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What's Wrong With Unpaid Internships?

Published September 7, 2015 at 10:40 AM PDT
Millions of young people work as interns – many of them unpaid. (Pixabay)
Millions of young people work as interns – many of them unpaid. (Pixabay)

In August, a group of about 40 current and former unpaid interns made headlines when they brought a class action lawsuit against Dualstar Entertainment Group, the company owned by celebrities Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

At the United Nations, the debate over paying interns flared up when it came to light that one unpaid intern at the U.N. was living in a tent in Geneva to save money.

The issue is no less argued among non-profit organizations. NPR pays its interns, while Here & Now and WBUR do not. Here & Now is a co-production of NPR and WBUR.

On this Labor Day, host Peter O’Dowd checks in on the intern debate with Ross Perlin, author of “Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy” and a former unpaid intern himself.

Guest

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