Country Views with Zachary Michael Jack

Michelle chats with Zachary Michael Jack, the author of a superb book, called Country Views, which deals with his choice to remain in rural Iowa and reflects his personal views and historical data on agrarianism and rural life,. Jack, who has written columns for many of the nation's best-circulated newspapers, including USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle, as well as The Daily Yonder, describes some the vexing issues facing rural communities, including the use of chemicals in agriculture and the lesser life expectancies facing many rural residents, compared to those in metropolitan areas. Jack also discusses a column he wrote, called Color Me Purple, in which he notes that his home county voted in equal numbers in the presidential election between Gore and Bush and how people can respectfully disagree politically on a variety of policy issues.  Rural residents are "more than the sum of their natural disasters," he says. This episode is sponsored by Ice Cube Press, www.icecubepress.com