Research
Funding
Brings Our Stories to Life
Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences’ Distinguished Professor Jeanne Marie Laskas has spent her career helping Americans understand the lives of other Americans - from coal miners to long-haul truckers - through her research and writing.
Laskas is the host and co-writer of the acclaimed Audacy Original podcast series Cement City, which compassionately chronicles life in Donora, a Washington County borough located in southwestern Pennsylvania. The New York Times recognized Cement City in the “Top Ten Best Podcasts of 2024” for its extraordinarily immersive style and insights on America’s industrial past.
Laskas is also the author of eight books, including the New York Times bestseller Concussion, the basis for the award-winning film. She is a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine, a correspondent at GQ, and a two-time National Magazine Award finalist. Additionally, her stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Esquire. Laskas’ other titles include Hidden America: From Coal Miners to Cowboys, an Extraordinary Exploration of the Unseen People Who Make This Country Work (Putnam, 2012) and a trilogy of memoirs: Growing Girls (Bantam Dell, 2006), The Exact Same Moon (Bantam Dell, 2003), and Fifty Acres and a Poodle (Bantam Dell, 2000).