Back to School with Gabe Henry

Who will you be this year? No matter your age, it’s likely that your body remembers the school calendar, and with the blooming aisles of binders and pencils and backpacks, it’s easy to feel like a nervous, hopeful kid waiting for that first day back in class. For this episode, Antiquated Education Correspondent Gabe Henry tells Sarah about the history of the shopping season known as Back to School, from the Depression-era department store promotions and the original mascots, to the development of trendy clothes, lunch boxes, and notebooks, and into the memorable commercials and new gadgets of the 1980s and 90s. Together they discuss the commercialization of ritual and what the promises of Back to School shopping taught us about the reinvention of the self. Digressions include the Nickelodeon blimp, Fred Meyer Jewelers, and the Ann Getty baby craze. More Gabe Henry: http://www.gabehenry.com Get Gabe's book "Enough is Enuf: Our Failed attempts to Make English Easier to Spell" @gabe.henryy on Instagram Produced + edited by ⁠⁠Miranda Zickler: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster More You're Wrong About: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Bonus Episodes on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Buy cute merch⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠YWA on Instagram⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices