We are a community in Postindustrial America. Many cities and regions were in economic transition before the pandemic and now, the death of a man at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis has shaken an already-fragile society. The Postindustrial Podcast features newsmakers and personalities who are coping with these challenges and can share their perspectives on how to move forward.
At a time when people are divided, how can storytelling help bring people together?
Ask Roger Hill, an Ohio filmmaker and aspiring photographer whose documentaries address weighty issues in a relatable way. Listen to Episode 8 by clicking here.
“You're allowing the viewer to take on a perspective that is not their own curated set of beliefs,” he said. “I do think documentarians and journalists have a powerful medium and a voice and can break through the ideological walls that people build up around how they think about these issues, be it people living in Gaza or people protesting for Black Lives Matter.”
Hill's documentaries include “Struggle,” about voter suppression and election fraud in the 2004 presidential election and “Flying Paper,” a story of youth in the Gaza Strip on a quest to shatter the Guinness World Record for the most kites ever flown, Last year he released a narrative feature film “Huckleberry,” about a young trans man growing up in the Rust Belt.
In case you missed it In Episode 7, Postindustrial cofounder and host Carmen Gentile talked with scholar Rana Khoury, who wrote “As Ohio Goes: Life in the Post-Recession Nation, about her home state.
“Even with the reopening and even with the optimism that some political leaders are trying to invoke, I think this is going to be the hardest economic downturn of a century,” Khoury said. “And we're going to be with it for a while. And I'm afraid that the way we come out of it is going to be the ways we've come out of ….the 2008-9 recession, which is that the top percentiles captured all the recovery ….and most others just stayed where they had been.”
Khoury's insights into the effect of the Great Recession on some of her fellow Ohians are particularly valuable considering the even greater economic challenge we all face in these trying times.
You can listen to the podcast, and subscribe for free, by clicking here.
We are committed to sharing many voices. Suggest a guest by contacting us at [email protected].
