In 1964, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty. Johnson wanted to lift the nation’s poor into a better life, via programs like food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid. But more than 60 years later, our country is still grappling with how to alleviate the challenges of poverty – including how we measure it.

In this episode, Teo explains how the Federal Poverty Line is calculated and what it has to do with Jello. 

We want to answer your questions about how our world works! Click here to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org

Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:
U.S. Census Bureau Timeline of Poverty Measure, 2014
How the U.S. Census Bureau Measures Poverty, 2022
What does living at the poverty line look like?, USA Facts, 2023
Poverty Guidelines vs Poverty Thresholds, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Poverty Line Matrix, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2026
Remembering Mollie Orshansky — The Developer of the Poverty Thresholds, Society Security Administration, 2008
Relatively Deprived, New Yorker, 2006
Mollie Orshansky, Statistician, Dies at 91, The New York Times, 2007
Mollie Orshansky: Inventor of the Poverty Line, NPR, 2007
Thrifty Food Plan, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021
Thrifty Food Plan: Better planning and accountability could help ensure quality of future reevaluations, U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Requesters, 2022
Family Food Plans and Food Costs, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1962
The Indians in the Lobby, Season 3, Episode 8, The West Wing, 2001
NPR audience call out on SNAP benefits, 2025
Legacies of the War on Poverty, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political & Social Science, 2024

In 1964, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty. Johnson wanted to lift the nation&rsquo;s poor into a better life, via programs like food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid. But more than 60 years later, our country is still grappling with how to alleviate the challenges of poverty &ndash; including how we measure it.
In this episode, Teo explains how the Federal Poverty Line is calculated and what it has to do with Jello.&nbsp;
We want to answer your questions about how our world works! <a href="https://forms.office.com/r/4nGSfCuAML">Click here</a> to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org
Support the show by supporting our home,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes">KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Sources in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2014/demo/poverty_measure-history.html">U.S. Census Bureau Timeline of Poverty Measure</a>, 2014</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2021/demo/poverty_measure-how.html">How the U.S. Census Bureau Measures Poverty</a>, 2022</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://usafacts.org/articles/what-does-living-at-the-poverty-line-look-like/">What does living at the poverty line look like?</a>, USA Facts, 2023</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines/frequently-asked-questions-related-poverty-guidelines-poverty">Poverty Guidelines vs Poverty Thresholds</a>, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/57079d323990db17e9ceaaab212c5680/detailed-guidelines-2026.xlsx">Poverty Line Matrix</a>, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2026</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v68n3/v68n3p79.html">Remembering Mollie Orshansky &mdash; The Developer of the Poverty Thresholds</a>, Society Security Administration, 2008</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/04/03/relatively-deprived">Relatively Deprived</a>, New Yorker, 2006</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/us/17orshansky.html">Mollie Orshansky, Statistician, Dies at 91</a>, The New York Times, 2007</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.npr.org/2007/04/21/9750949/mollie-orshansky-inventor-of-the-poverty-line">Mollie Orshansky: Inventor of the Poverty Line</a>, NPR, 2007</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/cnpp/thrifty-food-plan-2021">Thrifty Food Plan</a>, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-105450.pdf">Thrifty Food Plan: Better planning and accountability could help ensure quality of future reevaluations</a>, U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Requesters, 2022</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/private/pdf/106751/familyfoodplan.pdf">Family Food Plans and Food Costs</a>, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1962</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://youtu.be/q9EehZlw-zk?si=foDZKEv74m4WRbJF">The Indians in the Lobby</a>, Season 3, Episode 8, The West Wing, 2001</li>
<li aria-level="1">NPR audience call out on SNAP benefits, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00027162241289754">Legacies of the War on Poverty</a>, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political &amp; Social Science, 2024</li>
</ul>

Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F is a podcast about data &mdash; hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data &mdash; and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. 

Control F

The Poverty Line decides who qualifies for benefits like  Medicaid, food stamps and many other government programs. But the way we calculate poverty in the United States hasn't changed in 60 years.  