Sitting together to reflect on Barbara's years of work to shine a light on the experiences of middle and lower class Americans, her friend and colleague Alissa Quart recorded this interview with her in 2021. Ehrenreich died in September of 2022.
For her book “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America,” writer Barbara Ehrenreich worked at a series of minimally paid jobs. Speaking to Anne in 2003, she said was surprised to be both physically exhausted and mentally challenged by “menial” work.
Speaking to Steve Paulson in 2010, Barbara Ehrenreich said that too often, our focus on positivity turns into a kind of victim blaming. She's been a champion of realism and determination.
Speaking in 2013, Barbara Ehrenreich said modern Westerners have become obsessed with personal happiness, and we often neglect the pleasures of collective joy.
How does a lifelong atheist make sense of a mind-blowing mystical experience? That was Barbara Ehrenreich’s struggle as she wrote about an other-worldly experience when she was 17. She spoke to Steve Paulson about it in a 2014 interview about her book, "Living with a Wild God."
