S5 Ep. 34: The New Homeless: Emi Nietfeld on the Growing Number of Unhoused Americans

fiction/non/fiction

Memoirist Emi Nietfeld joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss how the pandemic has caused an increase in unhoused Americans as well as common—and off-base—tropes associated with homelessness. Nietfeld, who as a teenager spent time in foster care and living out of her car, talks about the American urge to view suffering as something that makes you stronger. She reads from her new book, Acceptance; reflects on being expected to shape a story about overcoming hardship to access an Ivy League education; and explains how she ultimately chose to resist simpler narratives of grit and resilience.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.

This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Selected Readings:

Emi Nietfeld

• Acceptance

Others:

• In the Midst of Plenty by Marybeth Shinn and Jill Khadduri
• The Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott
• Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
• Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
• Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun
• United States: Pandemic Impact on People in Poverty | Human Rights Watch
• Minneapolis: City Response to Homelessness
• HUD Releases 2021 Annual Homeless Assessment Report Part 1
• Homelessness in America
• State of Homelessness: 2021 Edition
• Inflation and rent increases are making homelessness worse - The Washington Post
• America’s Homelessness Crisis Is Getting Worse - The New York Times
• Rep. Omar Reintroduces Homes for All, Manufactured Housing Legislation
• A New Bill Would Declare Housing as a Human Right - Progressive.org
• Housing is a Human Right Act of 2021
• H.R.4496 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Ending Homelessness Act of 2021
• H.R.7191 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Homes for All Act of 2021
• Guidance on Complying With the Maximum Number of Units Eligible for Operating Subsidy Pursuant to Section 9(g)(3)(A) of the Housing Act of 1937 (aka the Faircloth Limit)
• Representatives Davis, Gomez, Peters, and Panetta Introduce the “Rent Relief Act of 2022” to Establish a Renters’ Tax Credit | National Low Income Housing Coalition
• We Need to Keep Building Houses, Even if No One Wants to Buy
• Congress is 35 years overdue on its promise to end homelessness | The Hill
• Kansas City to Temporarily House Homeless People in Hotels
• 1780 Foster Kids Went Missing in Missouri

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