The Invisible Americans

For our last episode of season 5, we’re joined by Adam Green, a professor who wrote the introduction to Robert Sargent Shriver's posthumous memoir. The main focus of the conversation is Shriver’s work to end poverty in America, and what we can learn from it. In addition to telling us how the book came to be, Green highlights some of the programs and initiatives that made up the “war on poverty...

From the Mississippi Delta to the State of New York to Wakanda, our guests today talk diapers, child care, and paying it forward. First up, Chelesa Presley shares she saw a need in her community and took steps to fill it by creating a diaper bank in Mississippi. The services have grown from just their storefront, now taking steps to help families in need through product and policy. Then Dede Hill...

Showcasing Ways to Show Up: Longitudinal storytelling, a million families connected to food resources, and a foster care dorm 20 years in the making In the third episode of this season, we start by talking with Emmy-nominated journalist Lauren Mucciolo about her 14-year project, Born Poor. She and her team showed authentic stories of experiencing, growing up, and being generationally poor. Then co...

Our episode today kicks off with writer Claudia Rowe. She talks about her in-depth examination of foster care and her book, Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care . She calls for deeper accountability and a deeper commitment to the young people the system is meant to serve. Dr. Tiffany Younger, clinical scientist and post-doctoral fellow at Yale Medical School, discusses her p...

In the first episode of Season 5, Carol Jenkins returns as co-host and introduces us to her new partner, David Ambroz. David brings both personal and professional experience to the issue of poverty in this country, having been at times unhoused and in foster care. He now works to provide support for young adults transitioning out of foster care in California. Then joining us again is Holly Fogle ,...

“It’s managing to trust. It’s not distrusting people in poverty and micromanaging them.”  We bring you three inspiring interviews that focus on the action of creating real change for Invisible Americans: 1. Dr. James Farber talks about matching young people with job training to provide elder care in New York, meeting two needs at once. Two graduates of the Skillspring program, Denim Lee and Chris...

We open this episode with a clip of one of our previous guests, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, president of MomsRising , speaking at a 24-hour vigil at the U.S. Capitol with an aim of protecting Medicaid. Then Carol and our first guest host, David Ambroz, talk to Natalie Foster, president and cofounder of Economic Security Project. They discuss how we can "center inherent worth and dignity of every Amer...

We open with excerpts from Sen. Cory Booker’s 25-hour filibuster and Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s speech reintroducing the American Family Act—described as “an antidote to child poverty.” Our host Carol Jenkins speaks with Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner (Mom’s Rising) and Fatima Goss Graves (National Women’s Law Center) about the wave of Hands Off protests and the urgent need to resist cuts that target children a...

We open with a clip of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaking about how she’s been working with the state legislature to get cash back into the parents of young children – at the time when parenthood hits wallets the hardest. Then we feature a clip from December 2024. Carol spoke with New York Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald at a symposium hosted by the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at C...

In this episode, we take a look into what poverty actually looks like. We dive deep into Robin Hood's newly published poverty tracker with Chris Wimer, director of the Center on Poverty and Social Policy, Columbia University, and Chloe Sarnoff, Director of Policy Research at Robin Hood. Then we talk to Christine Quinn, CEO and president of WIN, discusses the nuts and bolts of providing shelter to...

Carol Jenkins talks to Speaker of the New York City Council Adrienne Adams about the $1.5 million plan to provide unconditional cash support for expectant parents facing housing crisis.  Then Carol and our first guest host of the season, Dr. C. Nicole Mason, talk to Executive Director of the Bridge Project Laura Clancy about cash payouts in urban and rural areas. For more detailed show notes and a...

"It's a solution that's elegantly simple." Jeff and Carol talk to Dr. Dave Chokshi, who served as the Former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, about how to actually get on track to reduce child poverty in half by 2032. He says there is an "elegantly simple" solution: put money into the pockets of parents and caregivers. They then talk with Greg Silverman, c...

In this episode, Jeff and Carol talk with two folks passionate about helping kids in foster care: friend of the show and former foster child David Ambroz and executive director of CASA-NYC Kerry Moles. They discuss ways that you can get involved in your community and help the children who are most in need. For more detailed show notes and a full transcript, see the  ⁠Podcast page⁠  on the Invisibl...

