Ted Conover on Immigration, Prisons and 21st Century Homesteading – #25

Steve and Corey talk to Ted about his article for the August issue of Harper’s Magazine, “The Last Frontier”. Ted describes how Trump’s election led him to seek out his new project on people living off the grid in Colorado’s San Luis Valley (“Appalachia without the Trees”). The three discuss how immigration has changed since he wrote Coyotes in 1987. Ted explains how working as a prison guard in Sing Sing led to the uncomfortable realization that he was getting comfortable with unnecessary violence and offers advice to young people seeking to write interesting stories in the new media landscape.ResourcesTranscriptTed ConoverThe Last Frontier: Homesteaders on the margins of AmericaCoyotes: A Journey Through the Secret World of America’s Illegal AliensNewjack: Guarding Sing SingRolling Nowhere: Riding the Rails with America’s Hoboes