Our Homes - Ending the Housing Crisis: How Frances Perkins Changed America

In 2009, Kirstin Downey published The Woman Behind the New Deal, a biography of path-breaking government official Frances Perkins, a book that was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book prize and named one of the top ten biographies of the year by the American Library Association. She discusses Perkins, her work, and her impact on American worker rights.

As an award winning investigative journalist, Kirstin Downey, has been reporting on problematic real estate loans and mortgage meltdowns for the Washington Post. She has also worked as a special correspondent for Honolulu Civil Beat, reporting on how actions taken in Washington affect the state. She is currently writing a new history of Hawaii during the first 50 years after Captain Cook arrived, with a focus on Kauai’s Chief Kaumualii. This episode of Our Homes is hosted by Senator Stanley Chang.