ARW producers Ellen Guettler and Kate Ellis discuss the “American dream.” It began as a plain but revolutionary notion: each person has the right to pursue happiness, and the freedom to strive for a better life through hard work and fair ambition. But over time, this dream has come to represent a set of expectations about owning things and making money.

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Producer Krissy Clark is moving on to the editing phase for her documentary on the devastating foreclosure crisis happening in Las Vegas.

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Muncie, Indiana, often thought of as the “typical American city,” has become a rust-belt city grappling with de-industrialization and deepening recession. As they watch the plants close, many middle-class, middle-aged, Middle-American residents are left without choices. Producer Laurie Stern talks about how she finds characters that illuminate the economic crisis, and how the crisis is affecting the the American middle class.

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