Emily Mester, author of American Bulk: Essays on Excess, joins us to discuss the thrill of Costco shopping, the agony of online shopping returns, and why we just can’t quit the excitement of looking for the next item that will change our lives. Can shopping be just a pleasure instead of a “guilty” one? Join us as we dive into Emily’s family history with shopping, reading reviews of products we’re considering buying, which products she most enjoys shopping for, and the lure of browsing online and offline that keeps pulling Emily and host Rachel Kramer Bussel back in.

About our guest:

Emily Mester is from the suburban Midwest and went to Costco every Sunday. She holds an MFA in nonfiction from the University of Iowa, where she was the winner of the Prairie Lights Nonfiction Prize. American Bulk is her first book. She lives in New York.

emilymester.com

Instagram: @arbys_rising

Finders and Keepers is hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel and is a production of Open Secrets Magazine. Please rate and review wherever you listen to podcasts to help us reach new listeners. Want to share your own stuff story, tell us who we should interview next, or share your own most treasured possession? Contact us at findersandkeeperspod@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at speakpipe.com/findersandkeepers

For more about our attachments to our belongings, read the personal essays in the Object-ives and Stuff-ed sections of Open Secrets Magazine at opensecretsmagazine.com, where you can also submit your own essays.

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