Podcast Summary: "Born Poor" From PBS Follows Up on a Documentary Filmed 14 Years Ago
Podcast: All Of It
Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Episode Air Date: October 6, 2025
Guest: Jezza Newman, Director and Producer of Born Poor
Topic: Revisiting three families, originally filmed in 2011 for the PBS documentary Poor Kids, to examine the longitudinal effects of childhood poverty in America.
Episode Overview
This episode of All Of It centers on the PBS documentary Born Poor, a follow-up to the 2012 film Poor Kids, which traced the lives of three children—Johnny, Kaylee, and Brittany—growing up in poverty in the Quad Cities. Host Alison Stewart talks with director Jezza Newman about the unique insights garnered from tracking these children for over a decade, exploring the enduring trauma and the complexity of hope amid chronic hardship. The conversation offers a candid look into the lived realities of American poverty, the cyclical nature of disadvantage, and the personal growth of the film’s subjects.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Why Focus on Children and The Quad Cities?
- Children as Storytellers: Newman emphasizes using children’s perspectives to break through stigma, since blame for poverty cannot be shifted onto the young.
"If you tell the story through the children, you can't blame the kids. ... It's a way of starting to engage the audience so you can then tackle some of the preconceptions." — Jezza Newman [03:03]
- Depth Over Breadth: Instead of a broad approach, the filmmakers stayed in the Quad Cities (intersection of I-80 and the Mississippi River) to present a more intimate, layered narrative about poverty’s roots in "the heart of America."
"In documentary filmmaking, we always say it’s better to have depth and not breadth." — Jezza Newman [04:03]
- Poverty Beyond Laziness: Newman counters stereotypes, noting that structural issues like lack of transport compound daily crises for poor families.
"Poor people are lazy. Well, they're not. They just come across a lot more barriers than other people might do." — Jezza Newman [03:15]
Building Trust and Gaining Consent
- Establishing Relationships: Gaining trust took time, with subjects’ willingness rooted in the possibility of prompting social change.
"All the families were doing it in the hope that maybe they'll help evoke change." — Jezza Newman [05:29]
- Agency and Portrayal: Participants became comfortable after the first film aired, feeling fairly and respectfully represented, motivating them to continue the project.
"They knew how the first film ... portrayed them with fairness and in a respectful way." — Jezza Newman [07:34]
The Longitudinal Approach & Influence of Frontline
- Returning Over the Years: The follow-up was not originally planned but was initiated by Frontline’s Rainey Aronson, giving viewers a longitudinal look reminiscent of the 7 Up series.
"This new film, Born Poor, is 90 minutes and is narratorless. It’s just the kids telling their story." — Jezza Newman [08:42]
- Narratorless Storytelling: The absence of a narrator foregrounds the subjects’ voices and experiences, offering raw, unmediated perspectives.
Children’s Perspective on Poverty and Hope
- Unfiltered Honesty: Children speak with poetic, unvarnished directness about hunger and insecurity.
"They talk with an unfettered honesty and frankness. ... Some of the way they describe things is just so poetic." — Jezza Newman [10:36]
- Hope as Survival Mechanism: Dreams and hope are psychologically necessary, as articulated by Kaylee.
"It's the hope and dreams that make living the today possible." — Jezza Newman [12:47]
- Adjustment and Adaptation: Subjects often shift or adapt their dreams in response to lived reality; hope dims but rarely disappears completely.
"Kaylee is very good at shifting her dreams ... she understands that life doesn't necessarily work the way you'd like." — Jezza Newman [14:41]
The Transition to Adulthood
- Kaylee’s Journey: She achieves some stability (jobs, homeownership), but it’s accompanied by loneliness and distance from her family due to childhood trauma and the need for a clean slate.
"She decided she wanted to move to another state, and that was kind of her way of starting a clean slate with the new Kaylee." — Jezza Newman [17:22]
- Generational Trauma: The strain in familial relationships partly stems from both sides dealing with unaddressed trauma and mental health needs.
