Dear John, 

To succeed in life, do you need to leave your hometown behind?

That’s a question you’ve probably asked yourself. We all have.

And for many of us, the answer is yes, we do need to move on . . .

. . . but why is that?

In our newest podcast, you’ll hear from a talented young writer who has tackled this very issue: Gracy Olmstead.

Gracy was born and raised in a small Idaho farm town. Now she lives outside of Washington, D.C., where she has built a career as an acclaimed journalist and author.

Johnny Burtka and I sat down with Gracy—an ISI alumna—to discuss her insights on the experience from her new book, Uprooted.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• the unintended consequences of encouraging kids to have “big plans”
   
• the Wendell Berry book that Gracy says was a “punch in the gut”
   
• how to love a place well without succumbing to nostalgia
   
• why physical mobility and economic mobility have become synonymous
   
• the dangers of talking about “rural America”
   
• why small-town natives are moving back home
   
• . . . and more!

You don’t want to miss this amazing discussion about how to reroot yourself in an increasingly rootless world.

Give it a listen.

We’ll have a new episode up Tuesday, June 1. So subscribe to Conservative Conversations with ISI now.

Thanks for your interest in the podcast!