Learn more about the distribution of income and wealth in the U.S. by checking out the data visualization that was the original inspiration for the 1500 Stories project and its interactive version online.
Explore how inequality undermines economic growth in this Center for American Progress report
To track how American beliefs about the fairness of the U.S. economy have changed over the last several years:
2020 Pew Research Center data about whether Americans believe the U.S. economy is fair or not
2018 Pew Research Center data about whether Americans believe the U.S. economy is fair or not
2016 Pew Research Center data about whether Americans believe the U.S. economy is fair or not
To learn more about people working to reduce economic inequality, check out these:
United for a Fair Economy
The Responsible Wealth Project
The Center for Responsive Politics
The Center for Public Integrity
Jane McAlevey’s work on labor organizing
The Poor People’s Campaign
Resource Generation
Sociology References
Gerteis, Joseph & Mike Savage. 1998. “The Salience of Class in Britain and America: A Comparative Analysis.” The British Journal of Sociology, 49(2), 252-274.
Gilens, Martin. 2014. Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Gilens , Martin and Benjamin Page. 2014. “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups and Average Citizens.” Perspectives on Politics 12(3): 564-81.
Piven, Frances Fox & Richard A. Cloward. 1978. Poor People’s Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail. New York: Penguin.
Savage, Mike, Fiona Devine, Niall Cunningham, Sam Friedman, Daniel Luarison, Andrew Miles, Helene Snee, & Mark Taylor. 2015. “On Social Class, Anno 2014.” Sociology, 49(6), 1011-1030.
Schwalbe, Michael. 2014. Rigging the Game: How Inequality Is Reproduced in Everyday Life. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Voorheis, John, Nolan McCarty & Boris Shor. 2015 (August 21). “Unequal Incomes, Ideology and Gridlock: How Rising Inequality Increases Political Polarization.” Working paper. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2649215
Wilkinson, Richard & Kate Pickett. 2010. The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger. New York: Bloomsbury Press.
This episode was written, produced and edited by Jennifer R. Myhre, with editing assistance from Lea Li and Deven Sutaria. The music that opens and closes each 1500 Stories episode was composed and produced by Benjamin Henderson. Additional music was composed by Jesus Correa. The 1500 Stories podcast was launched thanks to generous financial assistance from the Mellon Foundation and American Council of Learned Societies community college faculty fellowship program. However, any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed here are our own and do not necessarily represent those of Mellon or ACLS. Thanks to Melanie Bennetts, Lea Li, Elizabeth Mjelde, and Melinda Poley for their ears in early stages of drafting this episode.