- Cycle of Poverty: Despite determination, subjects like Brittany struggle to break free due to lack of support systems and practical skills.
"They were determined not to re-live the cycle that they grew up in. ... They have no one else around them. ... If their family haven’t managed to find a way out, how are the kids going to be equipped to find a way out?" — Jezza Newman [20:26–21:16]
Ongoing Psychological Impact
- PTSD of Poverty: Chronic stress from childhood lingers and resurfaces as anxiety or depression in adulthood.
"It was actually that support that told her about the PTSD of poverty. That's how she learned it." — Jezza Newman [23:12]
- Limited Access to Mental Health: Even when subjects seek help (as Kaylee did), maintaining support is difficult due to insurance and mobility challenges.
Reflections on the Filmmaking Relationship
- Maintaining Boundaries: Jezza stresses the need for ethical distance—he cannot change the subjects’ lives, only portray them honestly.
"I can’t solve their problems ... if I interfere, I’m not being honest to the viewer." — Jezza Newman [27:37]
- Mutual Growth: The director notes how the process made him more reflective and present as a parent.
"These children taught me to be a better parent because I interviewed Brittany and realized that I spent two hours talking to her on camera. ... From then on I’ve made it ... a point to just give my own kids a bit of time." — Jezza Newman [25:12]
Hopes for Audience Impact
- Changing Perceptions: Newman urges viewers to recognize how trauma and lack of opportunity sustain poverty.
"I want people to understand why people might end up like that ... these are traumas that go unfixed." — Jezza Newman [29:32]
- Empathy, Not Judgment: Emphasizes the intelligence and potential of the subjects, who simply lack resources, not ability.
"These are really intelligent, smart, clever kids growing up in poverty ... there are thousands of them ... who, with the right support and the right opportunity, can be really amazing members of society." — Jezza Newman [30:25]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On the child’s perspective:
"Kaylee has this amazing soliloquy on a swing … talking about what hunger pains are. ... It’s so vivid." — Jezza Newman [11:09]
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On breaking the poverty cycle:
"I tried and tried, but I don't ... I'm not sure. I just don't have the skills." — Brittany, quoted by Jezza Newman [20:56]
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On the impact of documentary filmmaking:
"If we try, maybe something will change. ... At least if we try, maybe something will." — Jezza Newman [07:16]
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On adapting dreams:
"There'll be certain hopes and dreams she had that are no longer attainable. But … she adapts towards the currency of what she's doing." — Jezza Newman on Kaylee [14:53]
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On revealing everyday trauma:
"Going hungry, not knowing if you’ve got a roof over your head—they are traumas." — Jezza Newman [29:37]
Key Timestamps for Important Segments
- [02:49] – Why focus on children and the Quad Cities
- [04:54] – Building trust and reactions from participants
- [08:18] – The move toward a longitudinal documentary, narratorless approach
- [10:24] – Children’s candidness about poverty and hunger
- [12:23] – Effect of poverty on hope and dreaming
- [14:41] – Adaptation of hope and dreams in adulthood
- [16:28] – Kaylee’s adulthood, success, loneliness, family estrangement
- [20:16] – Persistent stress, cycle of poverty, lack of support
- [23:03] – Access to, and impact of, mental health support
- [24:25] – Director’s personal growth through the filmmaking process
- [27:10] – Maintaining boundaries between filmmaker and subject
- [29:27] – Director’s hopes for societal impact and empathy
Episode Tone & Takeaway
The conversation maintains a tone of respectful, nuanced inquiry—never shying away from the pain and difficulty of poverty, but always foregrounding the humanity and resilience of the children-turned-adults at its center. It is honest, compassionate, and invites listeners to abandon simplistic judgments in favor of deeper understanding and empathy.
Born Poor premieres October 7th at 10 pm on PBS stations and is available for streaming via pbs.org/frontline and the PBS app.