​***This event is BYOB @ Industrious (co-working space) in Fenway!

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​TOPIC:
How the Loneliness Epidemic Led to America's Authoritarianism: And What We Can Do About It

SPEAKER:
Dr. Charles Derber, Boston College

​Ever notice how many of your meals lately have been eaten completely alone? That's not just a you problem, it's a national one, and it might explain a lot more than your dinner habits.

​Dr. Charles Derber has spent decades studying capitalism, power, and the ways American life quietly pulls us apart, and in this talk he connects a dot most people miss: how the loneliness crisis and the rise of authoritarian politics are the same story.

​Topics include:

​Whether America is experiencing "sociocide," a systemic breakdown of relationships baked into modern life

​The untold role capitalism and AI play in accelerating our isolation

​How disconnected, isolated Americans became fertile ground for an authoritarian leader like Trump

​What real community-building against billionaire oligarchs could actually look like

​Come for the diagnosis, stay for the actual game plan on rebuilding the connections that make democracy possible in the first place.

​About the Speaker

​Dr. Charles Derber is Professor of Sociology at Boston College, where he's taught since the 1980s. He earned his B.A. summa cum laude in Political Science from Yale University, then went on to earn both his M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago. Over his career he's written more than two dozen books on capitalism, democracy, power, and social change, translated into over a dozen languages, and his work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe.

​Agenda

7:00 PM — Doors Open (Grab a seat and drinks!)
7:30 PM — Lecture Begins
8:10 PM — Audience Q&A
8:30 PM — Drinks & Conversation
9:00 PM — Event Ends

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Join us and grab a drink as we unpack why your empty dinner table might be why America elected an authoritarian...