The Phoebus Cartel

Throughline

NPR

Society & Culture, History, Documentary

4.7 • 15K Ratings

🗓️ 28 March 2019

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Have you ever wondered why your smartphone or toaster oven doesn't seem to last very long, even though technology is becoming better and better? This week, in a special collaboration with Planet Money, we bring you the history of planned obsolescence – the idea that products are designed to break.

Transcript

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0:00.0	All right y'all, let's do it.
0:02.3	Let's just do it.
0:03.6	Okay.
0:04.6	Sally.
0:05.6	Hey Sally.
0:06.6	Hi.
0:07.6	Hey guys.
0:08.6	Welcome to the studio.
0:09.6	Thank you so much for having me.
0:10.6	I took a long walk around the corner from the planet minisection of the office over to
0:15.4	the through line part.
0:16.8	What brings you here?
0:17.8	Well, I think I have a story for you.
0:22.1	So I've been looking into the history of planned obsolescence.
0:26.4	Okay.
0:27.4	Do you know what this is?
0:28.4	Yes.
0:29.6	I know a plan obsolescence.
0:30.6	It's like, it's like the idea that companies might be deliberately breaking products in order
0:36.3	to get us to buy more.
0:37.3	Yeah, I had the old washer, dryer combo.
0:41.0	It broke the day after the warranty ended.
	...

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