Eric Blanc has covered the teachers strike wave closer than any other writer in America. He has been on the ground for most of those strikes, from West Virginia and Arizona to Oakland and Denver, interviewing teachers and reporting on what he’s seen. And he’s turned that reporting into a new book, Red State Revolt: The Teachers Strike Wave and Working-Class Politics, part of the Jacobin Series published by Verso.

Blanc’s book is critical reading for anyone who wants to understand why teachers have been willing to take such drastic action throughout the country — and any socialist, working-class activist who wants to support and expand such actions in their own workplace.

He spoke with Jacobin managing editor Micah Uetricht about Red State Revolt for our podcast The Vast Majority. You can subscribe to The Vast Majority and all the Jacobin podcasts at Jacobin Radio. This is a transcript of part one of that conversation; you can listen to the first part here, and the second part here. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.