En Masse
En Masse is an immersive storytelling podcast about working-class experiences throughout history by labor activist and union member, Liz Medina. Each season investigates the universal experience of class and work, as well as their particularities, depending on who the workers are and where they live.
- Update frequency
- every 11 days
- Average duration
- 33 minutes
- Episodes
- 21
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2022
On the Line with Daisy Pitkin
In this special bonus episode, I interview Daisy Pitkin, author of On the Line: A Story of Class, Solidarity, and Two Women's Epic Fight to Build a Union, which chronicles the story of a "bold five-y…
Bonus: Workers' Inquiry and Global Class Struggle
In this special, bonus episode, I interview Professor Robert Ovetz, author of "Workers' Inquiry and Global Class Struggle." Prepare to have any preconceived notions of unions, power, and class confli…
Protect the Results!
“The entire history of this country can be understood as a long and arduous struggle to count the votes, and indeed the lives, of working people, women, people of color, immigrants, and native people…
BONUS: The Story of John Henry, Part 2
In Part Two, Dylan Kelley, friend of the pod and local journalist, and I dive into the hard history embodied in the story of John Henry while exploring the remains of Barre’s railyard. John Henry’s g…
BONUS: The Story of John Henry, Part 1
In Part 1, we hear a live performance of “John Henry” by Eric George, a Vermont-based songwriter, sound engineer, and performer of original music and poetry. Eric also shares his relationship to the …
Bonus (Patreon Members Only): Behind the Scenes Teaser
Hear the full, 53-minute BONUS episode by becoming a Patreon member today: Support En Masse on Patreon.
So you’ve finished Season 1 of En Masse. Maybe you’ve noticed En Masse is a bit different than …
Bonus (Patreon Members Only): No Stone Left Unturned Teaser
Hear the full, one-hour BONUS episode by becoming a Patreon member today: Support En Masse on Patreon.
There’s a huge pile of rocks near each quarry pit. Large enough to make a person stop their car …
11) “You got something behind you.”
Denise is one of the few women working in what remains of Barre’s granite industry. She worked as a sandblaster for many years. A lot of experienced workers like her are leaving the industry...and th…
10) “The days can become very long.”
Randy has worked his way up from driving a milk truck to working for the City of Barre. He has worked in both the Water Department and the Cemetery Department. The Cemetery Department covers Hope Cem…
9) “History is very personal.”
Christine is a true Vermonter in every way: she is part Abenaki, and her entire family has been here for generations. Growing up working-class in a working-class town, she knows what it feels like to…
8) “In this area, I was stuck.”
Many people did struggle during the Recession, and some never fully recovered. Paul dedicated his life to the liberal arts, helping students achieve their dreams, including a young poet with a speech…
7) “Is this my life?”
Fast forward about 80 years to about a decade after America’s second-biggest economic contraction, the Great Recession. The granite industry is still dying, but it’s not wholly dead. The industry is …
6) “Poor Devil”
Outside of the sheds, work was still dangerous. Workers were crushed, injured, and combusted. Jack gives us a tour of the abandoned quarries, which he punctuates with bittersweet memories and reflect…
5) “Everybody’s got to live.”
If work couldn’t be found in the formal job market, people would find or make work for themselves in the informal market, which is often criminalized. During the heydays of the granite industry, wido…
4) “My father swore the kitchen blue.”
Families wanted better, longer lives for their children than what the granite industry could offer. Palmira’s father was furious when she was dating a stone carver. Their family had endured a hard jo…
3) “There was never trouble getting a job.”
Machines and automation have been putting people out of work for some time, and the Depression is no exception. But, not long ago, there was an industrial boom that required massive amounts of labor …
2) "You got to keep up with the times."
Pat used to live in a small Irish village run by one rich man. One day, this rich man stopped giving work to Pat’s father -- and told his rich friends to do the same -- in response to a false, salaci…
1) "You're in a different world."
Sarah has found work in Barre, but it’s not originally what she wanted to do with her life. As a diversion caseworker, she has seen people in Barre struggling with poverty, and how our systems and so…
0) Introduction to Season 1, "Bedrock"
Barre, VT was once called the “Granite Center of the World." Quarries wide and deep gave rise to an industry that promised to bear the task of immortality. Granite of exquisite quality augured not on…