The Invisible Americans

The Invisible Americans

By The Invisible AmericansNewsPolitics
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The Invisible Americans episodes

  • Rosa DeLauro and Brian Greene Hope for Future Policies that Reach the Most Vulnerable

    The families with the most financial need are excluded from policies that provide support.

    Our guests:

    • Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut lawmaker who has almost two decades of experience fighting for an expanded Child Tax Credit
    • Brian Greene, President & CEO of the Houston Food Bank

      • Rosa and Brian discuss how the system is set up today in a way that doesn't allow support to reach those who need it most. Rosa thinks that public needs to rally around policies that support Americans in need, especially since the expanded Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Act had clear and immediate results that matched its vision.

      Brian talks through some logistics of how the Houston Food Bank feeds 1 million people per year, but he also shares his thoughts on how to truly address the issue of food insecurity in the United States.

       “Food insecurity isn't about food. Food insecurity is about income.”

      For more detailed show notes and a full transcript, ⁠see the Podcast page on the Invisible Americans website⁠.

      The Invisible Americans Podcast is a non-profit communications organization. Its mission is to end child poverty. The podcast is hosted by Co-Presidents Jeff Madrick and Carol Jenkins.

      Music for this and all episodes is provided by Bridget St. John.
      Audio editing by Sylvester P. Lukasiewicz.
      Show notes and transcript by Amy Yoder.

      43 min
    • The Trauma and Ghost of Poverty

      Gain valuable insights into the issues of poverty and its impact on children in the United States.

      Our guests:

      • Dr. Nathaniel Harnett, Director of the NATE Lab at McLean Hospital, Assistant Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
      • Clara Moore, poverty expert working with the national organization RESULTS 

        • This episode's guests highlight the findings of a study that found the trauma of poverty and racism negatively impact the brains of 9 and 10-year-old boys. Dr. Harnett discusses his study and his recommendations for a path forward to undo this damage. 

        Clara Moore shares her personal and professional insights on poverty, including what she calls the ghost of poverty. She discusses how children who grow up impoverished often remain only one paycheck away from abject poverty as adults. Programs like the Child Tax Credit have been shown to be effective in lifting children out of poverty. 

        Our hosts:

        • Jeffrey Madrick, author, news correspondent, American economics expert
        • Carol Jenkins, journalist, activist, author, past President of the ERA Coalition

          • This podcast is based on Jeff's book, "Invisible Americans: The Tragic Cost of Child Poverty." We have two guests on this episode who speak eloquently about poverty in America, changes to welfare reform, how the COVID-19 pandemic showed us policies can help the poorest people in our country, and what's next for the Child Tax Credit.

          For more detailed show notes and a full transcript, ⁠see the Podcast page on the Invisible Americans website⁠.

          The Invisible Americans Podcast is a non-profit communications organization. Its mission is to end child poverty. The podcast is hosted by Co-Presidents Jeff Madrick and Carol Jenkins.


          Music for this and all episodes is provided by Bridget St. John.

          Audio editing by Sylvester P. Lukasiewicz.
          Show notes and transcript by Amy Yoder.

          41 min
        • Breaking the Cycle of Childhood Poverty: Solutions for a Better Future

          A discussion into the issues of poverty and housing affordability in the United States.

          Our guests: 

          • Dr. C. Nicole Mason, President/CEO Emeritus of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR)
          • Erin Boggs, Executive Director of Connecticut's Open Communities Alliance

            • This episode's guests highlight the need for policy changes and public awareness to address these issues. Dr. Mason and Erin Boggs remind us that there is a lot of work that needs to be done to ensure that all families have access to affordable housing in order to break the cycle of poverty.

            For more detailed show notes and a full transcript, see the Podcast page on the Invisible Americans website.

            Our hosts:

            • Jeffrey Madrick, author, news correspondent, American economics expert
            • Carol Jenkins, journalist, activist, author, past President of the ERA Coalition

              • This podcast is based on Jeff's book, "Invisible Americans: The Tragic Cost of Child Poverty." We have two guests on this episode who speak eloquently about poverty in America, changes to welfare reform, how the COVID-19 pandemic showed us policies can help the poorest people in our country, and what's next for the Child Tax Credit.

              The Invisible Americans Podcast is a non-profit communications organization. Its mission is to end child poverty. The podcast is hosted by Co-Presidents Jeff Madrick and Carol Jenkins.

              Music for this and all episodes is provided by Bridget St. John. Audio editing by Sylvester P. Lukasiewicz. Show notes and transcript by Amy Yoder.

              43 min
            • The Child Tax Credit Helps Invisible Americans

              "We address the travesty of child poverty." - Carol Jenkins

              In our first episode, we introduce our hosts:

              • Jeffrey Madrick, author, news correspondent, American economics expert
              • Carol Jenkins, journalist, activist, author, past President of the ERA Coalition

                • This podcast is based on Jeff's book, "Invisible Americans: The Tragic Cost of Child Poverty." We have two guests on this episode who speak eloquently about poverty in America, changes to welfare reform, how the COVID-19 pandemic showed us policies can help the poorest people in our country, and what's next for the Child Tax Credit.

                • Dr. Kathryn Edin, director of the Center for Research on Child Wellbeing at Princeton University
                • Ashley Burnside, senior policy analysts with the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) in Washington, D.C.

                  • Learn how welfare reform led to a pervasive and invisible malady among the most poverty-stricken in the nation: living in a capitalist society with no cash income. The Child Tax Credit could help every parent, just as it did throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. But with the 118th Congress already in session, what does the future of the Child Tax Credit look like? Ashley also gives ways that you can help reinstate this program at the federal and state level.

                  For more detailed show notes and a full transcript, see the Podcast page on the Invisible Americans website.

                  The Invisible Americans Podcast is a non-profit communications organization. Its mission is to end child poverty. The podcast is hosted by Co-Presidents Jeff Madrick and Carol Jenkins.

                  Music for this and all episodes is provided by Bridget St. John. Audio editing by Sylvester P. Lukasiewicz. Show notes and transcript by Amy Yoder.

                  36 min

                About The Invisible Americans

                From the publisher's feed

                Our purposes here are to document the scourge of child poverty, the many ways it damages children and limits their possibilities, to make clear the immense irresponsibility of the world’s richest…