Many men without college degrees have nearly nonexistent social support, and are often one point of failure away from living in isolation, according to a new research report, Nobody to Call. Their lives are perilous: moving to a new town, losing a job, or the death of a friend could leave them fully divorced from their communities.

Sam Pressler, lead author of the paper and a practitioner fellow at the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy, joins Oren and Chris to unpack the risks facing men without college degrees. They make sense of why life has gotten so hard for this group, from reduced working-class job prospects to declining college matriculation and other post-high school pathways, as well as barriers to marriage. And they discuss the kinds of social programs currently available to these men, compared to what they really need.

Further reading:

• Nobody to Call
• “‘The Vibes Are Not Good’,” Oren Cass, Commonplace