John Komlos (Munich): The Economic Roots of the Rise of Trumpism. The return of the “forgotten man”: Luke Philip Plotica on refurbishing symbols of the Gilded Age. The introduction to The Left Behind: Decline and Rage in Rural America by Robert Wuthnow. Whitewashing Trump country: Sarah Jones on how the media erases people of color from rural communities. When the “deep story” is a big lie: Frank Pasquale on how Arlie Russell Hochschild’s Strangers in Their Own Land and J. D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy unintentionally reveal the real foundations of America’s political divides. The reaching-out industry: Tim Donnelly on journeying into red states with bridge-building liberals. The math is clear: Democrats need to win more working-class white votes. There is no need to pander to Midwestern blue voters.
Utopia parkway: Martha Bayne on mining the Midwest for the perfect laissez-faire social order. On being Midwestern: Phil Christman on the burden of normality. The American Midwest is quickly becoming a blue-collar version of Silicon Valley. There’s something the matter with Ohio too: Like Kansas, the state seems to be making economic and cultural choices that are holding it back. A toxic tour through underground Ohio: A booming injection well industry is pumping toxic waste deep into the earth in Ohio’s rural towns. A road map for reviving the Midwest: Universities and immigration are vital — unfortunately, both are under attack.
America’s heartland has moved to the South and West: The nation’s population has shifted away from the traditional centers of power. Larry Summers on the Midwest and South: The case for a government bailout of the heartland.
