The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Robert Reich wants you to take on the system

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Vox's Jamil Smith talks with former labor secretary, author, and social media gadfly Robert Reich about how our elected officials have fallen victim to the interests of the wealthy, what the pandemic exposed about our political and economic systems, and his vision of healthy civic education.

Host: Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Guest: Robert Reich (@RBReich), Professor of Public Policy, UC Berkeley; co-founder, Inequality Media

References: 

  • The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It by Robert Reich (Penguin Random House; 2021)
  • "The 1994 Midterms: When Newt Gingrich Helped Republicans Win Big" by Lesley Kennedy (History; Oct. 9, 2018)
  • The Common Good by Robert Reich (Penguin Random House; 2019)
  • "Mississippi Justice" on the 1964 murder of Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman (American Experience; Oct. 15, 2020)


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    This episode was made by: 

    • Producer: Erikk Geannikis
    • Editor: Amy Drozdowska
    • VP, Vox Audio: Liz Kelly Nelson

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