{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Clotheshorse with Amanda Lee McCarty","title":"Episode 155: Food Dehydrators, Psychic Hotlines, and Vacuum Hair Cuts: Infomercials with Dustin (part one)","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":5999,"description":"Dustin joins Amanda to discuss something near and dear (or at least super nostalgic): infomercials.  How did they become a billion dollar business in the late 80s? And when/where did they begin?  We discuss all of that (and more) in this episode.\nWatch:\nThe First Infomercial (Vitamix)\nRonco Electric Food Dehydrator\nThe Time Life Mysteries of the Unknown Series\nPure Moods\nRead:\n\"The Stepford Channel,\" Rick Marin, The New York Times.\nThe first audio essay series of 2023!!We’re going to be talking about our relationship with shopping!\nAs we began to talk about at the end of last year, we are practically trained to be consumers from birth.  From sticker collections to toys to the commercials on the Saturday morning cartoons, we have been told that new stuff = a better life. More happiness. Popularity…and even in the case of the “romance industrial complex,” it means love and appreciation.  Shopping is a social activity, the subject of copious amounts of magazine articles, blogs posts, and social media content.  For some families shopping is the only way they can spend time together and get along!Here are some ideas of things you can cover in your audio essay:How did shopping fit into your childhood? Was it a part of your relationship with a family member? Did it change over time?Do you find yourself engaging in so-called “ retail therapy?”  Does it help? Have you found something that helps more?Are you addicted to bargains and deals? Have you found a non-shopping way to scratch that itch?Does shopping make you happy? Sad? Angry? Why?Are there any specific shopping memories that have shaped how you approach clothing as an adult?Or maybe you have your own theme you would like to cover! That’s fine, too!Write out what you want to say before you record it. Try to fit it into 5 minutes or less.\nIf you want your contact info (name, instagram handle, business) to be included in the episode, please tell us in the recording. If you want to be anonymous, that’s fine, too!\nIt’s...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/_u71z-ZNs_Ob6wKJAM2DSS8-P3fYJ_G9yobrjlS91nE/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8xNjll/OTRlMDEwOWM3ZWFh/ODc4ODkxNDIyM2Jj/YjZjMS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}