Mill ‘Girls,’ Company Men, & the Great Resignation

Now & Then

How have American experiences of work changed throughout our history? On this episode of Now & Then, “Mill ‘Girls,’ Company Men, & the Great Resignation,” Heather Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman discuss the evolution of American work, from the emergence of industrial labor, to the development of welfare capitalism, to the current “Great Resignation” and shifting contemporary expectations for labor. How has work reflected American democracy? How has the nature of national labor changed the way that we view our allocation of time and our relationships to one another? And how has the pandemic offered an opportunity to reckon once again with our collective work-life balance?

Join CAFE Insider to listen to “Backstage,” where Heather and Joanne chat each week about the anecdotes and ideas that formed the episode. Head to: www.cafe.com/history.

Sign up for the CAFE Brief, a free weekly newsletter that features analysis of news at the intersection of law, politics, and history: cafe.com/brief

For references & supplemental materials, head to: cafe.com/now-and-then/mill-girls-company-men-the-great-resignation

The executive producer is Tamara Sepper. The editorial producer is David Kurlander. The audio producer is Matthew Billy. The Now & Then theme music was composed by Nat Weiner. The Cafe team is Adam Waller, David Tatasciore, Sam Ozer-Staton, Noa Azulai, and Jake Kaplan. Now & Then is presented by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices