In 2007, Marketplace aired “Consumed”, a special week of programming dedicated to asking if our consumer society is sustainable. Now, over five years later, we put aside conventional economic wisdom to ask: Can we afford our consumer economy? Following six months of original reporting, Marketplace’s Sustainability Desk explores why we consume, what we get from it, what it costs and whether we can keep it up.

Join host Kai Ryssdal and the Marketplace Sustainability team for five days of provocative features and interviews from “Consumed”, airing all next week on Marketplace and online at marketplace.org.

“Worth it or Not?” Game: Next week, marketplace.org launches the “Worth it or Not?” game. The interactive game lets listeners figure out the cost-per-use of the things they spend their money on – a dog, a car, a Disneyland vacation – then lets other players vote “yes” or “no” on whether their stuff is worth the price tag. Starting Monday, download an embeddable promotional teaser widget for the new game from the APM Stations site. The widget will enable you to promote “Worth it or Not?” on your site after listeners hear on air call-outs for the game. If you have questions about the widget contact marketplaceweb@marketplace.org.

Monday on Marketplace:

• Scott Tong reports on the middle-class arms race: families spending as much as they can to insure their children stay in the middle class.
• Kai Ryssdal talks with author and humorist P.J. O’Rourke about Adam Smith and the economy’s “invisible hand.”

Tuesday on Marketplace:

• Sarah Gardner explains the profit imperative behind the constant selling we experience.
• Kai interviews the CEO of Unilever, Paul Polman, about his efforts to grow his giant consumer-products company by focusing on long-term strategy rather than short-term results.

Wednesday on Marketplace:

• Adriene Hill profiles a member of the growing part-time-worker class to discover what kind of consumer the part-time/temporary economy produces.

Thursday on Marketplace:

• Scott Tong looks over his 401(k) with the originator of the 401(k), Ted Benna, to see where do-it-yourself retirement saving has gone wrong.
• Kai and comedian Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show, do a reality check on one mutual-fund company’s advice on saving for retirement.
• Sarah Gardner goes back to the Montana of a century ago for a boom-and bust story with eerie parallels to our own housing bust.

Friday on Marketplace:

• Adriene Hill and David Weinberg explore a subject economists try to avoid: values. How much is enough and what’s the cost of consuming the way we do?

On Air Promos:
Find On-air promos for “Consumed” on ContentDepot starting tomorrow morning.

Speak to Marketplace Talent:
If your station is interested in speaking with Marketplace talent about their reporting from “Consumed”, please contact communications@marketplace.org.