From Control F: The weird way we decide who sits below the poverty line
How do we decide who gets financial support from the government? Usually, it comes down to the federal poverty line.
You might think a lot of data and research goes into establishing that number. But in reality, it’s much squishier. So squishy in fact that it involves Jello...
Today, a special episode brought to us by our friends at Control F: the surprising history of the federal poverty line.
Sources in this episode:
- U.S. Census Bureau Timeline of Poverty Measure, 2014
- How the U.S. Census Bureau Measures Poverty, 2022
- What does living at the poverty line look like?, USA Facts, 2023
- Poverty Guidelines vs Poverty Thresholds, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Poverty Line Matrix, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2026
- Remembering Mollie Orshansky — The Developer of the Poverty Thresholds, Society Security Administration, 2008
- Relatively Deprived, New Yorker, 2006
- Mollie Orshansky, Statistician, Dies at 91, The New York Times, 2007
- Mollie Orshansky: Inventor of the Poverty Line, NPR, 2007
- Thrifty Food Plan, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021
- Thrifty Food Plan: Better planning and accountability could help ensure quality of future reevaluations, U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Requesters, 2022
- Family Food Plans and Food Costs, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1962
- The Indians in the Lobby, Season 3, Episode 8, The West Wing, 2001
- NPR audience call out on SNAP benefits, 2025
- Legacies of the War on Poverty, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political & Social Science, 2024
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Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.
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Joshua McNichols
Reporter
As KUOW's Growth and Development reporter and co-host of KUOW's Booming podcast, Joshua's "growing pains" beat sits at the nexus of housing, transportation, urban planning, government and the economy. His favorite stories also include themes of history, technology, and climate change.
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Monica Nickelsburg
AI & Economy Reporter
Monica Nickelsburg covers artificial intelligence, tech and the local economy in the Pacific Northwest.
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Carol Smith
Editor
Carol is an editor of news, features, documentaries and podcasts at KUOW. She specializes in narrative approaches. Her team of reporters has covered a range of beats, including regional growth issues, homelessness, the economy, public health, immigration, food, arts and culture. Prior to joining KUOW, Carol was a long-time print journalist for The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Los Angeles Times and others. Her enterprise reporting has won multiple national j awards for investigative and explanatory journalism. She is author of the memoir: Crossing the River: Seven Stories that Saved My Life (Abrams Press, 2021).
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Lucy Soucek
Senior Podcast Producer
Lucy Soucek is a senior producer at KUOW. She helped launch and now produces Booming, a podcast about the economic forces shaping our lives here in the Pacific Northwest. She also produces THE WILD with Chris Morgan, a podcast about the wonder and resilience of nature.
More stories from Lucy Soucek »
