"Nickel and Dimed" author Barbara Ehrenreich will visit East Lansing tonight. Current State talks with her about her work on income inequality.
In the early 20th century, a new type of journalist emerged. The “muckraker” sought to expose corruption and exploitation, often by going undercover. Writer Barbara Ehrenreich has become famous for her modern-day muckraking. For her 2001 book, “Nickel and Dimed,” she explored the impact of 1990s welfare reforms by taking low-wage jobs and living off her meager earnings. She has since become an outspoken critic of the rising income inequality in the U.S.
Ehrenreich didn’t start out as a writer or an activist. In fact, she actually earned her Ph.D in cellular immunology.
Current State talks with Ehrenreich ahead of her lecture on American inequality at the Kellogg Auditorium in East Lansing this evening.