Why More People Are Living Alone Than Ever Before

Alive with Steve Burns

Lemonada Media

Society & Culture

5.0 • 588 Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2026

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Nearly 30% of households in the United States are now single-person homes. In this episode, Steve Burns talks with NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg about why more people are living alone than ever before - and what that shift means for relationships, happiness, and society. From the psychology of solitude to the role of technology and dating apps, they explore how our relationships are evolving and why living alone doesn’t always mean being lonely. A fascinating look at one of the biggest social changes of our time. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ** if you like this episode, then check out these ** Preparing For End of Life https://youtu.be/vUh2qoNjhkQ Happiness https://youtu.be/onhtAqXVcHA --------------------------------------------------------------------- Exclusive Offers For Our Listeners: You can try ZipRecruiter FOR FREE at ziprecruiter.com/alive. Go to Midea.com to see how you can bring home a little wow today. Head to MarleySpoon.com/offer/ALIVE for 45% off your first order and free delivery. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com/stevealive. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Alive with Steve Burns - Season One Episode 22 | Angela Santomero & Traci Paige Johnson Instagram: @alivewithsteveburns TikTok: @alivewithsteveburns --------------------------------------------------------------------- There are a thousand podcasts you can listen to. This one listens back. Alive with Steve Burns continues the conversation you began all those years ago. Back then it was letters and numbers and graham crackers. Now it’s death, sex, taxes, and all the big, messy questions of being alive. Why does money stress us out? Is the American dream dead? What’s the future of truth? Each week, a new guest drops by Steve’s window for a genuine and respectful dialogue between two people just trying to figure it out, together. Funny, tender, and just a little weird, this show invites you to sit down and think with Steve once again and wonder… what it really means to be Alive. --------------------------------------------------------------------- You are not alone. You are cared for. If you need someone to listen: National Suicide and Crisis Hotline: https://988lifeline.org/ NAMI Helpline: https://www.nami.org/nami-helpline/ Crisis Text Line: https://www.crisistextline.org/ Keywords: Blues Clues, Steve burns, alive with steve burns, living alone, loneliness, modern relationships, singlehood, Eric Klinenberg, sociology, dating, relationships, Steve burns podcast Watch full episodes of Alive on YouTube. Stay up to date with Lemonada on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @LemonadaMedia. If you haven’t yet, now is a great time to subscribe to Lemonada Premium. You’ll get ad-free episodes and bonus content from Steve. Just hit the 'subscribe' button on Apple Podcasts, or, for all other podcast apps head to lemonadapremium.com to subscribe. Click this link for a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this show and all Lemonada shows: lemonadamedia.com/sponsors See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	As a confirmed eccentric bachelor, right?
0:03.9	52 years old, never married.
0:07.1	I sometimes feel like I'm being told that I am out of sync with the music of the universe.
0:32.2	Hey, there you are.
0:33.7	I'm back here.
0:37.4	Forgive the weird hat, but it's cold and unbald.
0:41.8	It also just snowed, this beautiful, quiet, fluffy snow.
0:48.2	And whenever it does this, I just love to come up in the woods and just be alone.
0:50.5	I love it.
0:52.7	You know?
0:55.0	How about you?
1:00.0	Do you ever just like to be alone?
1:09.0	Yeah. A lot of people don't like it.
1:16.5	A lot of people are very uncomfortable being alone.
1:18.6	Not me.
1:24.6	Solitude is something I actively choose and have chosen for a lot of my life.
1:33.1	But I got to tell you, the older I get, the more I wonder how healthy that impulse is.
1:35.0	Is it a good thing?
1:35.9	Is it a bad thing?
1:37.0	Or is it just a thing?
1:47.9	So I had a really fascinating conversation all about choosing to be alone. I think you're going to like it.
1:52.9	I can't wait to see and hear what you think.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Lemonada Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Lemonada Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.