by Maximillian Alvarez | Apr 15, 2026 | Economy and Inequality, Inequality, Podcast, Politics and Movements: US, Working People
On Aug. 22, 2025, the small-town lives of residents living near the Smitty’s Supply facility in Roseland, Louisiana, changed forever when an explosion occurred at the automotive lubricant plant. The explosion and ensuing fire, which burned for days, triggered evacuations across the area, blanketing homes and businesses with smoke, soot, and oily residue, while spilling petroleum products from the plant into area waterways, including several adjacent ponds and the Tangipahoa River. While the Environmental Protection Agency claims that the area is safe, according to the agency’s own chemical monitoring, residents say they’ve been left behind and kept in the dark as they develop negative health symptoms and their homes remain covered in toxic substances. In this episode, we speak with Arlene Bankston, a farmer and resident of Roseland, and Allie Ponvelle, who lives one town over in Amite, about the slow-moving nightmare they’ve been living in ever since the massive explosion and chemical fire at Smitty’s Supply.
Additional links/info:
Alene Bankston’s Facebook page
Allie Ponvelle’s Facebook page
Petition to Close Roseland Montessori School Due to Toxic Contamination
Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC) website
Wesley Muller, Louisiana Illuminator, “Smitty’s Supply neighbors still wary of fire fallout despite assurances from Landry, EPA”
Whitney Miller, WWL Louisiana, “What was in the air and water after the Smitty’s Supply fire? Testing under new scrutiny”
”Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “America’s toxic future looks like East Palestine, Ohio, today”
Featured Music:
Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song
Credits:
Audio Post-Production: Jules Taylor
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Maximillian Alvarez:
All right. Welcome everyone to Working People, a podcast about the lives, jobs, dreams,
by Chris Walker | Mar 5, 2026 | CEO-worker pay ratio, corporate welfare, Corporations, Income disparity, Inequality, Institute for Policy Studies, low wages, News
Many workers employed by the largest low-wage corporations in the U.S. are dependent on public benefits to access food or health care because their pay is so low, according to a new report by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). The report, titled “America’s 20 Largest Low-Wage Employers and the Affordability Crisis,” also found the lowest-paying S&P 500 corporations that primarily exploit…
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by Maximillian Alvarez | Mar 3, 2026 | east palestine, Economy and Inequality, Inequality, Politics and Movements: US, sacrifice zones, video
Three years ago, on Feb. 3, 2023, the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical disaster—one of the worst industrial disasters in US history—took place in the small town of East Palestine, OH. Since that fateful day, residents have been exploited and abandoned by Norfolk Southern, the government, opportunistic politicians, sensationalist media outlets, and self-serving attorneys, but we haven’t forgotten them. On the three-year anniversary of the day that changed their small-town lives forever, TRNN Editor-in-Chief Maximillian Alvarez was on the ground in East Palestine speaking with residents about their lives and needs today. Here is what they said…
Additional links/info:
Ohio Valley Derailment Mutual Aid Facebook page and fundraiser
Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC) website
Golomb Research Group (UCSD) website and East Palestine Health Effects Study website
Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “America’s toxic future looks like East Palestine, Ohio, today” (click for a full list of all of Max’s East Palestine reporting for TRNN over the last three years)
Josh Funk & Julie Carr Smyth, AP, “Lawsuit blames deaths on Ohio train derailment as Vance says US needs ‘to do better on rail safety’”
Credits:
Filmed by Maximillian Alvarez
Post-Production by David Hebden
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Jami Wallace:
I am Jami Wallace from East Palestine, Ohio. It was three years ago today on February 3rd, 2023, that a Norfolk Southern train derailed in my community carrying hazardous chemicals. It’s now been three years. We are still here. We still need help. Our health is failing. I have been diagnosed with multiple different long-term illnesses that all can be related to the chemicals.
Ashley
by Jesse Hagopian | Jan 31, 2026 | affordability, cost of living, Democratic Socialism, Housing Crisis, Hunger Crisis, Inequality, low wages, Op-Ed
When school counselors must decide which children get to eat, it’s time to acknowledge we’re in a national affordability crisis. The problem is the economy itself — not just its current condition, but the underlying unfairness of how it is organized. A friend recently told me a story that made this reality impossible to ignore. Her elderly parents live near an elementary school not far from…
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by Sharon Zhang | Jan 7, 2026 | Billionaires, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Inequality, News, Wealth, Wealth Gap
A new analysis finds that the richest 15 billionaires in the U.S. saw their wealth skyrocket by nearly $1 trillion in the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, which also contained one of the single largest cuts to welfare benefits in U.S. history. The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) report, citing data from Forbes, has found that U.S. billionaires’ assets surged by a…
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by Maximillian Alvarez | Dec 17, 2025 | east palestine, Economy, Economy and Inequality, Inequality, Politics and Movements: US, video
Ashley McCullom’s quiet, small-town life “changed in an instant” on the night of Feb. 3, 2023, when a Norfolk Southern “bomb train” derailed near her home in East Palestine, OH. The derailment, followed by the disastrous decision to “vent and burn” multiple carloads of hazardous chemicals, exposed residents in East Palestine and the surrounding area to toxins that have made them sick, poisoned their homes, and changed their community forever. While Norfolk Southern, politicians, and media pundits have all moved on from the East Palestine train derailment and chemical disaster, residents like McCullom are still dealing with the toxic fallout.Additional links/info:
Maximillian Alvarez, Steve Mellon, & Mike Balonek, The Real News Network, “Trainwreck in ‘Trump Country’: Partisan politics hasn’t helped East Palestine, OH (DOCUMENTARY)”
Credits:
Production: Maximillian Alvarez
Post-Production: Maximillian Alvarez, David Hebden
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
WKYC Channel 3:
Breaking news from Columbiana County. East Palestine is now under an urgent mandatory evacuation order after a toxic train derailment
ABC News:
State of emergency in Ohio. After a train derailment and massive fire, some of the cars were carrying hazardous chemicals.
NBC News:
Some 2000 residents, nearly half of East Palestine still under evacuation orders. Visitors told to stay away.
PBS NewsHour:
For Ashley McCullum, the fear is warranted. She lived two blocks from the derailment site.
Ashley McCullom:
When I looked out, everything looked like it was on fire. The entire entire thing looked like it was going up in smoke in flames. I’m Ashley McCollum and this is my house. It’s pretty bad inside. I had multiple chemical testing done. I don’t go in without
