This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Saturday, November 26, 2016. I'm Caleb Brown.

In the 1980s, a man tapped into working-class anger in his home state and wrote it all the way to Congress.

That man was Democrat James

Trafficant. A new film details the fascinating life of someone who, according to the film's

producer Eric Murphy, had his act stolen by the current president-elect. The film is

Trafficant, the congressman of Crime Town. We spoke last month. For people who

follow Washington DC politics, especially people who follow Washington DC politics,

especially people who are politicians who've faced

criminal indictment, Jim Trafficant is sort of a folk hero.

Oh yeah, definitely a folk hero. And so I guess what brought you to this story or this as a subject?

Yeah, well I'm from Warren Ohio which is adjacent to Youngstown.

And growing up around my grandparents' dinner table,

it was Jesus Christ, JFK, Jim Trafficking. Those were the topics of

conversations and my grandfather worked for of

topics, my grandfather worked 41 years at Republic Steel,

Black Monday when all the mills closed down in Youngstown,

he lost his job, he lost his pension he lost his pension and Jim

trafficking was first a mob-busting sheriff and then the

congressman and he was a a hero to everyone He galvanized the community and from my earliest time he was a presence.

And then I got a paper out and every morning I would bust open the bundle of papers and look above the fold on A1 to see what Jim Traf

was saying and that continued through college.

I went to Youngstown State.

...