OFF-KILTER with Rebecca Vallas

For this week’s episode, Rebecca sat down with Troy N. Miller, who’s long served as the Off-Kilter podcast’s beloved “man behind the curtain,” aka executive producer. When he’s not producing Off-Kilter, the Zero Hour, Breaking Through, and other progressive podcast/radio programs, Troy serves as West Virginia organizer and special projects director at Social Security Works and at-large member of the West Virginia State Democratic Executive Committee. In what was Troy’s first time crossing over to appear as a guest on the podcast, Rebecca and Troy had a far-ranging conversation about the story behind the “21st Century Economic Bill of Rights” adopted by the West Virginia State Democratic Executive Committee last month; why it matters for states to adopt these kinds of nonbinding resolutions; myth versus fact when it comes to West Virginia politics; Troy’s path to getting involved with West Virginia politics; the role of progressive radio and podcasting in the larger movement for social and economic justice and how Troy’s decade in the progressive radio world has shaped him as an advocate; and lots more. 

Links from this episode:

• Learn more about West Virginia’s recently adopted economic bill of rights here

• Subscribe to Troy’s Substack: The Blue Ridge Breakdown

• Here’s the piece by Harvey Kaye and Alan Minsky calling for a renewal of FDR’s economic bill of rights for the 21st century

Wealth is a word that gets thrown around a lot, especially in economic conversations and spaces. The most basic definition is what you own minus what you owe. But as Aisha Nyandoro—CEO of Springboard to Opportunity and architect of the Magnolia Mother’s Trust—argues in her recent Tedx Talk, it’s time to redefine wealth in the United States. In her words, “for too long, we have allowed financial institutions to define wealth and the process by which we buildi it.” So for this week’s episode of Off-Kilter, Rebecca sat back down Aisha for a far-ranging conversation about how we define wealth and why it matters; Aisha’s own journey to answer the question of what wealth means to her; how the women who are part of the Magnolia Mother’s Trust answer that question; the relationship between wealth and liberation; how guaranteed minimum income can be part of the path to building a society where everyone has access to true wealth; money and spirituality; and more.

Links from this episode:

• Watch’s Aisha’s Tedx Talk here: “What Does Wealth Mean to You?”

• Follow Aisha on Twitter/X @aisha_nyandoro

• Here are some prior episodes of Off-Kilter with Aisha featuring more on her work, including the Magnolia Mother’s Trust: “Your Work Is Not Your Worth” and “Self-Care Is Political Warfare”

For this week’s episode of Off-Kilter, with October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Rebecca sat down with two leaders at JP Morgan Chase (JPMC) who are at the forefront of advancing disability employment within the business and employer community: Bryan Gill, head of JP Morgan Chase’s Office of Disability Inclusion and the firm’s global head of neurodiversity, and Nan Gibson, executive director of JP Morgan Chase’s PolicyCenter. They had a far-ranging conversation about the story behind JPMC’s Office of Disability Inclusion and how it’s working to remove barriers to hiring and successful employment for disabled people at JPMC; why disability employment and inclusion is both the right thing to do and a business strategy; how JPMC’s PolicyCenter is advancing policy and legislative reform to promote disability employment and inclusion across the workforce as a whole; how asset limits hurt JPMC’s disabled employees and why JPMC is engaged in the national push to update SSI’s antiquated asset limits; efforts JPMC has underway to better serve customers with disabilities as a group who’ve largely been overlooked within the financial sector; and lots more.

Links from this episode:

• Learn more about Bryan’s work as JPMC’s head of neurodiversity and the Office of Disability Inclusion here

• Read JPMC’s brief on how SSI’s asset limits hamper economic opportunity and mobility here

• Learn more about the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act here

• Connect with Bryan and Nan on LinkedIn

For this week’s episode of Off-Kilter, Rebecca sat down with Jen Burdick, supervising attorney of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) unit at Community Legal Services (CLS), Rebecca’s legal aid alma mater. They had a far ranging conversation about how “eligibility doesn’t equal access” and other lessons Jen has learned throughout her years as a public benefits lawyer; the human consequences of a decade-plus of defunding the Social Security Administration, from years-long backlogs in disability cases to overpayments that wreak havoc in beneficiaries’ lives; how Jen combines her client representation with policy advocacy and why the perspective of direct service providers like legal aid lawyers is so valuable to shaping public policy and legislative reform; how outdated policies like outdated asset limits lead to inhumane surveillance of poor people’s finances; the toxicity of the collective limiting belief that poor families aren’t to be trusted with their own money, and how that shows up in the SSI program, through “dedicated accounts” that restrict how families are able to spend their benefits; and lots more.

Links from this episode:

• Follow Jen and CLS on Twitter/X: @jen_burdick @clsphila and learn more about CLS’s work at clsphila.org

• Here’s the Kaiser Health News story on needless SSI overpayments and how they wreak havoc in low-income beneficiaries’ lives

• For more on the disinvestment in SSA’s administrative budget, check out this Off-Kilter episode

• And for more on how eligibility doesn’t equal access in public assistance programs, here’s the prior Off-Kilter episode that Jen was featured in

According to recently released Census data, poverty among older adults increased sharply again in 2022, after reaching an all-time low just two years before. One group of older Americans who’s especially struggling is older workers in physically demanding jobs. Contrary to the popular narrative that everyone’s living longer and work is getting easier, a recent task force convened by the National Academy of Social Insurance found that more than 10 million older workers are in jobs that are physically challenging and lack the resources to secure more viable jobs or retire. These workers are disproportionately low earners with lower educational attainment than the average American worker; they predominantly are workers of color and a growing share are women. For this week’s episode of Off-Kilter, we’re bringing you a panel discussion Rebecca moderated at a recent event hosted by the National Academy of Social Insurance about older workers in physically demanding jobs and the policy options the task force identified to strengthen social insurance supports to prevent poverty and hardship among this “invisible” group.

