We should party more

Parties are an essential part of the human experience. They’re a place for us to connect, experiment, and even blow off steam. But in our increasingly isolated world, we’ve forgotten how to party. In this episode, we talk to Imogen “Immy” Williams, author of “Up All Night: A History of Going Out,” and party host Halston Bruce about how to throw the perfect party and why parties are so important for human connection.

The History of Parties

For most of human history, parties were religious experiences. Immy Williams explains that activities like drinking, dancing, and music were all part of religious ceremonies. In fact, there’s even evidence that church-going experiences in medieval England were quite rowdy and raucous. Williams shares a theory that wooden pews were introduced in Wells Cathedral in England to subdue the dancing during church services. This idea of collective effervescence, a term coined by sociologist Émile Durkheim in 1912, describes the feeling of euphoria that people experience during communal activities. This can be at a sports match, a concert, or even a church service. Williams argues that parties and nightlife are an important way to access this very important human feeling, especially in increasingly atheist or secular societies.