ROUGH HEWN: A New Serialized Essay Collection ROUGH HEWN is a new serialized essay collection by Shon Mehta. Themes: aging, broken self, friendship, and the storm of self-destruction.

ROUGH HEWN: A Serialized Essay Collection by Shon Mehta

I didn’t write these essays. I felt them. Rough Hewn is a space for my unpolished thoughts.

Read the series as it unfolds:

www.shonmehta.com/2025/11/roug...

The first installment is out TOMORROW.

#RoughHewn #ShonMehta #EssaySeries #book

What Soldiers Can Teach Us About Sex The closing essay of t Str8 No Chaser's military series, which explores how servicemen have long revealed the gap between behavior and identity, and what they can still teach us about sex, humanity, a...

What can soldiers teach us about sex?
The coda of the Str8 No Chaser® military series explores same-sex intimacy, sex work, and the courage to live beyond labels.

#Str8NoChaser #EssaySeries #Masculinity #Military #Sexuality

"Tenant organizing illuminates a path toward economic policies responsive to the needs of people and communities, nourishing to democracy, and an antidote to excesses of populism."

@povertyscholar.bsky.social on housing and right-wing populism👇 #EssaySeries

🔗:

"Voters’ attitudes and preferences cannot simply be attributed to their economic circumstances alone."

In this piece, Yotam Margalit explores the importance of identifying the cultural roots of right-wing populism and charting a path forward. ⬇️

#EssaySeries

"Lessening the nation’s geographic divide is critical to rebalancing and strengthening U.S. democracy."

@jacobhacker.bsky.social and Paul Pierson on how economic geography in the U.S. has fueled right-wing populism and what Democrats can do about it. #EssaySeries
equitablegrowth.org/how-the-econ...

America’s job-quality crisis and how to revive workers’ pay, dignity, job advancement, and economic well-being This essay focuses on the drivers of the job-quality crisis and concrete policy responses to address those drivers.

"The crisis of poor job quality has encouraged right-wing populist leaders to pitch divisive rhetoric to struggling workers and their families..."

@elkelly.bsky.social on drivers of poor job quality and concrete policy responses to address them 👇

#EssaySeries

equitablegrowth.org/americas-job...

How the China trade shock impacted U.S. manufacturing workers and labor markets, and the consequences for U.S. politics How the China trade shock of the early 2000s shaped the evolution of trade-exposed local labor markets in the United States.

"The China trade shock accounts for approximately one-quarter of the decline in manufacturing jobs between 2000 and 2007." @davidautor.bsky.social @profdaviddorn.bsky.social and Gordon Hanson explore how the China trade shock affected U.S. politics #EssaySeries

🔗 equitablegrowth.org/how-the-chin...

Understanding the role of immigration and economic factors in boosting support for far-right political parties This essay offers a new way to understand how concerns about immigration translate into political behavior.

"This debate often pits cultural explanations of populism’s growing support against economic ones. Are these really opposing forces...?"

@sirdeh.bsky.social on how concerns about immigration and economic factors translate into political behavior:

#EssaySeries
equitablegrowth.org/understandin...

Federal and state governments can help solve the employment problems of people in distressed places to spur equitable growth How to best target economically distressed places with job creation programs and what job creation programs are most effective.

In economically distressed places, "job problems" can be addressed by improving access to good jobs.

@timbartik.bsky.social on how federal and state aid can target these places with effective job creation programs. @upjohninstitute.bsky.social #EssaySeries

🔗: equitablegrowth.org/federal-and-...

"Current economic indicators don't reflect popular sentiment."

Jonathan Cohen and Katherine Cramer on the importance of transitioning to people-focused indicators to more accurately reflect how the economy is performing for Americans. #EssaySeries

Read more 👇
equitablegrowth.org/more-accurat...

The political implications of bad jobs and the decline of unions A review the effects and implications of declining job quality both for workers and for democracy in the United States.

What are the effects of declining job quality for workers and democracy? @adamdean.bsky.social and @jamiemccallum.bsky.social explore how unions bolster workers’ well-being and why unions counteract the rightward trend among working-class voters. #EssaySeries

➡️: equitablegrowth.org/the-politica...

The next thing to think about is: What are the policies and practices that strengthen democracy and the economy?

Panelists @timbartik.bsky.social, @adamdean.bsky.social, @cmehta3.bsky.social, @povertyscholar.bsky.social and moderator @jerusalem.bsky.social explore potential solutions.

#EssaySeries

Step 1 is diagnosing the problem: "What has caused the surge in economic populism?"

Panelists Jonathan Cohen, @smettler.bsky.social and @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social's Paul Pierson, alongside moderator Jia Lynn Yang, explore.

See our new #EssaySeries for more: equitablegrowth.org/insights-exp...

Our #EssaySeries on "The Rise of Populism and the Future of Economic Policy" is now live!

It explores economic factors contributing to the rising support for authoritarian populism, as well as any potential policy solutions.

Learn more & see all essays here. ⬇️
equitablegrowth.org/insights-exp...