Class and Combat
On this episode, we’re looking into one of the biggest chasms between us in this country – who serves in the military and who doesn’t. Every year, the United States military has to convince thousands of young people to enlist. They want a group of recruits that looks like the country, across race, class, and geography. Jonathan heads to New Jersey with reporter and Army veteran Adam Linehan to see how that’s working out. You can read more of Adam’s work at https://www.adamlinehan.com/.
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About The Show
“The show came about because I grew up working-class,” says Jonathan Menjivar, creator and host of Classy with Jonathan Menjivar, Apple Podcasts' Spotlight show for September 2023. "I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about that, and I wanted to talk to people about it.”Menjivar was a blue-collar Latino kid who started working in media and became someone who likes oysters, wears cashmere socks, and is very conflicted about all of it. A reporter and senior podcast producer for Audacy's Pineapple Street Studios, Menjivar came to podcasts through public radio where he worked at shows like This American Life and Fresh Air with Terry Gross.The collection of stories is an honest, inquisitive, and nuanced look into how class shapes our perspectives of the world and how we belong in it. The show leaves listeners deeply moved to reflect on their own experiences or reconsider how they interact with others in their day-to-day lives. “It’s super nice to know that our vulnerable, sometimes very silly approach, is meaningful to people,” says Menjivar. “I hope people are walking away with three-dimensional portrayals of people of different classes. No matter where you are class-wise, people have complicated relationships with their class status that they’re dealing with internally.”
