Book talks

By Madeline Beard

Sunday, July 29th, 2012

Stories: The view from the ground: Seeds of recovery; Restoring the American Dream; End of Retirement; More on the project; Assault on the Middle Class; Phantom Jobs
video: Barlett and Steele talk about wages, money and politics

Co-authors Jim Steele, left, and Don Barlett will speak at libraries and bookstores around the country. To hear more about the project and the book, listen to NPR's Morning Edition interview.

Aug. 2: Free Library of Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.

Aug. 15: Kansas City Public Library, 6:30 p.m.

Aug. 28: Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C., 7 p.m.

Sept. 5: Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, Hunter College, New York, 6 p.m.

Oct. 4: Washington College, Chestertown, Md., 5 p.m.

Oct. 9: Katzen Arts Center, American University, Washington, D.C., 7 p.m.

Oct 17: Marines' Memorial Club, 609 Sutter Street, San Francisco, 6 p.m. PST, register at 415-673-6672, ext. 229, for the event being produced in association with the Center for Investigative Reporting. Details here.

RADIO INTERVIEWS

Oct. 15: Minnesota Public Radio, 9 a.m. CST

Oct. 15: KPFA, Berkeley, Calif., 10:15 a.m. PST

Oct. 16: KALW, San Francisco, 10 a.m. PST

Oct. 22: WLRN, Miami, 1 p.m. EST

What Went Wrong

Donald Barlett and James Steele are revisiting America: What Went Wrong, their landmark 1991 newspaper series, in a new project with the Investigative Reporting Workshop. Over the next year, the project team will examine how four decades of public policy has shaped America's ongoing economic crisis.

Issues

Back Story

The authors talk about What Went Wrong

Donald Barlett and James Steele talk about the project, and why they decided to revisit a book they wrote two decades ago, in a series of video clips produced by the Workshop.

Nation's Story

Who pays the taxes?

We feature charts, maps, photos and other visualizations that reflect the state of the economy as part of our What Went Wrong project. This column chart shows the growing disparity between what individuals and corporations pay in taxes. In the 1950s, the difference was 22 percent. Recent figures show the difference is 62 percent.

Recent Blog Posts

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New Pew Center on States report confirms that moving up the American economic ladder is difficult, even though most people have more income than their parents.

Homelessness takes it toll on Florida's youngest

Florida, as a center of the housing boom, still struggles to recover from the Great Recession. Financial stresses and widespread foreclosures have placed families in precarious situations, resulting in a spike in child homelessness. Susannah Nesmith reports in the Broward Bulldog.

Older workers face challenges in Silicon Valley

An advanced degree and experience in the tech sector should be a ticket to a job in today's economy. But older workers in the heart of the new economy, Silicon Valley, are finding their resume is not the issue. Aaron Glantz reports in The Bay Citizen.

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Read an Excerpt

The Betrayal of the American Dream on Google Books

Check out the first chapter of Barlett and Steele's 2012 book here.