The Uncertain Hour
Today: #107 in Government on our combined chart.
Today: #195 in Government, South Africa on our combined chart.
Chart positions today · India
Not on the United Kingdom charts we track today.
Not on the Canada charts we track today.
Not on the Australia charts we track today.
Not on the Germany charts we track today.
Not on the Brazil charts we track today.
Not on the Mexico charts we track today.
Not on the New Zealand charts we track today.
Not on the Ireland charts we track today.
Not on the India charts we track today.
Not on the Japan charts we track today.
Not on the Philippines charts we track today.
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Ranking history · India
Latest episodes
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Chapter 6: The Welfare to Temp Work Pipeline
April 26, 2023 · 55 minSince the 1990s, most cash welfare recipients have been required to get a job or do mandated “work activities” to receive their monthly check. These requirements are intended to help parents who are struggling financially into jobs that…
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Chapter 5: Profits and Perverse Incentives
April 19, 2023 · 49 minAntoine Dukes is a natural born salesman. And when he started working for a for-profit welfare company, he figured it was a good way to put his skills to work helping needy Americans find jobs that would get them back on their feet. But…
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Chapter 4: The Battle of Newburgh
April 12, 2023 · 36 minIn 1961, city officials in Newburgh, New York, declared war on their poorest residents by proclaiming, without evidence, that the city was overrun by welfare cheats. It was a moment in history when the belief that certain people need to be…
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Chapter 3: Race and rumor
April 5, 2023 · 36 minIn the 1950s, a rumor that people were moving to Newburgh, NY to live off welfare riled up the city. When city leaders essentially declare war on welfare — and the people who get it — things tumble out of control. Plus, how national…
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Chapter 2: The compliance machine
March 29, 2023 · 54 minA single mother of two in Chicago was working and taking classes to become an addiction counselor when her life fell apart. The father of her youngest child assaulted her so badly it put her in the hospital. Worried for her safety and the…
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Chapter 1: The dream
March 22, 2023 · 45 minWhen a struggling mother of two in Milwaukee hits hard times, she turns to a local welfare office for help — a welfare office outsourced to a private, for-profit company. Inside, staff preach the power of work, place people into unpaid…
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Season 6: The Welfare-to-Work Industrial Complex
March 15, 2023 · 4 minThere is a growing chorus of politicians who argue that there’s a simple solution to help all kinds of problems, including poverty, labor shortages and government deficits: putting more work requirements into government welfare programs…
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To catch a chicken
March 3, 2021 · 37 minWhen chicken catcher Jimmy Nicks’ job was subcontracted, virtually overnight, he started doing the same job for a new boss — only without the pay, protections and benefits he’d come to rely on. This episode looks at the subcontracting…
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The liquid workforce
February 24, 2021 · 39 minOver a quarter of the world’s largest employers don’t just make or sell products — they also rent out workers. Let’s talk about how we got here. For even more of “The Uncertain Hour,” subscribe to our newsletter! Each week we’ll bring you…
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“To suffer or permit to work”
February 17, 2021 · 48 minThis week we’re finally going to tell you what happened to Jerry Vazquez — and how his story relates to the 1930s case of a hotel chambermaid. Jerry and some of his fellow Jan-Pro franchisees decided to sue the company, saying they’d been…
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Who’s the boss?
February 10, 2021 · 45 minJerry Vazquez was in the cleaning business now, and his clients liked him. They’d leave him notes, some with smiley faces drawn in. But, he says, he was barely getting by on the rates negotiated by Jan-Pro. He started feeling like had…
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Congratulations! You’re an entrepreneur now
February 3, 2021 · 42 minJerry Vazquez always dreamed of working for himself. So when he saw a notice in the PennySaver advertising janitorial franchises, he decided to go all in. Pretty soon after, he was in debt to the company and earning less than minimum wage…

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