{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsignal-noise.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fthe-vanishing-middle-oRyp7PZ_","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"The Vanishing Middle","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/96a10b54-3566-4ae1-87fd-fd8bff7bd182/f8c23ae5-e871-4c31-9ede-2ef659e784a1/signal-20and-20noise.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"<iframe src=\"https://player.simplecast.com/d88c2631-9457-4f61-a8af-bce0204c15cb\" height=\"200\" width=\"100%\" title=\"The Vanishing Middle\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"></iframe>","height":200,"description":"Local newspapers are disappearing at twice the rate of coal plants, creating 'news deserts' where misinformation flourishes and corruption goes unchecked. We examine how the collapse of local journalism is reshaping American democracy in ways that national headlines miss entirely."}