Jesse Lichtenstein and "Do we really want to live without the post office?"

By Matt Tullis

In this podcast, Matt Tullis interviews Jesse Lichtenstein. Listen to the interview on Gangrey: The Podcast.

Jesse Lichtenstein wrote the story, "Do we really want to live without the post office" for the February issue of Esquire. In the story, Lichtenstein follows mail through the postal process in an effort to understand how it can get from one end of the country to the other for a scant 43 cents. The story also looks extensively at the troubles facing the postal service. Shortly after this story was published, the U.S. Postal Service announced it would stop delivering mail on Saturdays. Yet Lichtenstein makes an argument that the postal service is more than just a delivery system; it's something that binds this country together in a fundamental way.