How Big Brands Got Us Hooked on Plastic with Saabira Chaudhuri

Saabira Chaudhuri was the Wall Street Journal's consumer goods reporter. Her upcoming book is called Consumed: How Big Brands Got Us Hooked on Plastic. We learn from her the origins of plastic as a mass consumer good after World War II, already known to big industry as a severe environmental problem by the 1960s, but pushed and pushed onto consumers. Big supermarkets replaced local shops and a disposable throw-it-away society came into being largely through plastic. We talk all about recycling, why it's better than not recycling but is not enough. We discuss whether to simply ban plastics. Along the way we get a little bit of insider information on the Wall Street Journal, too.