Episode 2093: J. Albert Mann offers a Young Person’s Guide to the History of American Labor

How to write a history of labor in the United States for young people? According to the award-winning author J. Albert Mann, a history of labor written for children shouldn’t be childish. Indeed, her new book, Shift Happens: The History of Labor in the United States, is anything but childish in its very grown-up focus on exploitation and injustice. And given that our young adults are on the frontlines of an AI revolution that is already radically transforming the value of labor, shift is happening big time in our increasingly automated 21st century.

J. Albert Mann is a disability activist, an award-winning poet, and the author of eight published novels for children. She has an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and is the Partner Liaison for the WNDB Internship Grant Committee. Her first work of nonfiction for teens—SHIFT HAPPENS: THE HISTORY OF LABOR IN THE UNITED STATES—was published June 4, 2024 with HarperCollins Children’s.

Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.

Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe