Ray Oldenburg, author of The Great Good Place and The Joy of Tippling, talks to Karen Christensen
Channel: Berkshire Publishing Group
Date: 2023-01-26

Ray Oldenburg talks about third places he’s known, the loss of community caused by single-use zoning, and what inspired him to write The Great Good Place. This conversation was recorded by Karen Christensen on her first trip to meet Ray, in April 2012, after corresponding with him for 20 years. He had also worked with her on the Encyclopedia of Community. The recording was done at the spur of the moment, on Karen’s phone, as a practice run for what they thought would be another session. Over a decade later, weeks before Ray’s death, in November 2022, Karen found it on a backup drive. Edited by Michael Hanish of Freelunch Media, we present it now to introduce Ray Oldenburg, the author of The Great Good Place, and to celebrate his life, his work, and his good cheer. Below is a list of the questions Karen and Ray discuss:
What type of place has the most potential to be a third place?
How about big coffee chains, like Starbucks, or Lavazz, Costa Coffee, even Dunkin Donuts or McDonalds?
What do you think of the claim that we can have third places online, using social media platforms?
What started you off on this quest of yours?
What kind of physical set-up encourages the third-place experience?
What difference does the owner, or the waitstaff, or the bartender make?
What is the role of regulars in creating a third place?
How did living in Pensacola prompt you to write The Great Good Place?
Who were you writing the book for – who did you hope would read it?
What have you observed about teenagers and third places?
How has single-use zoning affected our sense of community?
Is it important to talk to people who aren’t just like us?