“This ad breaks things. By implication, it threatens to break people, or at least their livelihoods.”
consumerism
Posted inEditor's Pick
The “Disney Adult” Industrial Complex
“The grown-up Disney superfan has become a much-mocked phenomenon online. But creating these consumers was always part of the corporation’s plan.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
This Is What Happens to All the Stuff You Don’t Want
“And deep within that system, in a processing facility in the Lehigh Valley, a guy named Michael has to sniff the sweatpants.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Toxic Tiles
“How vinyl flooring made with Uyghur forced labor ends up at big box stores.
Posted inCulture, Nonfiction, Reading List, Story
What We Wear: A Reading List on Fashion and Our Complex Relationship to Clothes
Getting dressed isn’t a low-stakes activity.
Posted inEditor's Pick
What Fast Fashion Costs the World
“Many clothing donations end up in an unexpected place — African landfills.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Essays & Criticism, Story
Falling Stars: On Taking Down Our Celebrity Icons
Celebrities act as a symbol of capitalism. When we question it, we question them too.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Swiss Invasion
You don’t shop on Saturday if you live in Konstanz, Germany. Why? The Swiss.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Case Against Christmas
Long after winter has ended, hating on Christmas remains popular sport, as much a holiday tradition as eggnog and overspending.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
‘I Started to Think About the Prospect of Documenting a Culture That I Understood.’
After my internship, my first assignment for National Geographic was a story about the Zinacenteco Indians in the highlands of Chiapas. The subject was interesting but very challenging. As a woman, my access was mostly limited to other women who only spoke the Maya language I was struggling to learn. Once I traversed the language barrier, it […]