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From coast to coast, an insider's guide to the stories and people shaping the USA today

From coast to coast, an insider's guide to the stories and people shaping the USA today.

Americana: 02/05/2011

02/05/2011

BBC World Service - Americana, 02/05/2011

The American middle class defined, re-defined, sheltered, challenged and... eating Spam

The American middle class defined, re-defined, sheltered, challenged and... eating Spam.

What IS the middle class in America?

Politicians make promises to them, the poor strive to join them - the middle class in the United States is an ever-shifting target. Americana talks with economic analysts, social historians, authors and everyday citizens to help define and explain the importance of the group in the USA.

Bernie Madoff from prison:

Bernie Madoff may be responsible for upsetting the class status of hundreds of Americans by dishonestly shifting their investments, retirement and savings - to the tune of $65bn. The crime sent him to prison for life. Diana Henriques describes the Bernie Madoff of today, two years into his prison sentence.

Suburbia - a magical land for the middle class:

Nearly a third of Americans live in the suburbs these days. Historian Rosalyn Baxandall explains the charms and changes of one of the earliest American suburbs - Levittown, New York.

Spam festival:

If the suburbs are home to the middle class, packaged foods are the quintessential item found in the kitchens of those homes. Spam first hit American stomachs in 1937. Today in Hawaii many Americans continue to enjoy it and celebrate the canned ham with gusto.

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