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EPISODE · Aug 5, 2025 · 43 MIN

Conditioned Consumerism

from Sustainable Minimalists · host Stephanie Seferian

After World War II Americans became bonafide consumers. And yet conditioned consumerism sneakily hijacks our time, money, and mental bandwidth. It also harms the planet. The system is entrenched, the marketing is omnipresent, and it's all designed to keep us buying until we die. But there IS a way out. On today's show author and former marketer Ashlee Piper pulls back the curtain on modern marketing so that we may hop off the addictive consumer hamster wheel for good. Here's a preview: [5:30] There's a reason why so many of us shop to soothe our discontent (We're told to!) [8:00] Advertising + Psychology = A powerful selling combination [22:00] When people feel lonely, inadequate, or restless they shop [32:00] When marketing gets predatory: zip code marketing, old guard sexism, and more [35:00] Why Ashlee has a problem with the 'underconsumption' trend, and for good reason Resources mentioned: No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity (via Bookshop.org) Book Club (with Ashlee!) is scheduled for Monday, August 25 at 7pm EST. Email to come. Join us for the Instagram giveaway, which officially goes live on Wednesday, August 6 This show is listener-supported. Thank you for supporting! Join our (free!) Facebook community here. Find your tribe. Sustainable Minimalists are on Facebook, Instagram + Youtube @sustainableminimalists Say hello! [email protected]. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/sustainable-minimalists2448/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 5, 2025

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How to buy less stuff so as to reclaim your time, money, and mental bandwith. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/sustainable-minimalists2448/exclusive-content Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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Conditioned Consumerism

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