Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

How labor unions shaped America

Part 4 of the TED Radio Hour episode Monday-Friday

Labor unions brought us the weekend, social security and health insurance. Political scientist Margaret Levi explains the history of unions and calls for a 21st-century revival of the labor movement.

About Margaret Levi

Margaret Levi is a professor of Political Science at Stanford University, where she studies and writes on comparative political economy, labor politics, and the origins and effects of trustworthy government. She is the co-director of the Stanford Hub on Ethics, Society, and Technology and the co-general editor of the Annual Review of Political Science. Levi is the author or coauthor of numerous articles and six books, including Of Rule and Revenueand Consent, Dissent, and Patriotism. She is the winner of the 2019 Johan Skytte Prize and 2020 Falling Walls Prize for Breakthrough of the Year in Social Sciences and Humanities.

This segment of TED Radio Hour was produced by Chloee Weiner and Laine Kaplan-Levenson and edited by Rachel Faulkner White and Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHourand email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Manoush Zomorodi
Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.
Laine Kaplan-Levenson
Laine Kaplan-Levenson is a producer and reporter for NPR's Throughline podcast. Before joining the Throughline team, they were the host and producer of WWNO's award-winning history podcast TriPod: New Orleans at 300, as well as WWNO/WRKF's award-winning political podcast Sticky Wicket. Before podcasting, they were a founding reporter for WWNO's Coastal Desk, and covered land loss, fisheries, water management, and all things Louisiana coast. Kaplan-Levenson has contributed to NPR, This American Life, Marketplace, Latino USA, Oxford American (print), Here and Now, The World, 70 Million, and Nancy, among other national outlets. They served as a host and producer of Last Call, a multiracial collective of queer artists and archivists, and freelanced as a storytelling and podcast consultant, workshop instructor, and facilitator of student-produced audio projects. Kaplan-Levenson is also the founder and host of the live storytelling series, Bring Your Own. They like to play music and occasionally DJ under the moniker DJ Swimteam.
Rachel Faulkner White
Rachel Faulkner is a producer and editor for TED Radio Hour.
Sanaz Meshkinpour