The Recession Road Trip

You get laid off from your job. You file for unemployment for the first time. You’re wondering what comes next.

It’s a situation millions of Americans are experiencing right now. But as far as we know, only one of them packed up the peanut butter and jelly and embarked on a three-month road trip around the United States, with the goal of documenting how the recession is affecting people. Make that two people—since 26-year-old Austin Chu is doing it with his brother, Brian.

So far Austin and Brian have traveled through New Mexico, Texas, Nebraska, and Alabama, to name just a few, interviewing people they meet along the way. Today, they’re in Washington, D.C.—outside the White House, they accidentally met my brother.

We love their tips for taking a 21st century road trip on the cheap. But we’re even more into their videos, like their version of Fifty People, One Question, shot in Austin, Texas.