Don’t Buy That Sweater

Radio Atlantic

The Atlantic

News, Society & Culture, Politics

4.3 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 21 December 2023

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We’re in the coldest season. We’re in the shopping season. We’re in the season of hygge. All the cues point to buying yourself a new cozy sweater. Don’t do it, until you hear what Atlantic staff writer Amanda Mull has to say about the cratering quality of knitwear. For years I’ve wondered why my sweaters pilled so quickly, or why they suffocated me, or smelled like tires. And then I read Mull’s recent story, “Your Sweaters Are Garbage.” It turns out that international trade agreements, greedy entrepreneurs, and my own lack of willpower have conspired to erode my satisfaction. In this episode, Hanna talks with Amanda Mull—who writes the Atlantic column “Material World”—about why so many consumer goods have declined in quality over the last two decades. As always, Mull illuminates the stories the fashion world works hard to obscure, about the quality of fabrics, the nature of working conditions, and about how to subvert a system that wants you to keep buying more. “I have but one human body,” she says. “I can only wear so many sweaters.” Want to share unlimited access to The Atlantic with your loved ones? Give a gift today at theatlantic.com/podgift. For a limited time, select new subscriptions will come with the bold Atlantic tote bag as a free holiday bonus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:17.0	When it started to get pretty cold, I opened up the drawer where I keep all my sweaters. I have so many sweaters in there. And you know what? I hate all of them.
0:22.0	Even the ones that are supposed to be ugly.
0:26.2	Now because I was looking at my own closet in my own bedroom, I figured this was my problem.
0:32.1	I was just in my own private hell.
0:34.0	Until I saw the headline,
0:36.0	Your Sweaters are garbage.
0:39.0	It was an article by staff writer Amanda Mall
0:42.0	who writes the magazine's material world column and who is
0:45.9	my guru of consumer dilemmas.
0:48.9	Now Amanda had done her own thorough sweater investigation, which was inspired by Nora Ephron's great love letter to cold weather and New York City, when Harry Met Sally.
1:01.2	For sweater lovers, this movie holds a special place and it has to do with this one enduring image in the movie.
1:08.0	Billy Crystal is in his new single guy apartment squatting in front of one of the big windows in that apartment and he is wearing, you know, 80s jeans and a really beautiful cabled ivory fisherman sweater and the sweater is like it's incredible
1:25.7	it's really lush it's really like oversized in the right ways it is a great
1:31.5	great sweater.
1:33.0	Recently actor Ben Schwartz recreated the photo on his Instagram.
1:38.0	And he was wearing jeans and in front of a window and you know ivory-cabled fisherman sweater.
1:45.0	But it was just like the sweater didn't have the juice.
1:48.0	I'm Hannah Rosen and this is Radio Atlantic.
1:52.0	A comedian named Ellery Smith
1:54.0	retweeted those two sweater pictures side by side,
1:57.0	the one of Billy Crystal and the one of Ben Schwartz,
2:00.0	writing, quote,
	...

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