What's The Matter With Kansas?

In 2004,historian Thomas Frank proposed a theory about the rightward drift of the white working class. Was he a prescient king whose work presaged the rise of Trump — or a bumbling fool with a broken thesis? Unfortunately it turns out he is a secret third thing that takes one hour and six minutes to explain.

Special thanks to Julia Valdés for her help with this episode!

Where to find us:

• Peter's other podcast, 5-4
• Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase

Sources:

• The Thesis That Drove American Politics Crazy: The Emerging Democratic Majority
• What’s the Matter with What’s the Matter with Kansas?
• Classis Dismissed
• TheWhite Working Class and the Democratic Party
• It’stime to bust the myth: Most Trump voters were not working class.
• Howthe diploma divide came to dominate American politics
• The 'Diploma Divide': Does It Exist for Racial and Ethnic Minorities?
• BlindRetrospection: Why Shark Attacks Are Bad For Democracy
• Nationallypoor, locally rich: Income and local context in the 2016presidential election
• Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government
• Identity Crisis: The 2016Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Meaning of America
• Political Landscapes of Donald Trump
• The White Working Class and the 2016Election
• Partisanshipby family income, home ownership, union membership and veteran status
• TheElites Had It Coming
• What Explains Educational Realignment Among White Americans?

Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!