Mark R. Rank is recognized as a foremost expert on issues of poverty, inequality and social justice. To date he has written 10 books on a range of subjects, including an exploration of the American Dream and a new understanding of poverty and inequality. In this episode, I talk to Mark about his latest book, The Random Factor which looks at the role of luck and chance in shaping the course of our lives. It was a fascinating discussion, one I was lucky to have. I I hope you enjoy.

Mark R. Rank

The Random Factor

Poverty Risk Calculator

Your American Dream Score

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HOST

Bob McKinnon is a writer, designer, and teacher who asks us to reconsider the way we see success and the American Dream.

His work has been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Fast Company, NPR, and PBS.

His own journey out of poverty was captured in his TEDx talk: How Did I End Up Here. Through his writing and this podcast, he hopes to pay tribute and thanks to all those who have helped him and others move up in life.

CREDITS

Attribution is distributed in part by NPR station, WLIW-FM. You can listen on WLIW.org/radio or on NPR One mobile app as well as other major podcast networks.

This show was edited by No Troublemakers Media. Music by Jonnie “Most” Davis.

Our final credit goes to you, the listener, and to everyone who helped you get to where you are today. If this show has reminded you of someone in particular, make their day and let them know.

Brittany Means is author of the critically acclaimed memoir, “Hell if We Don’t Change Our Ways”. Reviews have called it “gut-wrenching and triumphant.” “Readable and rigorous.” “Brutal and beautiful.’ At its heart, it is a book about family. as Means recounts her complex relationships with her mother, father, brother, and grandparents and eventual guardians. What does it mean when those closest to us hurt us? Is understanding or forgiveness even possible? How do children make it through it all to find support and love? This was a particularly moving discussion. I hope you find it of value.

Links to learn more about:

Brittany Means

Hell if We Don’t Change Our Ways

Subscribe to Moving Up Mondays Substack Newsletter

HOST

Bob McKinnon is a writer, designer, and teacher who asks us to reconsider the way we see success and the American Dream.

His work has been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Fast Company, NPR, and PBS.

His own journey out of poverty was captured in his TEDx talk: How Did I End Up Here. Through his writing and this podcast, he hopes to pay tribute and thanks to all those who have helped him and others move up in life.

CREDITS

Attribution is distributed in part by NPR station, WLIW-FM. You can listen on WLIW.org/radio or on NPR One mobile app as well as other major podcast networks.

This show was edited by No Troublemakers Media. Music by Jonnie “Most” Davis.

Our final credit goes to you, the listener, and to everyone who helped you get to where you are today. If this show has reminded you of someone in particular, make their day and let them know.

In communities across the country, including New York, library budgets and hours are being cut, just at a time when society needs them most. This is in spite of the incredible success that libraries have in bringing people, particularly older adults, together. 

Bob McKinnon, host of the podcast, Attribution talks with Eric Klinenberg, NYU sociologist and author of “Palace for the People” which examines the role that third places like libraries play in avoiding isolation. We’ll also hear from four Long Island librarians who are creating innovative programs for older adults that reduce isolation and build belonging.

For more information, please visit:

Palaces For The People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, And The Decline Of Civic Life

Eric Klinenberg

Suffolk Cooperative Library System

Brentwood Public Library

Middle Country Public Library

Riverhead Free Library

Patchogue-Medford Library

Libraries of Belonging  is a WLIW-FM special program that is part of the “Aging Together in New York” initiative from public media stations focusing on social isolation and loneliness among older adults. This program is funded by the New York State Education Department.

HOST

Bob McKinnon is a writer, designer, and teacher who asks us to reconsider the way we see success and the American Dream. 

His work has been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Fast Company, NPR, and PBS.

His own journey out of poverty was captured in his TEDx talk: How Did I End Up Here. Through his writing and this podcast, he hopes to pay tribute and thanks to all those who have helped him and others move up in life.

CREDITS

Attribution is distributed in part by NPR station, WLIW-FM. You can listen on WLIW.org/radio or on NPR One mobile app as well as other major podcast networks.

This show was edited by No Troublemakers Media. Music by Jonnie “Most” Davis.

Our final credit goes to you, the listener, and to everyone who helped you get to where you are today. If this show has reminded you of someone in particular, make their day and let them know.

It is the simplest of tools designed to help us tackle the complexities of life. It helps reduce errors, remember what’s important, assess and reflect on what and how we’re doing. Pilots, astronauts, builders and surgeons use them to save lives.

What is this elementary yet powerful tool?  A checklist.

Is it possible that a simple checklist could do for the growing issue of social isolation among older adults what previous versions have done for saving lives in surgery?

Bob McKinnon, host of the podcast Attribution, talks to Sandy Markwood, CEO of US Aging, a national association representing and supporting the network of Area Agencies on Aging, and the organization behind the Social Isolation Self-Assessment Checklist to discuss the promise of this tool.  At the end of the episode, listeners will have the opportunity to self-assess as we review each of the questions on the checklist.

For more information on The Checklist and the resources mentioned in this program, please visit:

US Aging

Eldercare Locator

Social Isolation Self-Assessment Checklist

The Checklist is a WLIW-FM special program that is part of the “Aging Together in New York” initiative from public media stations focusing on social isolation and loneliness among older adults. This program is funded by the New York State Education Department.

