Poverty, by America
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Narrated by:
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Dion Graham
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Written by:
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Matthew Desmond
About this listen
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Evicted reimagines the debate on poverty, making a “provocative and compelling” (NPR) argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it.
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Oprah Daily, Time, The Star Tribune, Vulture, The Christian Science Monitor, Chicago Public Library, Esquire, California Review of Books, She Reads, Library Journal
“Urgent and accessible . . . Its moral force is a gut punch.”—The New Yorker
Longlisted for the Inc. Non-Obvious Book Award • Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal
The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?
In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. Those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor, driving down their wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit. We prioritize the subsidization of our wealth over the alleviation of poverty, designing a welfare state that gives the most to those who need the least. And we stockpile opportunity in exclusive communities, creating zones of concentrated riches alongside those of concentrated despair. Some lives are made small so that others may grow.
Elegantly written and fiercely argued, this compassionate book gives us new ways of thinking about a morally urgent problem. It also helps us imagine solutions. Desmond builds a startlingly original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom.
©2023 Matthew Desmond (P)2023 Random House AudioYou may also enjoy...
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In Evicted, Princeton sociologist and MacArthur “Genius” Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they each struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Hailed as “wrenching and revelatory” (The Nation), “vivid and unsettling” (New York Review of Books), Evicted transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of twenty-first-century America’s most devastating problems. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible.
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The Heat Will Kill You First
- Life and Death on a Scorched Planet
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- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
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-
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- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 20 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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Incredible Work
- By RandomAccount007 on 2024-05-29
Written by: Jonathan Eig
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Wasteland
- The Secret World of Waste and the Urgent Search for a Cleaner Future
- Written by: Oliver Franklin-Wallis
- Narrated by: Chris Harper
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Wasteland, journalist Oliver Franklin-Wallis takes us on a shocking journey inside the waste industry—the secretive multi-billion dollar world that underpins the modern economy, quietly profiting from what we leave behind.
-
-
Essential listening
- By Beatrice Miu on 2023-10-12
Written by: Oliver Franklin-Wallis
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Opinions
- A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People’s Business
- Written by: Roxane Gay
- Narrated by: Roxane Gay
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since the publication of the groundbreaking Bad Feminist and Hunger, Roxane Gay has continued to tackle big issues embroiling society—state-sponsored violence and mass shootings, women’s rights post-Dobbs, online disinformation, and the limits of empathy—alongside more individually personalized matters: can I tell my co-worker her perfume makes me sneeze? Is it acceptable to schedule a daily 8 am meeting? In her role as a New York Times opinion section contributor and the publication’s “Work Friend” columnist, she reaches millions of readers with her wise voice and sharp insights.
Written by: Roxane Gay
-
Stay True
- A Memoir
- Written by: Hua Hsu
- Narrated by: Hua Hsu
- Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the eyes of eighteen-year-old Hua Hsu, the problem with Ken—with his passion for Dave Matthews, Abercrombie & Fitch, and his fraternity—is that he is exactly like everyone else. Ken, whose Japanese American family has been in the United States for generations, is mainstream; for Hua, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, who makes ’zines and haunts Bay Area record shops, Ken represents all that he defines himself in opposition to. The only thing Hua and Ken have in common is that, however they engage with it, American culture doesn’t seem to have a place for either of them.
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Nothing gained nothing lost
- By Corey on 2023-11-25
Written by: Hua Hsu
What the critics say
“A searing, essential book . . .[that] solidifies Desmond’s status as a remarkable chronicler of our times.”—Vulture
“The passion, eloquence, and lively storytelling that made Evicted a Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller are back in force as Desmond continues to speak on behalf of America’s most hard-pressed. Desmond is our national conscience.”—Oprah Daily
“Desmond’s new book is short, smart, and thrilling. The thrill comes from the sheer boldness of Desmond’s argument and his carefully modulated but very real tone of outrage that underlies his words.”—Rolling Stone
What listeners say about Poverty, by America
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jezel
- 2023-07-01
A Powerful Message
This book is a thorough and thoughtful analysis of how the richest nation on Earth can consistently fail at improving the lives of it's poorest citizens. I will definitely be listening to this one again. My one critique of this book is that there isn't a single mention of the plight of Native American communities, even while talking about colonialism. They continue to be an afterthought, almost non-existent, even in discussions about poverty.
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- Jeremy
- 2024-03-16
Preaching to the choir
This will have no effect. Just a deeply one sided evaluation of the issue. Another contribution to the demonization of capitalism. The very thing which made America as wealthy as it is. The reality is that poverty is naturally declining globally, and nobody is coordinating this. It is happening because of free market capitalism.
What people miss is that you can’t tax what income and profit isn’t generated. Make business in America unattractive and guess what, business will leave and you will be taxing 70% of zero.
Bottom line is that this book will only serve to cause the right to dig in their heels and will further push the left against freedom and capitalism. A moderate take that appeals to both sides would be much more effective.
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