In 2004, historian Thomas Frank proposed a theory about the rightward drift of the white working class. Was he a prescient king whose work presaged the rise of Trump — or a bumbling fool with a broken thesis? Unfortunately it turns out he is a secret third thing that takes one hour and six minutes to explain.
Special thanks to Julia Valdés for her help with this episode!
Where to find us:
Sources:
- The Thesis That Drove American Politics Crazy: The Emerging Democratic Majority
- What’s the Matter with What’s the Matter with Kansas?
- Class is Dismissed
- The White Working Class and the Democratic Party
- It’s time to bust the myth: Most Trump voters were not working class.
- How the diploma divide came to dominate American politics
- The 'Diploma Divide': Does It Exist for Racial and Ethnic Minorities?
- Blind Retrospection: Why Shark Attacks Are Bad For Democracy
- Nationally poor, locally rich: Income and local context in the 2016 presidential election
- Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government
- Identity Crisis: The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Meaning of America
- Political Landscapes of Donald Trump
- The White Working Class and the 2016 Election
- Partisanship by family income, home ownership, union membership and veteran status
- The Elites Had It Coming
- What Explains Educational Realignment Among White Americans?
Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
