One of the big disconnects that I noticed during the years I worked with agencies engaged in LBJ’s War on Poverty is that there was abundant individual listening and recognition of what was happening and what was possible and what were likely to be solutions, but there were little institutional listening that could guide policies, programs, and resources to help.
Some of my daughter’s friends in international health over the past decade have the same experience of their “helping” careers.
This American life shows exactly how that plays out in Appalachia. Joshua Wilkey is going beyond asking that all us folks in the peanut gallery be our compassionate selves and listen.