America’s Undoing: One Month In and What Comes Next

What we’ve built so far, what’s coming next, and why this project exists.

I’m Corbin Trent. A month ago, I launched America’s Undoing—a project meant to make sense of a country that feels like it’s coming apart at the seams.

If you’ve been here since the first post, thank you. If you’re just showing up, welcome.

This isn’t a newsletter about vibes. I’m not here to chase headlines or dunk on people for clicks. I’m here to document what’s gone wrong in America—what we’ve lost, what’s been taken-who took it, and what it would take to get it back. Not just as a political idea. But as a functioning, capable country.

And it turns out, I’m not the only one thinking this way. One month in and we’ve got over 39,000 subscribers. Thirty-one of you are already paid. Thank you.

What We’ve Done So Far

In our first month, we’ve published:

• 8 longform essays on Substack

• 2 national op-eds in The Nation

• Research exposing everything from the collapse in purchasing power to America’s growing inability to build basic infrastructure

We’ve covered a lot of ground. But we’re just getting started.

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Why This Project Exists

This all comes from lived experience:

• I watched my family’s furniture business collapse after NAFTA and CAFTA

• I built a food truck from scratch that became an award-winning business

• I walked the halls of Congress with a GED while Ivy Leaguers explained America to me

• I saw my community—Appalachia—get hollowed out by factory closures, opioids, and neglect

• I worked on both of Bernie’s presidential campaigns. I co-founded Justice Democrats. I helped write the Green New Deal. I served as AOC’s communications director in Congress and on here campaign

And still—none of that made a dent in the deep rot I kept running into.

So now I’m back in East Tennessee, swinging a hammer by day and writing this at night. Because we can’t wait around for someone else to figure it out.

What This Project Will Cover

This isn’t just economic commentary. This is a full-frontal effort to map out how we lost the ability to build a functioning country—and what we’d need to do to fix it.

Here’s what you’ll see here:

How Bad Is It, Really?

We’re measuring decline in real terms:

• Years of Work to afford a home, healthcare, college, or childcare

• America’s collapsing capacity to build roads, transit, hospitals, water systems

• A manufacturing base gutted, sold off, and replaced with imported debt

Our initial 'Years of Work' research demonstrated that Americans must sacrifice far more of their lives for necessities than previous generations did—but I'm currently reworking this analysis into something even more comprehensive and undeniable that will expose exactly how much of your life is being stolen.

How We Got Here

This didn’t “just happen.” It was designed:

• The government gets most of the blame for our problems but US companies and corporations are lazy-good-for-nothing too

• Manipulated stats like CPI and GDP that hide reality

• Public goods sold off under the lie of efficiency

• Working people divided by race, region, and culture while capital walked off with everything

Public vs. Private: Who Delivers?

Spoiler: It’s not the market. We’ll cover:

• What government built—and what billionaires stole

• How “competition” turned into monopolies

• Why we need direct public options in housing, healthcare, energy, and more

The Fight for Political Power

This isn’t about candidates. It’s about capability.

• What kind of government could actually deliver?

• Why we need a Builder Doctrine to reclaim public power

• And how to prepare for 2026 and 2028 with a plan—not just hope

What to Expect Next

Starting this week, I’m moving to a twice-weekly publishing schedule. We’re also expanding to other platforms and launching the America’s Undoing podcast in April.

You’ll keep seeing:

• Deep-dive essays

• Research-backed arguments

• Visual explainers

• Tools like a Years of Work calculator so you can see how your income would

• And stories from the field—photos, interviews, data, and dirt under the fingernails

This isn’t a content operation. It’s a political project. And if you’re still reading, you’re probably part of it.

If This Resonates…

Forward it to someone who’s sick of pretending things are fine or consider becoming a paid subscriber if you want to help build this out faster.

And if you’ve got something to say—something this stirred up in you—I’d love to hear it. Just hit reply. It comes straight to me.

I’m just a guy from Tennessee trying to make sense of a country that once helped build the world—and now works to tear it apart.

Thanks for being here,

—Corbin

America’s Undoing