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Bobbie Ann Mason's short story \u201cLive-Hang,\u201d from our Spring Issue, is the story of two friends who come from different worlds. Dave and Miguel meet in the gutting room of a chicken processing plant. Both are working class, but Dave and his wife, Trish, are white U.S. citizens, while Miguel and his wife, Maria, are undocumented Mexican immigrants. Even though their jobs diverge\u2014Dave uses a connection to get a job installing satellite dishes, while Miguel is promoted to the more dangerous live-hang room\u2014their lives become increasingly intertwined. But then the threat of deportation arrives, and with it the potential of a family being ripped apart. Only a brave and dangerous act can keep these families together. Mason talks about how she came to write this story, and how topical it is\u2014given the recent news about ICE arresting children in hospitals, detaining the single parents of disabled kids, separating families, and raiding workplaces like the chicken plant.

Go beyond the episode:

• Bobbie Ann Mason\u2019s short story, \u201cLive-Hang\u201d
• Listen to \u201cOur Town,\u201d a two-part story from This American Life about the undocumented immigrants in an Alabama poultry town
• Read T. C. Boyle\u2019s story \u201cThe Fugitive,\u201d told from the perspective of an immigrant with no health insurance and tuberculosis
• Watch Mississippi Chicken, a documentary about the hardships of undocumented immigrants in another rural poultry town
• Read \u201cFallout,\u201d Bobbie Ann Mason\u2019s essay about plutonium contamination in Paducah, Kentucky, or \u201cThe Chicken Tower,\u201d her essay about growing up in the town of Mayfield (New Yorker subscription required)

Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.

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Have suggestions for projects you\u2019d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman.

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