In this feature, Virginia Postrel explores the overlooked inventions behind modern conveniences, explains how discontent fuels progress, and examines the political forces that resist change.
Today’s guest is Virginia Postrel, who previously served as editor-in-chief of Reason, wrote for the New York Times, and authored The Future and Its Enemies. She now co-hosts Everyday Abundance with Charles C. Mann, a podcast that delves into the hidden histories of everyday technologies and routines. Postrel argues that profit-driven innovations have reshaped ordinary life, often yielding social benefits that were not initially anticipated.
Nick Gillespie chats with Postrel about how self-serve grocery stores helped reduce bias against shoppers, why Americans began viewing exercise as a leisure activity, and how washing machines transformed domestic labor. They also explore why dissatisfaction serves as a spur to progress, the risks of attempting to micromanage technological change, and how the ideas in The Future and Its Enemies relate to current political movements.
0:00 — The Institute of Abundance
2:30 — Grocery stores, shopping carts, and the self-serve era
8:01 — Movement and physical fitness
17:14 — Laundry machines
24:44 — Disposable diapers
30:59 — The Prometheus legend
35:30 — Technologists and a hopeful outlook
41:43 — The Future and Its Enemies
49:06 — The political climate
