No American city was spared from the economic disaster caused by the Great Recession. Conditions were especially hard in Janesville, Wisconsin, where a long-standing General Motors plant provided jobs that put food on the table for many generations of families. When the plant shuttered, taking thousands of jobs with it, the town had to figure out a new future. Amy Goldstein, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter with The Washington Post , weaves a powerful narrative about strength and resilience in her book, Janesville: An American Story . She joined the Knowledge at Wharton radio show on SiriusXM to share what she learned from her time embedded in Wisconsin.

An edited transcript of the conversation follows.

Knowledge at Wharton: You spent a lot of time in Janesville. Tell us about your experience there.

Amy Goldstein: I was interested in finding a community in which I could take a closeup on what really happens when good jobs go away, and Janesville very much fit the bill.…