How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War (Ep. 386 Rebroadcast)

Freakonomics Radio

Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Documentary, Society & Culture

4.6 • 32K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2020

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Aisle upon aisle of fresh produce, cheap meat, and sugary cereal — a delicious embodiment of free-market capitalism, right? Not quite. The supermarket was in fact the endpoint of the U.S. government’s battle for agricultural abundance against the U.S.S.R. Our farm policies were built to dominate, not necessarily to nourish — and we are still living with the consequences.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, it's Stephen Dubner.
0:04.6	I have two announcements today.
0:06.4	The first is that we are launching a new podcast in the Freakonomics Radio Network, and
0:11.0	it's not just any podcast.
0:13.0	It is hosted by my Freakonomics friend and co-author, Steve Levin.
0:17.2	It is called People I Mostly Admire.
0:20.8	You'll hear a preview at the end of this episode.
0:23.5	The show launches on August 21st, but you can subscribe right now on any podcast app.
0:29.1	Second announcement on September 16th, Levitt and I will be doing a live show virtually in
0:35.0	collaboration with WNYC.
0:37.6	We will be celebrating the debut of People I Mostly Admire as well as the 10-year anniversary
0:44.5	of Freakonomics Radio.
0:46.7	To that end, we would love to take some listener questions, so send us some.
0:51.7	We are at radio at Freakonomics.com.
0:54.9	Please use the subject line Q&A.
0:57.7	A regular email is fine, but if you want to attach a voice memo, that's fine too.
1:03.2	Now on to today's episode.
1:05.6	We are revisiting an episode we made last year about the history of an American institution
1:11.1	that has become even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic.
1:14.7	You'll understand what I mean in just a few minutes.
1:18.2	Hope you enjoy.
1:25.2	When you think about propaganda campaigns,
	...

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