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"Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America"

Aired on Thursday, September 16th.

We've heard often about "essential workers" since the pandemic got underway -- those indispensable individuals who are, alas, in many cases under-appreciated, under-paid, or both. But such vital workers are not, of course, just those working in the medical, science, health, or rescue fields, and these workers were certainly an important part of American society **before** the pandemic ever hit. Our guest is the New York-based author and journalist Eyal Press. His new book is "Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America." Per The New York Times: "[A] disturbing and necessary new book.... In Press's moral worldview, there are not only guilt and innocence, but rather fine-grained degrees of culpability and exculpation that fit uneasily with the sensibilities of a sound-bite-driven social media culture.... It's a testament to his insight and vision that in spite of the ugliness to which he exposes us on almost every page, he still makes us want to set aside cynicism and pessimism and join him in finding ways to strengthen the moral bonds between us, however flawed we might be."

Rich Fisher is celebrating his 40th year of service to Public Radio Tulsa. Since 2000, he has been the general manager of Public Radio Tulsa, and previously served as the host of the public affairs program, StudioTulsa, which ran from 1992-2021. Prior to that, he served as music director, a program host and operations director for the station.
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