HOST

Bob McKinnon is a writer, designer, and teacher who asks us to reconsider the way we see success and the American Dream. 

His work has been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Fast Company, NPR, and PBS.

His own journey out of poverty was captured in his TEDx talk: How Did I End Up Here. Through his writing and this podcast, he hopes to pay tribute and thanks to all those who have helped him and others move up in life.

CREDITS

Attribution is distributed in part by NPR station, WLIW-FM. You can listen on WLIW.org/radio or on NPR One mobile app as well as other major podcast networks.

This show was edited by No Troublemakers Media. Music by Jonnie “Most” Davis.

Our final credit goes to you, the listener, and to everyone who helped you get to where you are today. If this show has reminded you of someone in particular, make their day and let them know.

Stephanie Land is the New York Times bestselling author of Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive which is now the inspiration for the Netflix series of the same name.  Her latest book, Class: A Memoir of Motherhood,  Hunger and Higher Education is out now. During our conversation we talked about the challenges and judgment that she and other single moms have faced simply trying to create a better future for themselves and their children. This was an important conversation that I hope will change the way we see and support single mothers. I hope you enjoy.

Links to learn more about: 

Stephanie Land

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive 

Maid Netflix limited series  

Class: A Memoir of Motherhood,  Hunger and Higher Education 

Subscribe to Moving Up Mondays Substack Newsletter

HOST

Bob McKinnon is a writer, designer, and teacher who asks us to reconsider the way we see success and the American Dream. 

His work has been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Fast Company, NPR, and PBS.

His own journey out of poverty was captured in his TEDx talk: How Did I End Up Here. Through his writing and this podcast, he hopes to pay tribute and thanks to all those who have helped him and others move up in life.

CREDITS

Attribution is distributed in part by NPR station, WLIW-FM. You can listen on WLIW.org/radio or on NPR One mobile app as well as other major podcast networks.

This show was edited by No Troublemakers Media. Music by Jonnie “Most” Davis.

Our final credit goes to you, the listener, and to everyone who helped you get to where you are today. If this show has reminded you of someone in particular, make their day and let them know.

Christopher Zara is the News Editor at Fast Company.  His recent memoir, Uneducated, explores his unlikely journey into the newsroom without the credential of a college degree. During our conversation we talked about both his own story but also more broadly about the role of education - higher and otherwise - in creating opportunities to climb the proverbial ladder. 

Links to learn more about: 

Christopher Zara

Uneducated: A Memoir of Flunking Out, Falling Apart and Finding My Worth

Fast Company

HOST

Bob McKinnon is a writer, designer, and teacher who asks us to reconsider the way we see success and the American Dream. 

His work has been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Fast Company, NPR, and PBS.

His own journey out of poverty was captured in his TEDx talk: How Did I End Up Here. Through his writing and this podcast, he hopes to pay tribute and thanks to all those who have helped him and others move up in life.

CREDITS

Attribution is distributed in part by NPR station, WLIW-FM. You can listen on WLIW.org/radio or on NPR One mobile app as well as other major podcast networks.

This show was edited by No Troublemakers Media. Music by Jonnie “Most” Davis.

Our final credit goes to you, the listener, and to everyone who helped you get to where you are today. If this show has reminded you of someone in particular, make their day and let them know.

Singer/songwriter Joy Oladokun is a master storyteller whose songs have been listened to over forty million times. Her latest album, Proof of Life is being heralded as her breakthrough. We talked about her journey as an artist and her process of making music that “helps myself and others process this world.”

Links to learn more about: 

Joy Oladokun

Proof of Life

HOST

Bob McKinnon is a writer, designer, and teacher who asks us to reconsider the way we see success and the American Dream. 

His work has been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Fast Company, NPR, and PBS.

His own journey out of poverty was captured in his TEDx talk: How Did I End Up Here. Through his writing and this podcast, he hopes to pay tribute and thanks to all those who have helped him and others move up in life.

CREDITS

Attribution is distributed in part by NPR station, WLIW-FM. You can listen on WLIW.org/radio or on NPR One mobile app as well as other major podcast networks.

This show was edited by No Troublemakers Media. Music by Jonnie “Most” Davis.

Our final credit goes to you, the listener, and to everyone who helped you get to where you are today. If this show has reminded you of someone in particular, make their day and let them know.

Larissa FastHorse is a 2020 MacArthur Fellow, award winning writer/choreographer, and co-founder of Indigenous Direction, the nation’s leading consulting company for Indigenous arts and audiences. With her latest work, The Thanksgiving Play, she became the first native American to have her play on Broadway. We talked about her journey to Broadway and how we connect with our culture and each other. I hope you enjoy. 

Links to learn more about: 

Larissa FastHorse

The Thanksgiving Play

Indigenous Direction

HOST

Bob McKinnon is a writer, designer, and teacher who asks us to reconsider the way we see success and the American Dream. 

His work has been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Fast Company, NPR, and PBS.

His own journey out of poverty was captured in his TEDx talk: How Did I End Up Here. Through his writing and this podcast, he hopes to pay tribute and thanks to all those who have helped him and others move up in life.

CREDITS

Attribution is distributed in part by Chasing the Dream, a public media initiative from PBS flagship station, WNET in New York, reporting on poverty, justice, and economic opportunity in America. You can learn more at pbs.org/chasingthedream.

This show was edited by No Troublemakers Media. Music by Jonnie “Most” Davis.