Americans used to move all the time to better their lives. Then they stopped. Why? Read Yoni Appelbaum’s cover story on The Atlantic here. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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This is Radio Atlantic.
I'm Hanna Rosen.
I have moved many times in my life, across continents,
across across the country, back and forth across D.C. which is where I live now.
And I didn't think much about it.
I just chalked it up to restlessness.
Until I read Yoni Applebaum's new book, which is also the March cover story in the Atlantic.
The book is called how the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity.
In it, Applebaum argues that there is,
and always has been something quite quintessentially American
and also quintessentially hopeful about moving.
In the 19th century, moving day was like a thing,
a holiday celebrated across different American cities at different times,
when everybody would just up and move.
To quote Applebaum,