On this edition of Your Call, we discuss Going For Broke: Living on the Edge in the World’s Richest Country, edited by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project's (EHRP) Alissa Quart and David Wallis.
In the book, writers share stories about what it's like to live without a stable social safety net as they deal with issues like finding a mental health provider on Medicaid, caregiving, trying to find a job with an invisible disability, hunger, and surviving on the streets.
The EHRP supports independent journalists who counter the typical disparaging narratives about inequality. With so much attention on the state of the economy, what will it take to ensure these stories get the coverage they deserve across the media ecosystem?
Guests:
Alissa Quart, executive director of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, co-editor of Going For Broke, and author of Squeezed: Why Our Families Can’t Afford America
Deborah Jian Lee, senior editor of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, contributor to Going for Broke, and author of Rescuing Jesus: How People of Color, Women, and Queer Christians Are Reclaiming Evangelicalism
Andrea Dobynes Wagner, featured in Going For Broke
Ray Suarez, veteran journalist, contributor to Going for Broke, and author of the forthcoming book, We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century: an Oral History
Resources:
New York Times: A Life Without a Home - Voices from the tents, shelters, cars, motels and couches of America
