Consumerist
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media whoring
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! Uses Our Sexy Costumes Gone Too Far Stories
Two Consumerist stories were used for a clue in this week's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! on NPR. The question was:
"After exposing retailers for selling sexy Halloween costumes for kids last year, this year The Consumerist blog has picked up another, similar, disturbing trend. It seems that more than one store is now selling sexy costumes for whom?"
Mo Rocca's answer is after the jump, or you can listen to the clip here, it's the second question, from 1:30-3:40. More »
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anger
In Which NPR And Congressional Oversight Panel Chair Elizabeth Warren Hate Each Other
While we were concentrating on other things (Snuggie testing, for example), there has apparently been something of a backlash going on against NPR's Planet Money podcast for its rude treatment of Congressional Oversight Panel Chair Elizabeth Warren. NPR's Adam Davidson has since expressed regret that he talked over Ms. Warren in a rude way — but despite the mea culpa, a series of links about the issue has popped up in our inbox more than a week later. More » -
electricity
Power Trip: Interactive Map Shows the U.S. Electric Grid
This is the weirdest weather map you've ever seen. Sort of. It shows the solar power capacity of different regions of the U.S. It's the coolest-looking slide from an interactive map compiled by NPR to illustrate this week's series about America's power grid. It shows power sources and where they're located, and also the larger infrastructure that carries our electricity from those sources to our homes.
Electricity in America [NPR]
Visualizing The Grid [NPR] (Thanks, Rebecca!) -
science says
Shampooing Every Time You Shower? It May Be Too Much
Shampooing every day isn't only wasteful, it can also harm your hair, according to NPR. Back in the olden days, when waterfalls passed for high-pressure showers, people would shampoo only once a month. That wasn't enough, but if you shampoo more than three times a week, you're actually making your hair oilier because your glands need to work overtime to replace the natural oils you're washing away. More » -
comcast
The Comcast Throttling Scandal And Its Consequences, Summarized
NPR spoke with Daniel Roth, a senior writer at Wired Magazine, over the file sharing fiasco that Comcast found itself in about a year ago—the one where a Comcast customer discovered that the company was secretly impersonating his computer to interrupt bittorrent transmissions. More » -
grocery shrink ray
Ben Popken On NPR Talkin' 'Bout Grocery Shrink Ray
NPR's Michele Norris on "All Things Considered" did a nice interview with me about that deadly Grocery Shrink Ray sweeping supermarkets across America. It looks like it just aired, you can listen to it online here. If you want to look at previous stories in the Grocery Shrink Ray series, check 'em out here. And if you have a example of a product that is shrinking in terms of volume or net weight and you want to submit it to us for a possible post, just send it on in to tips@consumerist.com.
UPDATE: Transcript added, inside...
Grocery Items: Same Price, Smaller Size [NPR]
(Partial image credit: hellochris) More » -
audio
Ira Glass Rescues Coworker From MCI Hell
One of the producers over at the lovely This American Life radio show was overbilled by MCI (which has since merged with Verizon) for $946.36 and was sent to collections and told lie after lie that they were going to fix the problem. It's not until host Ira Glass gets involved and starts recording the customer service calls that her issue is finally resolved. The account is credited, the company apologizes, and the Senior VP of Customer Service send her a gift basket of cheese chocolates and crackers. Aw. You can listen to the story here, it's the second act, about 30 minutes into the show.
It's clear, sometimes the only way to get a company to not screw you over is to become a threat. Luckily, you don't have to work on a national radio show to get leverage, you can employ many of the wonderful techniques described in The Ultimate Consumerist Guide To Fighting Back.
253: The Middle of Nowhere [This American Life] (Thanks to Mike!)
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The folks at NPR would like you to know that they've added a "Green Room" to the NPR Shop. In addition to not wrecking the planet, your purchase supports NPR's general awesomeness. The glassware made from recycled wine bottles looks pretty darn cool. [NPR]
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Listen to NPR's "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" this Saturday to hear the mellifluous sound of Ben Popken's voice. One of the quizzes will be to hear three customer service stories, and you have to guess which one is true. Ben will reveal the answer.
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call to action
NPR Asks For Help Against The RIAA
NPR is asking for your help. They're asking that you take a moment from your day to contact your Congressperson and "Ask them to co-sponsor the Internet Radio Equality Act which was introduced in the House (H.R. 2060) by Representatives Jay Inslee (D-WA) and Donald Manzullo (R-IL) and in the Senate (S.1353) by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sam Brownback (R-KS) to save public radio webcasting." More » -
riaa
NPR Bites Back: Files Motion Against RIAA Internet Rate Increase
You can mess with college students. You can mess with Apple and Microsoft and Sony. But when you mess with NPR you're getting a fight! From NPR's Press Release: More » -
riaa
NPR vs The RIAA
Recent royalty hikes on internet radio broadcasts have lit a fire of hate under the hot little buns of...NPR? Yes, National Public Radio is pissed. From a statement from the Communication VP of NPR Andi Sporkin (emphasis added): More » -
media whoring
Consumerist On Marketplace
We had a lil' soundbite on American Public Media's Marketplace tonight for a story on Ruby Tuesday's installation of "ultra-secure" credit card transactions. (Remember, just because it's broadcast nationally on public radio doesn't mean it's NPR...) More » -
npr
Payday Lenders Target Poor New Mexicans
NPR's got a nice little story on payday loans in New Mexico. More » -
airlines
NWA Scores Awesome Dumpster Dive Find: Shame
NPR covered the list of 101 money saving tips Northwest Airlines sent out to its 60 fired employees last week. You know, the one that advised the recently unemployed, "Don't be shy about pulling something you like out of the trash." More » -
announcements
Welcome NPR Listeners
If you're coming here after hearing the broadcast on NPR's Marketplace, hello and welcome to The Consumerist, an independent consumer affairs-oriented blog in the Gawker Media Network. More » -
announcements
The Consumerist Could Be on NPR Any Second Now
So... we *might* be on NPR's Marketplace in about 30 minutes, (5pm, EST), talking about the Worst Company in America poll. That's about all we know. These crazy radio guys, they're editing up to like the last second the show goes on. Unlike us crazy blogger guys, who can edit weeks and days after. Tune in on the NPR live stream or check your local listings, both found on the website. More »
npr
New York, 3:09 AM
Mon Nov 23
7 posts in the last 24 hours
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