We talk with Les Leopold of the Labor Institute about his groundbreaking study of the political cost of mass layoffs. His book is Wall Street’s War on Workers: How Mass Layoffs and Greed Are Destroying the Working Class and What to Do About It. Then we re-air a clip from our 2013 interview with Les Leopold about his book, How To Make A Million Dollars An Hour: Why Hedge Funds Get Away with Siphoning Off America’s Wealth. And finally, we read some poems from Mosab Abu Toha’s book Things You May Find Hidden In My Ear. Writers Voice— in depth conversation with writers of all genres, on the air since 2004. Find us on Facebook at Writers Voice with Francesca Rheannon, on Instagram and Threads @WritersVoicePodcast or find us on X/Twitter @WritersVoice. Read transcripts at the Writer’s Voice Substack. Key words: Les Leopold, Wall Street, layoffs, author interview, book podcast, nonfiction, podcast, Writer’s Voice Economy Not Working For Many Americans The economy is going great, right? Wages are up, unemployment is at record lows, so why do so many Americans feel that the economy isn’t working for them? And what does that mean for the upcoming presidential election? Wall Street’s War On Workers These are the questions Les Leopold answers in his latest book Wall Street’s War on Workers: How Mass Layoffs and Greed Are Destroying the Working Class and What to Do About It. As the title makes clear, the crisis of mass layoffs and the failure of either political party to address it has left Americans feeling like the economy is rigged against them – and no one in politics is taking their side. Leopold says that the failure of the so-called “party of the working class,” the Democrats, to stand against mass layoffs is the real reason many working class people have abandoned it. And he says workers are far more progressive, even white workers, than the pundits would have you think. About the Author Les Leopold is the co-founder of the Labor Institute and the author of numerous books, including Runaway Inequality, The Looting of America and How to Make a Million Dollars an Hour. Listen to more of our interviews with Leopold here. Check out Leopold’s Wall Street’s War On Workers Substack here.