[Reporter Lynn Neary delves into the story of Tom Joads, the main character in John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath"].

Reporter Lynn Neary delves into the story of Tom Joad, the main character in John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath." Neary talks with Dr. Susan Shillinglaw, an author and professor of English at San Jose State University, about the main storyline of "The Grapes of Wrath," and how it still holds true 75 years after it was published. Film-maker P.J. Palmer retraces Joad's trip from Oklahoma to California and tells how Americans are beginning to forget the Dust Bowl and the consequences that arose from the 1920s-1930s. Neary plays clips from Bruce Springsteen's song "The Ghost of Tom Joad," and from Henry Fonda's role as Joad in the movie "The Grapes of Wrath."

Broadcast on NPR, Apr. 14, 2014.