A scavenger hunt. An escape from real life. Me time. A means of exploration. Pure convenience and simplicity. Online shopping is a wormhole unto itself for so many reasons. In this episode we examine what shopping, in general, has meant to us historically as a way to bond socially and to experience pleasurable things - to how life’s changes, growing up, and the pandemic has altered our relationship to this everyday activity. For such a seemingly simple topic, we cover a surprising range of emotions about things we miss from actually going someplace to find clothes with our friends, poignant family memories, reflections on how our consumption has given us insight about stages of our life long gone, and the tension between the practical and indulgent. And of course, we reveal some of our favorite (and maybe absurd) pandemic purchases.

Check out the episode page on the Not Small Things website for links to places and things we discussed.