The Uncertain Hour

Each season, we explain the weird, complicated and often unequal American economy — and why some people get ahead and some get left behind. Host Krissy Clark dives into obscure policies and forgotten histories to explain why America is like it is. The latest season examines the “welfare-to-work industrial complex” and the multi-million dollar companies running today’s for-profit welfare centers.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/the-uncertain-hour/

Eine durchschnittliche Folge dieses Podcasts dauert 36m. Bisher sind 57 Folge(n) erschienen. Jede Woche gibt es eine neue Folge dieses Podcasts.

Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 1 day 9 hours 39 minutes

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 March 8, 2016  3m
 
 

episode 1: The Magic Bureaucrat


In the summer of 1996, on the lawn of the White House Rose Garden, President Clinton signed a bill that would dramatically transform the country’s welfare system.

Twenty years later, what the heck is welfare anyway? And we should make it clear — we’re talking about cash assistance to poor families, not food stamps or medicaid...


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 April 28, 2016  41m
 
 

episode 2: White gloves, aluminum cans and plasma


Perhaps more than any other group, women on welfare have been stigmatized. In this episode, we introduce you to two women who’ve relied on welfare through the years: Ruby Duncan, an 83-year-old welfare rights activist in Las Vegas, and Josephine Moore, a 59-year-old mother of six in Kermit, West Virginia.

Duncan grew up picking cotton in rural Louisiana. As a young woman, she moved to Las Vegas where she worked as a maid in hotels and a cook in casinos...


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 May 11, 2016  34m
 
 

episode 3: What’s love (styles) got to do with it?


What do you think of when you think of welfare? Probably something along the lines of help or money given to families living in poverty.  Or, work requirements to receive assistance.

But actually, in 2014 only 23 out of every 100 poor families received basic cash assistance. That’s partly because states have a lot of discretion in deciding how to spend federal welfare block grants, known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or TANF...


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 May 26, 2016  34m
 
 

episode 4: Everything but the kitchen sink


What do college scholarships, marriage counseling classes and crisis pregnancy centers have in common? In some states, they’re funded by federal welfare dollars.

We are continuing our cross-country tour where we drop in on states to investigate how they spend welfare money, known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families or TANF.  This week: Michigan...


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 June 9, 2016  23m
 
 

episode 5: “Pregnant? We can help.”


When Brandi David discovered she was pregnant, she knew she wanted an abortion. Brandi was a graduate student at the time and didn’t feel ready to be a mother. She wasn’t sure where to go for help. But then she remembered a billboard at a busy intersection in South Bend, Indiana that she had driven by many times. It said: “Pregnant? We can help.” So she called the number...


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 June 24, 2016  26m
 
 

episode 6: The road not taken


What’s the best path out of poverty — work or education?

Twenty years ago, welfare reformers came to this fork in the road and had to ask the question: Is it better to encourage welfare recipients to get a job, any job? Or is it better to support them while they get training and education that will eventually help them get better-paying jobs?

In the end, welfare reformers adopted a “work-first” strategy that required most folks to work in order to...


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 July 7, 2016  43m
 
 

episode 7: The Album, “Work Makes the Difference”


Loyal listeners of The Uncertain Hour podcast may have had motivational work songs stuck in their heads (our apologies!).

As you know, this season we dug deep into the story of what the heck welfare is today. Episode one featured music produced by a county welfare department in Riverside, California. We also annotated the lyrics to the first track...


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 August 17, 2016  14m
 
 
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