News & Public Affairs

Occupy Tampa arrests at 31; Black Friday shoppers mic-checked listen

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Tags: Buy Nothing Day, Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Tampa, Occupy Movement, Tampa, Walmart, Wal-Mart, consumerism

Two more Occupy Tampa members were arrested for trespassing last Wednesday night. Daniel Walford was arrested at the amphitheater on the west side of Kiley Garden, where he said police singled him out.

Eyewitnesses say they were surprised to see that even with such [a large crowd gathered to see the musical and poetic performances by local artists](https://www.facebook.com/events/2774678889...

Author highlights Factory Girls in China listen

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Tags: China, consumerism

Leslie T. Chang is a former Wall Street Journal correspondent who lived in and wrote about China for a decade. In her 2008 book Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China, she tells the story about how nearly 130 million young people leave their rural homes for the city, or going out, in hopes of a brighter future. WMNF’s Dawn Morgan Elliott spoke with Chang last week about the reasons she wrote her book.

"I wanted to write the book because I felt like there was a lot o...

Consumerism as Religion

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Tags: consumerism, Del DeChant, Religion, The Bridge

COMING UP WE’LL TALK WITH A RELIGION INSTRUCTOR WHO SAYS THAT CONSUMERISM HAS IN ESSENCE BECOME THE MAIN RELIGION IN THE US.

DELL DECHANT IS AN INSTRUCTOR AT USF AND ASSISTANT CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES. HE’S THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK- THE SACRED SANTA. HE SAYS THAT CONSUMERISM HAS BECOME A RELIGION IN THE US-- RIVALLING OR SUPPLANTING TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS.

IS THAT RIGHT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? WHAT IS RELIGIOUS ABOUT SHOPPING?

HE’LL BE GIVING A TALK LATER THIS WE...

Surviving a year without shopping

Tags: consumerism

In Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping, Judith Levine chronicles her and her partner Paul’s progress—and setbacks—over an entire year of not spending. No new clothes, dinners out, books, films, or even processed foods: they bought just raw ingredients and household necessities.

One of the Wall Street Journal’s five best books on consumer culture, the Los Angeles Times said, “What makes Not Buying It stand out among the many books about consumerism is the personal approach." ...