Forgotten Americans in the 2018 midterm elections

Editor’s Note: The Brookings Cafeteria podcast will release new episodes on the issues shaping the 2018 midterms every Tuesday and Friday leading up to Election Day. You can follow the series where we list all episodes of the Cafeteria podcast, and visit our 2018 Midterms page for more research and analysis on the upcoming elections.

Isabel Sawhill, a senior fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings, addresses the economic, cultural, and political divisions in America today, and describes what she learned by talking with Americans in three cities about what they want—and don’t want—from government. These discussions are the heart of her new book, The Forgotten Americans: An Economic Agenda for a Divided Nation, in which she lays out a new agenda that “marries” red state values about work, family, and education with blue state policies.

Also in this episode, a new Metro Lens segment, featuring Metropolitan Policy Program Senior Fellow Mark Muro talking about a new factbook on the state of the American heartland.

Related content:

The Forgotten Americans: An Economic Agenda for a Divided Nation

What the forgotten Americans really want−and how to give it to them

Americans stuck on the sidelines

Improving opportunity with policies for women and families

State of the Heartland: Factbook 2018

For more special Brookings Cafeteria episodes about the 2018 midterms, visit the BCP page. Also, more research and analysis from Brookings experts about the elections are here.

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Thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo with assistance from Mark Hoelscher, and to producers Brennan Hoban and Chris McKenna. Additional support comes from Jessica Pavone, Eric Abalahin, Camilo Ramirez, Emily Horne, and our interns Tim Madden and Churon Bernier.

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The Brookings Cafeteria is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.