Kathleen McLaughlin, a nonfiction writer and journalist, will stay at the historic Hemingway House for three weeks as a part of the The Community Library's writer-in-residence program. McLaughlin’s work centers around socioeconomic class, labor rights and inequality around the world. She will present a talk at The Community Library in Ketchum on Thursday.
She prominently focuses on how the aforementioned factors shape local, national and global politics, and uses her experience from working as a foreign correspondent in China for 16 years to provide perspective.
McLaughlin’s book, “Blood Money: The Story of Life, Death, and Profit Inside America’s Blood Industry,” was released in 2023 and follows an investigation of the global plasma industry, shedding light on the erosion of social safety nets in the United States that quietly led millions of Americans to sell their blood to get by, The Community Library stated in a news release.
“I'm so grateful to The Community Library for this gift of time and space in a place with such apparent creative energy,” said McLaughlin in the release. “While I'm here in Ketchum, I'll be wrapping up an edited anthology collection, beginning work on a new book of my own, as well as working on a radio documentary for the BBC World Service. Having unrestricted solo time and space in a gorgeous setting to really focus on these projects is invaluable.”
McLaughlin’s talk, “Inequality and the Rise of Authoritarianism: Lessons from China to the U.S.,” is scheduled for Thursday, April 3, at 5:30 p.m. at The Community Library. It is a free event, but the library has requested that participants register online in advance at comlib.org.
McLaughlin will dive into her experience reporting in China and other repressive regimes to discuss how socioeconomic inequality has given rise to authoritarianism around the world. She will describe parallels between China and the U.S. in the current political moment, and offer insight to Americans on protecting democracy and democratic norms.
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