The Struggle to Keep America’s Workers Safe episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 21, 2025 · 27 MIN

The Struggle to Keep America’s Workers Safe

from WSJ What’s News · host The Wall Street Journal

For over 100 years, keeping Americans safe on the job has challenged the country's free-market economy. Businesses often preferred to regulate their workplaces without government oversight. But that track record is mixed. And federal efforts at safeguarding job sites at times have fallen short. Host Katherine Sullivan explores how far we've come since Frances Perkins helped put employee safety in the spotlight and what American workers still face now when they go to work.  This episode is part of The Wall Street Journal’s USA250: The Story of the World’s Greatest Economy, a collection of articles, videos and podcasts aiming to offer a deeper understanding of how America has evolved. Additional reading and listening: A Timeline of Key Moments in the History of Work in America  Coal Miners’ Trade Off: Trump Boosts Production but Slashes Safety Programs  An Economy Built on Speculation—for Better and for Worse  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Dec 21, 2025

Embed this episode

Ready to play

The Struggle to Keep America’s Workers Safe

0:00 27:48

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of WSJ What’s News?

This episode is 27 minutes long.

When was this WSJ What’s News episode published?

This episode was published on December 21, 2025.

Can I download this WSJ What’s News episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!