Paul Wilkes discusses his book, Trying Out the Dream: a Year in the Life of an American Family, about a blue-collar worker and his family adapting to suburban life in the 1970s.  Includes a clip from an interview with steelworker Mike Lefevre.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Content Warning: This conversation includes racially and/or culturally derogatory language and/or negative depictions of Black and Indigenous people of color, women, and LGBTQI+ individuals. Rather than remove this content, we present it in the context of twentieth-century social history to acknowledge and learn from its impact and to inspire awareness and discussion. In "Long Old Road: An Autobiography," Horace Cayton talks about growing up in Seattle in a well to do, mostly white neighborhood. Cayton's grandfather was the first Black man elected to the U.S.

The novelist discusses The Nirvana Blues, part of a trilogy of stories about New Mexico which also includes The Milagro Beanfield War and The Magic Journey. This program includes an excerpt of an interview with two west coast farmers, George Balas and Jessie de la Cruz, about fast foods’ effects on agriculture and farming in Western United States.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations