In her 2001 masterwork
Nickel and Dimed, the late Barbara Ehrenreich went undercover to report on the daily realities working people in America face trying to get by on minimum-wage. After working as a housekeeper, a nursing aide, a home cleaner, a server, and more, Ehrenreich wrote that "The first thing I discovered is that no job, no matter how lowly, is truly 'unskilled.'" It is difficult to overstate the impact that Ehrenreich's book and body of work have had on US culture and working-class politics over the last 25 years, and the enduring relevance of her work today. In this special episode of
Working People, we commemorate the anniversary of
Nickel and Dimed and celebrate the life and legacy of Ehrenreich by speaking with a panel of guests who are carrying on that legacy today.
Panelists include:
Deirdre English, coauthor of three books with Barbara Ehrenreich, former editor in chief of
Mother Jones, and a former director of the Magazine Center at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley;
Alissa Quart, editorial director of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project and author of seven books, most recently
Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream; and
Ann Larson, author of
Cleanup on Aisle Five: Essential Work, Poverty Wages, and the View from Behind the Supermarket Register and a fellow with the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.
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