The crisis of connection among boys and young men

Men hold most of the leadership roles in American politics with majorities in governorships and the U.S. Senate. College presidents are mostly male, and men dominate the business world. And they still beat out women when it comes to the gender pay gap. But there is a jarring disconnect when looking at boys and men in America. They commit most of the homicides, are most likely to be victims of violent crime, are more likely to die by suicide compared to women and have shorter life spans.

Our guest, developmental psychologist Niobe Way, has spent decades listening to boys and young men and says they are experiencing a crisis of connection, driven in part by our narrow view of masculinity. Her new book is Rebels with a Cause: Reimagining Boys, Ourselves and Our Culture. She joins us to talk how “boy culture,” which values thinking over feeling and independence over dependence, hurts boys and the rest of us.