Who decides which snacks are in your office’s vending machine? How much is a suburban elm tree worth, and to whom? How did Girl Scout Cookies become a billion-dollar business? In bite-sized episodes, journalist Zachary Crockett looks at quotidian things and finds amazing stories. Join the Freakonomics Radio Plus membership program for weekly member-only episodes of Freakonomics Radio. You’ll also get every show in our network without ads. To sign up, visit our show page on Apple Podcasts or go to freakonomics.com/plus.
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episode 38: 38. Junk Mail
Why does the mailman bring us so many catalogs, credit card offers, and pizza coupons? Because his job depends on it. Zachary Crockett checks the mailbox.
- SOURCES:
- Brett Chamberlin, program manager at Catalog Choice.
- Aaron Gordon, journalist.
- Mike Gunderson, president of Gunderson Direct.
- RESOURCES:
- "U.S. Postal Service Reports Fiscal Year 2023 Results," by the U.S. Postal Service (2023).
- "How We Ended Up With All This Junk Mail," by Aaron Gordon (Vice, 2020).
- "Here Are the Data Brokers Quietly Buying and Selling Your Personal Information," by Steven Melendez and Alex Pasternack (Fast Company, 2019).
- "How to Stop Junk Mail and Save Trees — and Your Sanity," by Elisabeth Leamy (The Washington Post, 2018).
- "How The Post Office Sells Your Address Update To Anyone Who Pays (And The Little-Known Loophole To Opt Out)," by Adam Tanner (Forbes, 2013).
- The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970.
- EXTRAS:
- "Is It Worth It for Charities to Harass Their Donors?" by No Stupid Questions (2022).