Street Fight Part I: Hobos, Bums, and the Homeless

About this episode

The episode explores the emergence of homelessness as a modern phenomenon and highlights a woman's fight for her right to live on the streets of New York City in the 1980s.

What we call “homelessness” is a relatively modern phenomenon. Today, we tell the story of its emergence and why, in the 1980s, one woman fought so fervently for her right to live on a New York City street corner. You can hear the full series right now when you become a Longview subscriber by visiting us⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠THIS EPISODE FEATURES:Stephen EideLINKS:⁠60 Minutes segment on Joyce Brown⁠⁠Stephen Eide at the Manhattan Institute⁠⁠The New York Civil Liberties Union⁠ ⁠Jack London’s memoir of his hobo years, The Road⁠⁠Joyce Brown’s obituary⁠⁠New York magazine story on Brown⁠⁠Retro Report piece featuring Brown’s niece⁠⁠Study on homelessness mortality⁠⁠HUD’s 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (Part 1)⁠For this series we also read, and recommend, the following books: ⁠Homelessness in America: The History and Tragedy of an Intractable Social Problem⁠by Stephen Eide, ⁠Reckoning with Homelessness⁠by Kim Hopper, ⁠The Hobo: The Sociology of the Homeless Man⁠by Nels Anderson, and ⁠Down and Out, on the Road: The Homeless in American History⁠by Kenneth L. Kusmer.CREDITS:This story was reported by Emma Pettit and produced by Andy Mills, Ethan…

People in this episode

Host: Emma Pettit

Guest: Stephen Eide

Topics covered

• homelessness
• New York City
• social rights
• 1980s activism
• urban culture

Keywords

• homelessness
• New York City
• Joyce Brown
• Stephen Eide
• 1980s
• social rights
• urban culture

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New York Civil Liberties Union

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