Is the American Dream dying?

Is the American Dream dying?

From The Story by The Times

April 24, 2026 · 29 min

About this episode

The episode explores the current belief in the American Dream among ordinary Americans amidst rising economic and political challenges.

The American Dream is as old as the United States itself. But as the country marks its 250th anniversary, with economic uncertainty, political turbulence and social divisions all on the rise, do ordinary Americans still believe? The Times and YouGov spoke to 1800 of them to find out – and we've got their analysis. This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory Guests:   David Charter, assistant editor (US), The Times. Tom Calver, data editor, The Times and Sunday Times. Host: Rosie Wright. Producer: Callum Martin and Olivia Case. We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com Read more: The American Dream is dying, Times poll reveals Further listening: Five years on from the Jan 6 riots, how has the US president changed America? Clips: SullenToys / YouTube, Zohran Mamdani / YouTube. Photo: Getty Images. This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe  here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Guests: David Charter, Tom Calver

Topics covered

  • American Dream
  • economic uncertainty
  • political turbulence
  • social divisions

Keywords

  • YouGov
  • poll
  • The Times

Sponsors

The Times

Mentioned in this episode

Places: the United States, US, America

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