As I scanned my copy of the Guardian this morning one article immediately caught my eye.

It was a piece from Chris McGreal, examining the problems facing residents of Tusla, Oklahoma. It is the first in a series of articles recreating the route that the Joad family took in John Steinbeck’s brilliant book The Grapes of Wrath, one of my all time favourite novels.

The Joad family might have been fictional, but their plight was representative of the problems faced by many dust bowl workers during the Great Depression. Now we are facing the worst economic downturn since that era and there are some parallels – unemployment, foreclosures and a sense of despair.

McGreal will trace the journey taken by the Joad’s from Oklahoma to California along Route 66 to see if anything has changed in 70 years.

A fantastic idea that is sure to produce some great content.