Melissa Butcher
Professor and Program Director at Cumberland Lodge and author of The Trouble with Freedom: Love, Hate and America’s Future (Manchester UP, 2026), drawing on fieldwork and interviews across the U.S. to analyze contemporary meanings of freedom.
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Apr 7, 2026 • 1h 14min
Melissa Butcher, "The Trouble with Freedom: Love, Hate and America’s Future" (Manchester UP, 2026)
Melissa Butcher, a professor and program director who conducted extensive fieldwork across the US, explores how competing meanings of freedom polarize Americans. She discusses rural/urban divides, the El Paso border crossings, conservative youth organizing, COVID-related medical freedom, and local efforts that bridge deep disagreements.
Apr 7, 2026 • 1h 14min
Melissa Butcher, "The Trouble with Freedom: Love, Hate and America’s Future" (Manchester UP, 2026)
Melissa Butcher, Professor and Program Director at Cumberland Lodge and author, draws on fieldwork and interviews across the U.S. She explores how competing meanings of freedom polarize Americans. Topics include border crossings at El Paso, rural versus urban life, medical‑freedom movements after COVID, faith and political identity, and small‑scale civic work that offers local hope.
