The Forum - The Story Of Throwaway Living

This is the fourth Forum episode I’ve got to present on the BBC World Serivice (the others were on Pets, Deep Fakes and Political Parties) and I thoroughly enjoy hosting these discussions.

So many items we use every day are disposable, and we don’t really consider them. The plastic bag wasn’t invented until the 1960s and nd in the last three decades, so many new single-use items have been produced that we increasingly cannot imagine our lives without them, and not just in the festive season. So what is the impact of this not just on the environment but how we think about the world?

I got to talk about all manner of disposable and single-use objects with Jennifer Argo, Professor of Marketing at the School of Business, Alberta University; Mark Miodownik, Professor of Materials & Society at University College London; Katherine Grier, Professor Emerita of History at the University of Delaware and founder of the online Museum of Disposability; space archaeologist Dr. Alice Gorman from Flinders University in Australia and listeners from around the world.

Much to my delight before the show I managed to recall the sequence of long-chain hydrocarbons with the handy acronym Mrs Edwards Peanut Butter Protects Her Hairy oranges. Methane, Ethane, Propane, Butane, Pentane, Hexane, Heptane and Octane. Mark was ever so slightly impressed. Thank you Mrs Cripps (Chemistry Teacher).

Learn more by listening to The Forum, Political Parties and Us on BBC World Service.

It will be broadcast on 23 December 2023 12:06 Local time BBC WORLD SERVICE EXCEPT EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA & WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA.

Or Listen Right NOW below and on BBC Sounds:

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