The Invisible Americans

06/06/2025

💡 Elder New Yorkers need care. Young New Yorkers need jobs. What if one program could meet both needs? Dr. James Farber and two graduates discuss the Skillspring program.
🚑 Dr. Juliet Widoff shares what it means to provide street medicine to those without housing and without judgment. "We treat people, regardless."
👧 Khin Mai Aung of Children’s Defense Fund–NY brings in the "genuine voices" of youth in poverty and discusses how to create stability in their lives. Children's Defense Fund

🎧 Listen now to hear these powerful stories of care, hope, and policy that meets people where they are.
🔗https://www.theinvisibleamericans.com/podcasts/ep406

19/05/2025

📣 Breaking: Our guest Natalie Foster’s organization, Economic Security Project, hosted a powerful press conference on May 13 to .

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeYXBMZACAA&t=22s

🕯️Carol Jenkins opens Episode 405 with reflections on a moving 24-hour vigil organized by Caring Across Generations to defend Medicaid—a lifeline for over 72 million Americans.

🎧 In this episode:

Natalie Foster outlines her bold vision for guaranteed essentials—housing, health care, and income
Sarah Cowan explains how Alaska’s Permanent Fund is helping families thrive through universal cash

“Every Alaskan gets a check. And nobody has to prove they’re poor.” – Sarah Cowan
“The whole policy is endowed with trust.” – Sarah Cowan
“I believe the United States can center inherent worth and dignity of every American.” – Natalie Foster

📖 Don’t miss David Ambroz’s personal reflections from his memoir "A Place Called Home"
🎙️ Listen now: https://www.theinvisibleamericans.com/podcasts/ep405

14/04/2025

"Poverty is 100% a policy choice." - Fatima Goss Graves

Episode 404: Going Far Together. Listen now: https://www.theinvisibleamericans.com/podcasts/ep404

Hear clips from two members of Congress about moving the needle on keeping the promises of this country and eliminating childhood poverty:

Cory Booker
Rosa DeLauro

Then host Carol talks with two women leading organizations who can help us all navigate the uncertainty of what's going on right now:

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, president of MomsRising.org, and Fatima Goss Graves, CEO of National Women's Law Center.

A conventional if shocking estimate is that one in five American children live in poverty, but we will argue even this measure is inaccurate. The true number is undoubtedly considerably higher, closer to two in five. We already know that even by conventional measures, one in three of our children li...

27/03/2025

$60 billion is on the line -- and the wellbeing of thousands of kids.

Listen here: https://www.theinvisibleamericans.com/podcasts/ep403

New York is reducing child poverty by half before 2031.

Governor Kathy Hochul addressed it in her State of the State, NYSDOH - New York State Health Department Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald addressed it at a symposium hosted by the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, and Kate Breslin addressed it with optimism and hope this episode.

18/03/2025

A five-year-old with a working mother.

Listen here: https://www.theinvisibleamericans.com/podcasts/ep402

In this episode, we take a look into what poverty actually looks like. We dive deep into Robin Hood's newly published poverty tracker with Chris Wimer, director of the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University, and Chloe Sarnoff, Director of Policy Research at Robin Hood. Then we talk to Christine Quinn, CEO and president of Women In Need, Inc. (Win), discusses the nuts and bolts of providing shelter to the unhoused - and how the face of homelessness in New York City is "a five-year-old with a working mother."

28/02/2025

Our guest host Dr. C. Nicole Mason reminds us that 13 million children live in poverty in the United States, and guest Laura Clancy provides perspective: That is more than the entire population of the county of Greece.

Our guests to kick off Season 4 are Speaker of the New York City Council Adrienne Adams and Executive Director of The Bridge Project Laura Clancy.

They discuss the $1.5 million plan to provide unconditional cash support for expectant parents facing housing crisis in NYC and expansion of The Bridge Project into Appalachia.

27/11/2024

Episode 306: Elegantly Simple Solutions: More Cash For Families

Jeff and Carol talk to Dr. Dave Chokshi, who served as the Former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, about how to actually get on track to reduce child poverty in half by 2032. He says there is an "elegantly simple" solution: put money into the pockets of parents and caregivers.

They then talk with Greg Silverman, chef, activist, and CEO of the West Side Campaign Against Hunger. WSCAH organizes dozens of community-based partner sites across four boroughs, providing more than 5 million pounds of food to over 100,000 New Yorkers last year.

Listen here: https://www.theinvisibleamericans.com/podcasts/ep306

22/11/2024

"Figure out what you can do. Get hyper-local."

In this episode, Jeff and Carol talk with two folks passionate about helping kids in foster care: friend of the show and former foster child David Ambroz and executive director of CASA-NYC Kerry Moles. They discuss ways that you can get involved in your community and help the children who are most in need. Listen here: https://www.theinvisibleamericans.com/podcasts/ep305

01/11/2024

"It's the care that we give or the care that we lack. That's what's at the heart of everything."

In this episode, Jeff and Carol chat with Ai-jen Poo and Sarah Jones, who collaborate on a one-woman show about caregiving, emphasizing the need for paid leave, affordable childcare, and better wages for care workers.

Then Beverly D'Angelo and Stephan Dweck discuss their upcoming film "No Address," which addresses homelessness, mental health, and the challenges faced by unhoused individuals. The film aims to raise awareness and support for nonprofits working with the unhoused.

Listen here:
https://www.theinvisibleamericans.com/podcasts/ep304

31/10/2024

The Invisible Americans Podcast is proud to share this special presentation of a conversation held at Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College.

Entitled "Hope for the Unhoused," L.A. mayor Karen Bass and the Hon. Carolyn B. Maloney discuss critical issues facing urban leaders nationwide.

Listen here:
https://www.theinvisibleamericans.com/podcasts/ep303

11/10/2024

Episode 302: The Kids Are Not All Right: Teen Mental Health, Resilience Myths, and Food Insecurity

This week, Jeff and Carol talk with Jonnel Doris, CEO of START Treatment & Recovery Centers , about the state of teen mental health: The American Academy of Pediatrics declared a state of emergency for these young people, and Jonnel discusses how his organization helps – and how you can, too. Then Soraya Chemaly, author of The Resilience Myth, asks us to abandon the idea of individual resilience and sheds light on romanticized moments from the past, showing us resilience relies on community. Mark Bittman wraps up the show by telling us his “radical notion” (not really) that high-quality food should be accessible to all people, and he shares his plan for restaurants centered on that idea.

https://www.theinvisibleamericans.com/podcasts/ep302

07/10/2024

Episode 301: Kids Are Hungry, Working and Not Getting Credit

https://www.theinvisibleamericans.com/podcasts/ep301

We started season 3 last week with great conversations around children living with hunger in this country. Listen to learn more.