The Des Moines Public Library is partnering with other Iowa libraries and Uplift: The Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot on a series of book-discussion programs aimed at having community conversations about poverty and its effect on Iowa. The books being discussed, “Evicted” and “Poverty, by America,” are both written by author Matthew Desmond. They feature reporting on the effects poverty has on people and communities, and it posits that many aspects of modern society are set up in a way that traps people in a never-ending cycle of poverty that extends to future generations. UpLift is running the first basic income pilot in the Midwest to encompass metropolitan, micropolitan and rural communities. The pilot program’s 110 participants receive $500 per month. To learn more about the event, visit the Des Moines Public Library website.