Steven Kurutz grew up in a town of 1500 people in the mountains of Pennsylvania. It was a formative rural experience. He set pins at a local bowling alley. He frequented the town library. It’s where he learned to love books, writing, and the characters of small town America – including the towns themselves. He puts all of that to practice in his new book ‘American Flannel: How a Band of Entrepreneurs are bringing the art and business of making clothes back home”. Steven and Kate sit down to talk about the tension between urban and rural environments. To talk about how the last 50 years of economic policy has changed small towns, fashion, and what quality means. We talk about the clothing brands American Giant and Zkano socks and what they’re doing to bring manufacturing back to America while making beautiful and quality goods that are as economically accessible as possible and the grit and determination (and relationships) it takes to do just that.