J.D. Vance joined the national conversation in 2016 with his book, Hillbilly Elegy, which chronicled his small-town life in Middletown, Ohio. He eventually joined the Marines, went to Yale Law, and became a venture capitalist.

 

After all these years, he has returned to Ohio and is now running for Rob Portman's seat in the senate. He chatted with Tony Mazur about life in a small town, how his portrayal in the media changed from 2016 till now, the low jobs and high opioid rates, and his thoughts on the Ron Howard-directed film of the same name.

 

Follow Tony on his various social media platforms:

Twitter - @TonyMazur

Instagram - @tmaze25

 

Be sure to subscribe to Tony's Patreon. $5 a month gets you bonus content, extra podcasts, and early access to guests. Visit Patreon.com/TonyMazur.

 

Cover art for the Check Your Brain podcast is by Eric C. Fischer. If you need terrific graphic design work done, contact Eric at [email protected].