When journalist and author Alison Stewart was confronted with emptying
her late parents' overloaded basement, a job that dragged on for months,
it got her thinking: How did it come to this? Why do smart, successful
people hold on to old Christmas bows, chipped knickknacks, and books
they will likely never reread?
Junk details Stewart's three-year investigation into America's stuff.
Stewart rides along with junk removal teams like Trash Daddy, Annie
Haul, and Junk Vets. She goes backstage at Antiques Roadshow and
learns what makes for compelling junk-based television with the
executive producer of Pawn Stars. And she even investigates the
growing problem of space junk - 23,000 pieces of manmade debris orbiting
the planet at 17,500 miles per hour, threatening both satellites and
human space exploration.
But it's not all dire. Listeners will also learn that there are creative
solutions to America's crushing consumer culture. The author visits with
Deron Beal, founder of FreeCycle, an online community of people who
would rather give away than throw away their no-longer-needed
possessions. She spends a day at a Repair Cafe, where volunteer
tinkerers bring new life to broken appliances, toys, and just about
anything. Junk is a delightful journey through 250-mile-long yard
sales, resale shops, and packrat dens, both human and rodent, that for
most listeners will look surprisingly familiar.
