Consumerism

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The Fraud of Plastic Recycling

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The Fraud of Plastic Recycling

CBS Sunday Mornings, 2024, 5:02… About 48 million tons of plastic waste is generated in the United States each year, but only 5 to 6 percent of it is actually recycled. A new report from the Center for Climate Integrity, "The Fraud of Plastic Recycling," accuses the plastics industry of a decades-long campaign to "mislead" the public about the viability of recycling. Correspondent Ben Tracy talks with the report's co-author, Davis Allen, and with Jan Dell, a former chemical engineer, about an inconvenient truth surrounding the lifecycle of plastic.

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The Culture Industry Prevented a Recession

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The Culture Industry Prevented a Recession

Inside Edition, 2023, 1:48… Taylor Swift's sold-out Eras tour added $4.6 billion to the local economies of the cities she performed in. Her impact on the economy is being called "Swiftonomics." Many of her fans traveled long distances to spend lots of money to make her concert a night to remember. The so-called “Taylor Swift tourists” spend an average of $1,300 per person. Those purchases include tickets, hotels, car rentals, restaurants, merchandise and hair stylists.

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Parasocial Relationships and Merch

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Parasocial Relationships and Merch

Vice, 2021, 22:39… Celebrity stalking is an old problem. But it’s happening way more in the age of YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Fans repeatedly show up at their favorite content creators’ homes and expect the stars to be as welcoming as they are in their videos (“heeeeey guys”). Why don’t these fans realize this is invasive? In part, because the influencers encourage it.

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Cultural Appropriation with Mahjong

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Cultural Appropriation with Mahjong

Inside Edition, 2021, 4:45… Many Asian Americans were angered when “The Mahjong Line” went viral for their pricey mahjong sets, which some are calling cultural appropriation. “[It’s] this ownership and profiteering from Asian culture that white America loves to do,” Andrew Ti, of the podcast “Yo, Is This Racist?” told Inside Edition Digital. The founders have since apologized, but is that enough? Inside Edition’s Johanna Li explains.

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Happiness is an Unopened Box

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Happiness is an Unopened Box

The New York Times, 2018, 4:14… On the internet, we can vicariously consume more stuff than we could ever actually buy, touch, or even see in our lifetimes. Are these videos eliminating a desire, or creating one? From Internetting with Amanda Hess.

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Gender Pricing Exposed

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Gender Pricing Exposed

CBC, 2014, 15:36... See a marketing team create fictional gendered toothpaste and learn how you can combat gender price discrimination. Although this video is from Canada it touches on New York City's legislation barring such discrimination. Yet laws can't solve this issue alone as a 2015 study from the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs found that, on average, women's products were 7% more expensive than similar products for men.

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The Jim Crow Museum

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The Jim Crow Museum

Vice News, 2018, 5:41... David Pilgrim, a Black sociologist, runs the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia out of the small, white, Trump-voting town of Big Rapids, MI. With the help of private donors like Chuck and Ward, an elderly gay couple, Pilgrim believes that sharing his expansive collection can change the way racism is perceived in the United States.

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The Globalization of the American Diet

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The Globalization of the American Diet

Vice on HBO, 12:49... American fast food brands populate more than 100 countries around the world, occupying six continents. And the global fast food industry is projected to be worth over $600 billion by 2019. VICE's Gianna Toboni travels to Kuwait to witness the health effects on a country deep in the throes of an unlikely obsession with U.S. fast food.