13.4

And tipping is had at me, and the old man walking is dog, and I have no idea if this memory

1:18.6

is accurate, but I definitely have that feeling that people were nicer.

1:23.4

Did you grow up in Mr. Rogers' neighborhood or what was it?

1:26.7

No, I actually grew up in Queens, New York, so he's definitely certainly not true.

1:34.6

In how to talk to people, season four of the How-To podcast series, we explored the barriers

1:39.8

to community building in modern life.

1:42.3

Things like, why does it feel like a lot fewer people know their neighbors today than

1:46.0

they used to?

...

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