Made in America | WBUR and NPR - On Point with Tom Ashbrook

TODAY IS FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2009

Thursday, September 13, 2007 at 10:00 AM EDT

Made in America

It’s been a long time in the wilderness. But the “Made in the USA” label is packing some cachet again. After poison toys from China, job losses, and eco-disaster images of filthy smokestacks abroad, Americans are getting the itch to buy American again: toys, bikes, even t-shirts.

Some never lost the urge. But in the age of WalMart, with aisles packed from Shanghai, it’s been tough. Now some American products are looking like the sure thing — even chic.

This hour, On Point: We look again at the “Made in the USA” label, and the new American itch to bring our buying home.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests:

Jared Bernstein, director of the Living Standards program at the Economic Policy Institute.

Stephanie Sanzone, founder of the website stillmadeinusa.com.

Alex Williams, style writer for The New York Times.

John Ratzenberger, actor and host of “Made in America” on the Travel Channel.

Tags: America, economics

Listener comments

Currently adding a huge line of Southern Yellow Pine Furniture that’s Made in USA to our website. It’s actually a step above just made in USA. It’s made with American grown pine, so the jobs that benefit reach beyond the manufacturing plant – it includes the plantation owners and workers as well.
Posted by Jeanette, on January 29th, 2009 at 1:38 pm EST

Hour 2

Crooked Still
Friday, July 3, 2009

Tunes from old Appalachia with a new bluegrass twist. The hit folk band “Crooked Still” plays for us in our studio.

Comments [5]

Hour 1

Week in the News
Friday, July 3, 2009

A U.S. offensive in Afghanistan. Al Franken heads to the Senate. Mark Sanford keeps talking. And unemployment keeps rising. Our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

Comments [16]

Rick Bass and the Montana Wild
Thursday, July 2, 2009

Author Rick Bass walks us through the changing seasons of the Montana wilderness, in his new book, “The Wild Marsh.”

Comments [8]

Controlling the American Appetite
Thursday, July 2, 2009

Former FDA chief David Kessler took on Big Tobacco. Now he tells us how the food industry plays with our brain chemistry, and turns us into hyper-eaters.

Comments [72]

India, China and the Climate

The passage of the House climate bill – discussed in our first hour today – has been greeted with enthusiasm in many quarters. But in some ways, the real question is whether a global framework can be established in Copenhagen in December, when countries will negotiate a new international treaty to curb greenhouse gases. After all, America emits only [...]

More » | Comments [1]

Michael, Ed, and Farrah

The week-in-the-news roundtable always involves tough choices on sound clips – what to include, what to leave out. Amid all the pressing hard news, we often give a nod to a notable person who’s passed away. But this week brought, well, a ridiculous range of choices. So we gave a nod to them all in the roundtable today. And [...]

Planet Money, On Point — Your Questions!

On Wednesday night, June 24, On Point will tape a show before an audience in Boston with two stars of NPR’s “Planet Money,” Adam Davidson and David Kestenbaum. We need your online questions to put to them — about anything from the roots of the economic crisis to NPR’s coverage.
What’s your question about the [...]

More » | Comments [18]