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An Inner History of the New America

Thursday, the journalist George Packer joins us to talk about his new book, The Unwinding. It tells the story of America’s economic transformation since the 1970s through the stories of four average citizens and one average city. It also profiles famous Americans who built their own false empires by selling us promises of prosperity, fame and convenience. All the while, Packer says the structures that shored up the middle class were eroded, only to be replaced by a society of organized money where “winners win bigger than ever…and losers have a long way to go before hitting bottom.”

Read an excerpt of George Packer's new book The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America on Slate.com.

GUEST

  • George Packer is a staff writer at The New Yorker. He's the author of eight books, including Interesting Times: Writings from a Turbulent Decade [Amazon/IndieBound], Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq [Amazon/IndieBound], and his newest, The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America [Amazon/IndieBound].
Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.