If you've watched any news channel in the last few years, you probably have noticed an increase in attention and commentary on voters and problems faced by those in the Midwestern United States. Some outlets stress the importance of the issues faced by those in this region. Yet others still talk about them as a tertiary focus for political parties.

What are the issues faced by those in the Midwest? How long have these issues been going on? How unique are these issues compared to issues faced by those on the coastal United States? How big of an impact do they play for political parties? And is the U.S. now really split between the middle vs. the coasts? Or is that more rhetoric being used to further divide us Americans? In this episode, we dive into what the research suggests about all those questions.

Anderso, T. (2016, Jul). For Midwest, population growth will be a greater demographic, policy challenge in years ahead. The Council of State Governments. Retrieved from https://www.csgmidwest.org/policyresearch/0616-demographic-future-Midwest.aspx

Duke, B. (2017, Jun 7). Center for Amercian Progress. Retrieved from Interactive Map: The Midwestern Recession: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2017/06/07/429380/interactive-map-midwestern-recession/

MuniNet Guide. (2018, Jul 14). Midwest Demographic, Economic, and Debt Factors: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Retrieved from Population growth of Midwest states and the U.S. Since 1990: https://muninetguide.com/midwest-demographic-economic-debt-factors-good-bad-ugly/

Vance, J. (2018). Hillbilly-Elegie: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisi. May: Harper Paperbacks.

Wikipedia. (2019). List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Retrieved from Wikipedia.com: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_GDP

Wuthnow, R. (2018). The Left Behind: Decline and Rage in Small-Town America. Princeton University Press; Reprint edition (April 30, 2019).