With the announcement today of Senator JD Vance of Ohio as Donald Trump's running mate, I decided to go back into the archives of my old podcast and pull out an episode I published about the status of the white working class in America. A lot of what I said at the time came out of reading Vance's book Hillbilly Elegy, about his life growing up in Kentucky and Ohio and the struggles of his people there. I thought it would be interesting to go back and remember what I thought then and compare it to where we find ourselves now.
As you listen, keep in mind that this was recorded more than two years ago, before Vance won his Senate race in Ohio.
Episode 23: American Elegy