Labor Unions had immense economic and political power in the post WWII era through the early 1970’s. In the 1950’s a third of all private sector workers were members of unions. For a host of reasons that we explore in this podcast, all that changed and for the last 50 years unions have shrunk to …
The profession of long haul trucking is vital to our nation’s commerce. As a career choice, many of us might think of it as one we would never pick because it can be lonely and unsettling as to a normal home life. Some choose it because they like the open road and others because they …
There is a disturbing history of a fifty-year plan to hijack voting rights in America. Despite Chief Justice John Roberts’ reputation as an institutionalist trying to steer the Supreme Court in a measured fashion, our guest says he’s not a deliberate incrementalist but rather a patient bulldozer. In his first fourteen years as the nation’s …
Recently, in Massachusetts, its government leaders discovered that the statewide 9-1-1 emergency system was down. A scramble ensued to handle the crisis. About 7 million people went for almost two hours with no 91-1 service. Unfortunately, such crashes have become more commonplace over the recent years as long needed upgrades to the system have been …
The process of dying in America has changed dramatically over the last twenty years. The process was often hidden away from family in a hospital setting. Today more than half of deaths are at home surrounded by loved ones. Along with this new American approach comes a range of responsibilities and stresses which can either …
‘It’s a part of me’ said one student when asked about a possible ban on smartphones in her classroom. While we can all come up with reasons that smartphone use is a distraction and worse in the classroom, who cannot sympathize with that student’s feeling? Given the amount of time we spend on these devices, …
Among demographers and others, even marketers, there are serious conversations going on about the consequences of plummeting birth rates. In the way that we often discuss retirement–do you have enough money to live on the rest of your life–we ignore the psychological, as well as economic,l effects of couples having fewer children and our society …
With Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for President, we have come to know more about the sororities which have become family for Black women in Historically Black colleges. Though bias and biology have made them members of two marginalized groups since the nation’s founding, Black women nonetheless have been enrolling in college at rates …
Is it as easy as just being good at music, painting, writing or other creative pursuits and the world will naturally beat a path to your door? Not really. I asked our guest how many Taylor Swifts wannabees, with talent, may be walking around today without a recording contract a realistic path to fame whose …
When the discussion turns to inner-city gun violence, many people throw up their hands in despair that it’s just part of the fabric of American life. Can that be true? As long as we choose not to address the root causes of the problem and find innovative approaches to it, I fear it will continue, …