Though as old as America itself, the American dream wasn’t actually christened until the Great Depression. And now it stands on shaky ground in the wake of the Great Recession. With the gap between rich and poor wider than ever, the dream of freedom and equal opportunity is increasingly out of reach. This summer, NPR is producing a series of stories about the American dream, and NPR reporters Ari Shapiro and John Ydstie join Doug on Wednesday to take the dream’s pulse in the 21st century.
- Visit the web site for NPR's "American Dreams: Then and Now" series
- Listen to or read stories by Ari Shapiro and John Ydstie for the "American Dreams" series.
Today's guests on RadioWest:
- Ari Shapiro reports on the White House for NPR with a focus on national security and legal affairs.
- John Ydstie has covered the economy, Wall Street and the federal budget for NPR for two decades.
- John Kenneth White is a Professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America and is co-editor of The American Dream in the 21st Century and the author of Barack Obama's America: How New Conceptions of Race, Family, and Religion Ended the Reagan Era.
Music from today's RadioWest:
- Booker T, "Space City"
- Radiohead, "Reckoner"
- Paul Jacobsen and The Madison Arm, instrumental
