Surviving the shutdown: Today, Mother Jones listeners who are employed by the federal government share their wrenching stories of trying to make ends meet as the longest government shutdown in US history grinds on into its fifth week. Scared he’ll miss his daughter’s health insurance payments, Jason Muzzey, a USDA contractor in Kansas City, Missouri, has been forced to apply for shifts at a local McDonalds and start a GoFundMe page. Cara Dodge normally works on educational exhibits for NASA in the Bay Area, a job she adores, but is now counting the days until she must find other work to supplement her family’s slashed income. Also on the show, you’ll visit a Washington DC food kitchen that is dishing out free hot meals to federal workers who suddenly need to watch every penny they spend. Host Jamilah King is joined by Angie Drobnic Holan, the editor of Politifact, to help you separate fact from fiction as the shutdown continues. Is there even a glimmer of bipartisan hope to solve the crisis on the horizon? Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices