Writer Ethan Watters joins Marcia Franklin to discuss the themes in his book, Urban Tribes, which looks at the ways in which young, unmarried Americans create their own sense of family.

Ethan Watters has written about psychiatry and social psychology for 20 years. He has also taught writing at Berkeley, Stanford, and California College of the Arts. In 1994 he co-founded the San Francisco Writers' Grotto.

In addition to several books, he's written about social trends for publications from Esquire to the New York Times Magazine, among other national and regional publications. He has also created pieces for Public Radio International's This American Life.

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Originally Aired: 12/18/2008

The interview is part of Dialogue's series, "Conversations from the Sun Valley Writers' Conference," and was taped at the 2008 conference. Since 1995, the conference has been bringing together some of the world's most well-known and illuminating authors to discuss literature and life.