'Dopesick' Writer Returns To Her 'Fractured' Hometown

This episode of Fresh Air features an interview with Beth Macy, an author known for her deeply reported studies on working-class America. Macy discusses her new book, "Paper Girl," a memoir that explores her personal history and the changes in her hometown of Urbana, Ohio, focusing on the economic pressures, family dysfunction, and conspiratorial thinking that have taken hold since the decline of factory jobs and social supports. Macy shares personal anecdotes about her upbringing, her relationship with her family, and her journey from poverty to a career in journalism, as well as her observations on the challenges facing rural communities today, including the opioid crisis, educational decline, and political polarization. The conversation also touches on the importance of social connections and the struggle to maintain relationships across ideological divides.