On this week’s episode we talk to Gabriel Winant, Assistant Professor of U.S. History at the University of Chicago, about his forthcoming book, The Next Shift: The Fall of Industry and the Rise of Health Care in Rust Belt America. In it, he focuses on the political economy of Pittsburgh since World War II—specifically, how blue-collar manufacturing jobs were eventually replaced by female-dominated, yet lower-paid and less stable, positions in healthcare services. In this conversation, we mostly just try to understand his deep and informative argument. We also speculate about the future of work and discuss what this story should tell us about the working class.
Additional readings, including any referenced during the episode, are available on our website: DiggingAHolePodcast.com.