David Masciotra is the author of six books, including I Am Somebody: Why Jesse Jackson Matters and Mellencamp: American Troubadour. A journalist, political analyst, and arts critic, he has written for the New Republic, Salon, Progressive, Washington Monthly, No Depression, CounterPunch, CrimeReads, and many other publications about politics, literature, and music. He and his wife live in Indiana, where he teaches at Indiana University Northwest.