Short Run: 'Essential trust: Episode V'

47:40

December 14, 2022

Dorey Scheimer
Meghna Chakrabarti

An abortion rights activist flies an upside down US flag, the international sign of distress, outside of the US Supreme Court during a protest in Washington, DC, on June 26, 2022, two days after the US Supreme Court scrapped half-century constitutional protections for the procedure. - Elected leaders across the US political divide rallied on June 26 for a long fight ahead on abortion -- state by state and in Congress -- with total bans in force or expected soon in half of the vast country. (Photo by Samuel Corum / AFP) (Photo by SAMUEL CORUM/AFP via Getty Images)

Find a full transcript of the episode here.

Studies show a majority of Americans believe other Americans mostly look out for themselves. But the nation has experienced that kind of trust recession before — one low point: the turn of the 20th century.

So how did Americans rebuild trust then?

“It wasn’t a policy change. It was a change in the views that ordinary Americans have about the duties they owe to other people," Robert Putnam says.

In the fifth and final episode of On Point's series Essential trust, we discuss how to replicate that change today.