If wealth is the surplus security or “cushion” that comes from having more money than we need to cover the necessities of life, and poverty is the absence of that cushion… what exactly does it mean to be middle class in America? The gap between the wealthy and the poor in this country is a growing chasm that’s been swallowing the middle class whole.

With this in mind, Marketplace has launched a “Wealth & Poverty” desk that will report on this paradigm shift that’s seeing American society reshaped before our very eyes. Tess sits down with lead Wealth & Poverty reporter Mitchell Hartman to discuss stories he’s tracking. Click on the audio player above to listen to the interview.