Show Notes
What happens when the promise of higher education no longer delivers economic security? New York Times reporter Noam Scheiber argues that millions of college graduates increasingly face the same insecurity that has long confronted traditional working-class Americans. In this conversation, he explains why workers from Starbucks baristas to Hollywood writers are embracing collective action, and why artificial intelligence may deepen that transformation.
More from Writer's Voice with Francesca Rheannon
Four young people find refuge in a Lithuanian forest, where intelligent crows help them survive World War II. I talk with Ray Nayler about Palaces of the Crow, the pull of revenge, and how we learn to care for one another.
Who gets a say in what technology builds? I talk with Clarissa Redwine and JS Tan about challenging tech oligarchy, then revisit Noam Scheiber on Hollywood writers, AI and the possibility of a broader labor alliance.
A nuclear missile becomes part of the landscape. An ongoing atrocity gets buried in careful language. I talk with Tom Lin about Babylon, South Dakota, then revisit my March 2025 interview with Omar El Akkad about Gaza, complicity, and the gap between what we say and what we do.
Malavika Kannan explores what it means to come of age amid climate crisis, political upheaval and changing sexual norms in Unprecedented Times. Then Lauren Acampora talks about The Animal Room, stories that use our relationships with animals to illuminate care, power, privilege and our relationships with one another.
What can ordinary people do when immigration enforcement comes to their community? Sonali Kolhatkar talks about Breaking ICE and the networks of mutual aid, documentation and collective action that have emerged across the country.