Class and Combat

Imagine if you could ask someone anything you wanted about their finances. On What We Spend, people from across the country and across the financial spectrum are opening their wallets—and their lives—to tell you everything: what they make, what they want, and—for one week—what they spend.Listen to and follow What We Spend, available now, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Pulitzer on the Road podcast is back for season two! What does it take to win a Pulitzer Prize? In each episode, we’ll hear winners in conversation with one another, sharing stories behind their prize-winning work. This packed season features conversations between historians Vladimir Kara-Murza and Anne Applebaum, novelists Jayne Anne Phillips and Viet Thanh Nguyen, playwrights Sanaz Toossi and Lynn Nottage, critics Justin Chang and Joe Morgenstern, biographer Jonathan Eig and journalist Yohance Lacour, investigative reporter Hannah Dreier and photo-journalists Greg Bull and Ivan Valencia, and critic Salamishah Tillet talking with journalists Sarah Conway and Trina Reynolds-Tyler.The first episode is out now! Listen and follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Why are we so attracted to stories of people suffering on television? And what happens after the cameras turn off? In our final episode, Jonathan explores the origins of reality TV and uncovers his family’s shocking connection to a very early reality TV game show. Angelina is an educator and poet. You can find her books of poetry at https://angelinasaenz.com/

What we eat can say a lot about who we are and where we’re from. This week, Jonathan and comedian Chris Gethard face their fear of fancy restaurants as they try to eat their way through their class anxieties. Plus, an exploration of what it’s like when the government decides what you can or can’t eat.You can hear more from Chris Gethard on his podcast, Beautiful/Anonymous, new episodes are out every Tuesday. You can find Sunni’s WIC recipes and more on her TikTok, @justsunni.

On this episode, we’re looking into one of the biggest chasms between us in this country – who serves in the military and who doesn’t. Every year, the United States military has to convince thousands of young people to enlist. They want a group of recruits that looks like the country, across race, class, and geography. Jonathan heads to New Jersey with reporter and Army veteran Adam Linehan to see how that’s working out. You can read more of Adam’s work at https://www.adamlinehan.com/. 

What happens when your wildest dreams become a reality? This week Jonathan talks with one of his teenage heroes, Jarvis Cocker of the band Pulp, about how fantasy drove his journey from working-class kid to famous pop star. And how he funneled all of his class frustration into the anthem “Common People.”Jarvis is currently on tour with Pulp, you can find more information at https://linktr.ee/welovepulp. His book is Good Pop, Bad Pop.

No matter your class background, you’re bound to cross some lines and make mistakes. In this episode, Comedian Wyatt Cenac talks about where he went wrong and encourages us to be open about our financial fumbles. And advice columnist JP Brammer aka Hola Papi answers listener questions to find out who might be a Classhole. If you have a juicy question or story about class, leave us a message.The classy hotline is open: 844-992-5277.Read more of J.P. Brammer’s advice on his Hola Papi Substack. You can find more information about what Wyatt’s up to on his website. 

We can’t talk about class without talking about race. Through eye-opening conversations with two people of color in the fashion industry, Jonathan realizes some hard truths about the ways he’s adapted in order to blend in. And he reveals how one small, but bold act is helping him to reclaim his cultural identity.You can find more on Brenda Equihua’s clothing brand on her website https://equihua.us/You can stay up to date with Amechi Ugwu on Instagram @_amechi_

How do we change ourselves to fit in at work? Jonathan unpacks class divisions in the workplace with his former boss and public radio legend, Terry Gross.

Jonathan has some hangups about class. In the first episode of this series, he takes us from a nightclub outside LA to the halls of a fancy Manhattan prep school, and asks sociologist Rachel Sherman 'are rich people bad?'