Novelist Jean Kwok joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss recent changes to child labor laws in the US, as more than ten states have proposed or enacted legislation that would loosen restrictions on minors working.
The three talk about what the shift means in relation to labor shortages and consider migrant children’s unique vulnerability to exploitation. Kwok describes working in a New York factory from kindergarten through high school and how that experience continues to affect her life. She also reads from her novel Girl in Translation, which is based on her years as a child worker.
Check out video excerpts from our interviews at Lit Hub’s Virtual Book Channel, Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel, and our website. This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf, and edited Han Mallek.
Forward 15 seconds
Back 15 seconds
Share
Subscribe
Description
*
From the episode:
V.V. Ganeshananthan: Over the past year or so the GOP has been pushing to loosen child labor laws in places like Iowa, Minnesota, Arkansas, and Missouri. In Iowa—just to take one example—teens are now allowed to work six hours a day up from the earlier limit of four. And they’ve expanded the kinds of work children are allowed to do. If you’re 14 or 15 you can now work in a freezer or meat cooler, and 16 and 17-year-olds can do light assembly work involving explosives.
Politicians like Iowa state senator Adrian Dickey was quoted saying, “What we’re doing is providing...
Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, has emerged as a major force in UK politics in recent years – pushing anti-net-zero policies, alongside vehement opposition to immigration. The hard-right populist ...