The Value of Things

29/12/2021 28 min

Listen "The Value of Things"

Episode Synopsis

The value of things: At a time when many of us are sorting through Christmas presents, both wanted and unwanted, Laurie Taylor explores the value of attachment in a disposable world. Christine Harold, Professor of Communication at the University of Washington, asks why we hang on to certain objects and discard others. How might our emotional investment in things be harnessed to create less wasteful practices? Also, clutter in our homes, from the meaningless to the meaningful. Sophie Woodward, Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, challenges the moralistic view of clutter, one which sees it as a sign of individual failure to organise one’s domestic life. Instead, she argues, it is central to the ways we negotiate and manage our intimate relationships.Producer: Jayne Egerton

More episodes of the podcast Thinking Allowed

Dogs 15/07/2025
Death 17/06/2025
Solidarity 03/06/2025
Motherhood 25/03/2025
Smoking 18/03/2025
Dress Culture 11/03/2025