Sarah Smarsh is a journalist who has spoken internationally on poverty, rural issues, and cultural divides at venues ranging from small-town libraries to Sydney Opera House. A former English professor and grant writer for social service agencies, Sarah seeks to infuse all her work with a backbone of civic responsibility. In 2019, Sarah released the podcast The Homecomers, which explores how a national blind spot toward rural and working-class America drives misleading headlines, broken politics, and dangerous social fissures. The podcast showcases stories of people who, as residents or advocates, remain committed to their complex, embattled homes.
Among other honors, Smarsh has served as a Shorenstein Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a Pritzker Fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. Her most recent book, Bone of the Bone: Essays on America from a Daughter of the Working Class, 2012-2024, was called a “must-read” by the San Francisco Chronicle. She is also at work on a book about the endangered tallgrass prairie ecosystem, which will be published by Scribner in 2026. She lives in rural Kansas.
