FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 9, 2006

CONTACT: Daniel P. Finney, (515) 271-2833, daniel.finney@drake.edu

SOCIAL CRITIC, AUTHOR THOMAS FRANK SPEAKS AT DRAKE JAN. 18

Thomas Frank, author of “What’s the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America,” will speak at Drake University on Wednesday, Jan. 18. His talk, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Bulldog Theater, Olmsted Center, 2875 University Ave.

Frank’s controversial book asserts that middle and lower class Americans vote against their economic interests by supporting the conservative Republican agenda. He writes that Republicans cover an agenda that benefits the rich and corporations in issues such as morality and religion.

The Los Angeles Times called Frank one of “our most insightful social observers.”

Commentator Molly Ivens wrote of “What’s the Matter with Kansas?,” "I promise y'all, this is the only way to understand why so many Americans have decided to vote against their own economic and political interests. And Frank explores the subject with scholarship, understanding, passion, and—thank you, Mark Twain—such tart humor.”

The Drake Center for the Humanities, Women’s Studies Program and School of Journalism and Mass Communications co-sponsor the event.

For more information, contact Matt Esposito at (515) 271-4121 or matthew.esposito@drake.edu or Darcie Vandegrift at (515) 271-2840 or darcie.vandegrift@drake.edu.

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