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From ‘hillbilly’ roots to becoming Donald Trump’s nominee for vice-president. At 39, if JD Vance is elected, he would be one of America’s youngest ever Vice-Presidents. A lot has been laid bare in his own words, in ‘Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis’. He talks about being raised by his grandparents who moved from the Appalachian Mountains area of Kentucky to Ohio, to a Middle America Rust Belt town looking for a better life. His mother struggled with drug addiction and a string of chaotic relationships. So how did he go from a sometimes unstable, sometimes violent, upbringing to being in the running to take one of the highest offices in American politics? There’s another transformation many wonder about too: why did he change his mind on Trump? Only in 2016 JD Vance said ‘I can't stomach Trump. I think that he's noxious and is leading the white working class to a very dark place.’ Mark Coles finds out.

CONTRIBUTORS
Jon Husted, Lieutenant Governor of the state of Ohio
Hayley Bemiller, Reporter on Ohio newspaper the Columbus Dispatch
Josh Glancy, Editor of News Review at The Sunday Times
Michael Hartley, President Swing State Strategies
Bryan Lanza, former member of Donald Trump's presidential transition team

PRODUCTION TEAM
Presenter: Mark Coles
Producers: Phoebe Keane, Diane Richardson
Editor: Penny Murphy
Sound: Neil Churchill
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele

CREDIT
NPR Fresh Air