Political Rewind: Author Farah Stockman talks class divide and the politics of blue-collar America

Credit: Author photo by Bella Wang.

Tuesday on Political Rewind, we spoke to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Farah Stockman, author of American Made: What Happens to People When Work Disappears. The new book follows the fate of three Americans in the Rust Belt abandoned by a manufacturing economy relocating to cheaper labor overseas. Shannon, John and Wally each come from different backgrounds, but each derive a sense of identity from their work at a steel ball bearing plant in Indianapolis. So what happens when the factory closes down?

Stockman's telling of the story is an earnest and unflinching closeup of the connection between labor, identity, class and politics against the backdrop of the shifting sands of the American political landscape. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate skipped their recess this week to push forward two voting bills. Under current Senate rules, it takes 60 senators to end debate and proceed to a vote. But reaching that majority in an evenly divided Senate is not likely.

In the Georgia House, a new bill, HB 853, aims to prioritize mental health treatment over incarceration.

Tomorrow on Political Rewind: 

We are set to speak to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's politics reporter Greg Bluestein.