Links from this episode:

• Find the NASI task force report here and watch the full event here

• Learn more about the National Academy of Social Insurance at nasi.org

For this week’s episode of Off-Kilter, Rebecca sat back down with Emily Ladau. She’s the editor of the Voices of Disability Economic Justice Project and the author of Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally. She’s someone who’s done an immense amount throughout her career to shift narratives on disability in the United States and is a master storyteller whose many superpowers also include supporting other people in telling their stories. They had a far-ranging conversation about the Voices of Disability Economic Justice Project as it comes up on its one-year anniversary; why it’s so important for people with disabilities to get to tell their own stories; why storytelling is critical to policy and culture change; how she ended up on Sesame Street; why she wrote her book Demystifying Disability; and lots more. 

Links from this episode:

• Check out Emily’s book Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally

• Follow Emily on Twitter/X @emily_ladau 

• Learn more about the Voices project and how to write for it

• Here is the Off-Kilter episode feat. Emily with writer Alex Ashley Fox on the harms that come from autistic people being forced to mask at work, and here is Alex’s Voices piece

For this week’s episode of Off-Kilter, Rebecca sat down with longtime labor journalist Steven Greenhouse. He’s someone who really needs no introduction after spending thirty-one years at the New York Times, eighteen of which he spent covering the labor beat, until 2014. He’s also the author of The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker and Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present and Future of American Labor. And these days he’s a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, where he writes about wages and working conditions, labor organizing, and other workplace issues. In a conversation recorded the day after Labor Day, they had a far-ranging chat about the history of Labor Day in the United States; how he got into labor reporting; the rise of the U.S. labor movement and what’s behind recent declines in union participation; some of the most exciting recent developments within American labor, including successful efforts to organize Starbucks and Amazon workers; why he’s especially excited about worker-to-worker organizing as part of the future of the labor movement; and lots more.

Links from this episode:

• Follow Steve on Twitter/X at @greenhousenyt

• Check out Steve’s books The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker and Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present and Future of American Labor

• Here’s Steve’s piece on worker-to-worker organizing and the future of American labor

• Here’s his piece on union-busting at Starbucks and the holes in federal labor law that have been allowing it to happen

• And find all of Steve’s writing for TCF here

Something many of us take for granted, if we’ve never been without it, is how vitally important it is to have photo ID. In this day and age you can’t do pretty much anything without ID—from accessing public benefits to renting an apartment to voting, and so much more. So for this week’s episode, Rebecca sat back down with a dear friend who’s been leading the charge when it comes to ensuring that 26 million Americans have access to the IDs they need to escape poverty, access benefits, vote, and be fully part of American society—and that’s Kat Calvin. She’s the founder of Spread the Vote and the Project ID Action Fund and author of a new book called American Identity in Crisis: Notes from an Accidental Activist. They had a far-ranging conversation about the story behind the organizations she started and her new book; how she got involved in helping people get IDs; who doesn’t have ID in the United States and why it matters; why the U.S. ID crisis is both an economic justice issue and a democracy issue; and lots more. 

Links from this episode:

• Check out Kat’s new book American Identity in Crisis

• Learn more about Spread the Vote and the Project ID Action Fund

• Follow Kat Calvin and Spread the Vote/Project ID Action Fund on Twitter/X @KatCalvinLA @SpreadTheVoteUS

• Subscribe to Kat’s newsletter, Hot Takes and Applesauce

For this week’s episode, Rebecca sat down with Cara Reedy. She’s a journalist and the founder of a new organization called the Disabled Journalists Association (DJA)—which she’s spent the past two years setting up to identify the needs of disabled people in journalism and to amplify the voices of disabled journalists across the United States. It’s just getting off the ground and just launched its website this past week. (Check out discojourno.com to learn more, and if you’re a disabled journalist, check out the survey they’re running between now and October 2023 as they work to lay the foundation for DJA’s work.) They had a far-ranging conversation about the barriers to getting into journalism for disabled people today; the discrimination and ableism many face once they do make it into the newsroom and Cara’s own experience at a major news outlet; why inclusion in newsrooms matters to disability media coverage (and media coverage on all issues); how intentional, equitable, and diverse representation in newsrooms fits into the larger picture of disability economic justice; and lots more.

Links from this episode:

• Learn more about the Disabled Journalists Association at discojourno.com

• If you’re a disabled journalist, check out the survey DJA is running through October

• Follow Cara on Twitter at @infamouslyshort

• Nominate the changemakers you most want to hear from by emailing us at [email protected]

For this week’s episode, Rebecca sat down with Kate Nicholson, a dear friend and colleague and a policy advocate who’s been leading the charge when it comes to fighting on behalf of people who live with chronic pain. Today she serves as the founder and executive director of the National Pain Advocacy Center. They talk about what it’s like to live with chronic pain; Kate’s path to founding NPAC; the double-edged sword of crackdowns on access to opioids in recent years; how the COVID pandemic has expanded the chronic pain community; why Kate’s work has focused so heavily on storytelling; how spiritual care is core to her self-care; why it’s time to update the archetype of lawyer in the midst of a global paradigm shift; and lots more.

Links from this episode:

• Follow Kate on Twitter @speakingabtpain; follow NPAC at @national_pain; learn more about NPAC’s work; and subscribe to their newsletter

• September is Pain Awareness Month—join the conversation and share your story using #RealPainStories

• Nominate the changemakers you most want to hear from by emailing us at [email protected]