Long, long ago, in 2019, artist Jenny Odell published the book How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, “a field guide to doing nothing as an act of political resistance” and an argument for reclaiming the most valuable thing we have: our attention. It became a New York Times bestseller and even landed on […]
The Sinking Middle Class
The concept of the middle class has a unique hold on the American imagination—for years, it’s been the central talking point of both dominant political parties. But what is this middle class and what does it really mean to “save” it? Save it from what? From whom? Today on the show, Allen explores these questions […]
Rebroadcast: Let’s Talk Black Burnout
Back in February, Wednesday host Ali Muldrow sat down with poet Tiana Clark to discuss Black burnout. This was pre-pandemic in the U.S., pre-summer protests, and pre-election season, but we think the conversation is just as relevant as ever, so we present it today as a special rebroadcast. This episode originally aired on February 19, […]
Work and Workers in the Age of COVID
Facing another COVID case surge in the U.S. and with the presidential election just around the corner, today we do a worker check-in with Stephanie Luce, professor at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. Over the course of the hour, she and Patty cover topics like COVID’s ongoing impact on workers, the changing […]
Making the Gig Economy Work for Workers
The “sharing economy,” which has been on the rise for the past decade, has become increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic, with American unemployment reaching its all-time high back in April and more workers struggling to make ends meet under ever-changing conditions. Today on the show, Patty discusses the gig economy and how to make […]
Coerced Labor in America Today
The pandemic and attendant economic crisis have laid bare the enormous power imbalances in contemporary American work life. Today, we speak with sociologist Erin Hatton about her new book Coerced, in which she looks at four distinct groups of workers—from prisoners and welfare workers to graduate students and college athletes—who are not often recognized as […]
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