"It's the care that we give or the care that we lack. That's what's at the heart of everything." - Sarah Jones In this episode, Jeff and Carol talk with Ai-Jen Poo and Sarah Jones, who collaborate on a one-woman show about caregiving, emphasizing the need for paid leave, affordable childcare, and better wages for care workers. Then Beverly D'Angelo and Stephan Dweck discuss their upcoming film "No...

The Invisible Americans is proud to present this conversation held at Roosevelt House. "Roosevelt House is proud to present the  Mayor of Los Angeles ,  Karen Bass , about the accomplishments and challenges of her first year in office, and the critical issues facing urban leaders nationwide. The first woman to be elected Mayor of L.A., she is also a former Member of Congress and, as former Speaker...

Note: this episode deals with discussions of suicide and depression. Please listen with care.  If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or visit  988lifeline.org  to get help and guidance. This week, Jeff and Carol talk with Jonnel Doris, CEO of START Treatment & Recovery Centers, about the state of teen mental health: The...

Jeff and Carol kick off Season 3 with an eye-opening look at the hidden crises facing kids and families today. Rachel Sabella from No Kid Hungry breaks down how food insecurity is getting worse in New York, where 85% of families say they can’t keep up with grocery prices. She shares why programs like SNAP and the Child Tax Credit are so important—and how we need bipartisan action to make real prog...

In honor of the Fourth of July, we are proud to present this panel, originally recorded at the "Disrupting Poverty" conference hosted by EMPath in March 2024. Dr. Kathryn Edin, Dr. H. Luke Shaefer and Timothy Jon Nelson discuss the persistence of poverty in America, particularly in Appalachia, and the historical and ongoing mechanisms that perpetuate inequality. For more detailed show no...

We're proud to present this Pride-centric panel presented by CASA-NYC on how we can all work to support LGBTQIA+ foster youth. The panel is hosted by Steven Baker, VP of development at Candle Media. Friend and guest of the podcast David Ambroz shares his story of homelessness and being a queer youth in foster care. Chef Brieanna Hayes, former CASA fellow, also speaks on her experience and her...

In this special episode of The Invisible Americans Podcast, we partnered with Kim Janey, president and CEO of Economic Mobility Pathways. Enjoy this special presentation of this conversation between Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Dr. Ibram X Kendi at their March "Disrupting Poverty" conference. As we celebrate Juneteenth and the end of slavery in the United States, we have to simultaneously ho...

In this episode, hosts Jeff and Carol talk to Kim Janey, former mayor of Boston and now president and CEO of EMPath . This Boston-based organization transforms people’s lives by helping them move out of poverty and to provide other institutions with the tools to systematically do the same. Then we present a session between Lee Pelton and Darrick Hamilton from EMPath's "Disrupting Poverty&...

In this recording of our third live panel, presented with The Bridge Project at Roosevelt House, we discuss a simple, effective way of alleviating childhood poverty: direct cash payments. Listen in to an illuminating discussion between: Holly Fogle , founder of The Bridge Project Daniela Guiterrez , one of the first recipients of a payout from The Bridge Project Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, co-founder...

In this episode of The Invisible Americans podcast, hosts Jeff Madrick and Carol Jenkins speak to Emi Nietfeld, who details her journey out of childhood poverty and warns against using success stories to deny help to others. Then they speak with Eboni Brown and Kaleen Daughtery, members of the parental advisory board of the ABC Coalition, which aims to provide an Automatic Benefit for Children. Fo...

In this episode of The Invisible Americans podcast , hosts Jeff Madrick and Carol Jenkins ask Alex Coccia for updates on the expanded child tax credit and talk to the CEO of the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Elizabeth McCarthy. 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 communic...

In today's episode, hosts Jeff and Carol talk with two people on the ground in Flint, Michigan. Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha and Dr. Luke Shaefer. Listen to Dr. Shaefer discuss his work on Episode 22. Together, Dr. Hanna-Attisha and Dr. Shaefer are directing Rx Kids, a program that gives cash to expectant people and provides guaranteed income for the first year of their lives. Hear how the program g...