Colleen Shaddox and Joanne Samuel Goldblum - Broke in America

Dissident Orthodoxy

Joanne Samuel Goldblum and Colleen Shaddox, the authors of Broke in America (Ben Bella Books, 2021), join Casey for a discussion on their work, the state of poverty in America and the fact that poverty is a policy choice. We get into such topics as privatization of basic human needs, school zoning and whether the Biden administration is doing anything notable to combat poverty on a national scale.

Both authors share how they came to this work as well as the faith traditions (Jewish and Catholic) that brought them to care for the poor in a material way.

We also discuss what it truly means to be on the side of the poor and marginalized (hint: it has much more to do with material restructuring than it does performative gesticulations or interpersonal anti-racist measures) and the fact that Barbara Lee is the real deal (for just one proof of this fact, watch this video right after 9/11, when she stands alone in the House of Representatives - not even Bernie got this one right - and defends her sole vote against Bush's AUMF)!

Order Broke in America here

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Joanne Goldblum is CEO and founder of the National Diaper Bank Network, encompassing more than 200 member organizations that provide diapers and other basic needs to families across America. In 2018, she founded the Alliance for Period Supplies, which provides free hygiene products to the one in four people for whom menstruation means difficulty attending school and work. Joanne has spent her career working with and advocating for families in poverty. She has written op-eds for The Washington Post, US News & World Report, and HuffPost. She has been an ABC Person of the Week and the subject of profiles by CNN, People, and many other outlets. Joanne is an inspiring and in-demand speaker. In 2007 she was chosen as one of 10 Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leaders on the basis of her work to found the New Haven Diaper Bank.

Colleen Shaddox is a print and radio journalist and activist. Her publication credits include The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Public Radio, America, and many more. She left daily newspapers when an editor reprimanded her for “writing too many stories about poor people” and went to work in a soup kitchen. She has had one foot in journalism and one in non-profits ever since. In states throughout the country, Colleen has worked on winning campaigns to get kids out of adult prisons, to end juvenile life without parole and to limit shackling in juvenile courts. She is a frequently anthologized fiction writer. Her award-winning play, The Shakespeares, and other dramatic works have been performed around the country.