This Planet Money episode interviews Willa Paskin, host of the Decoder Ring podcast, about her show's episode on Tupperware. The discussion traces Tupperware's history, highlighting Brownie Wise's revolutionary direct sales strategy—the Tupperware party—which involved recruiting women to sell the product through social gatherings. Brownie's success and subsequent firing by Earl Tupper, the inventor, illustrate the clash between innovative salesmanship and corporate control. The episode connects Tupperware's rise and fall to broader trends in consumer culture, direct sales, and the changing roles of women in the workforce, ultimately showing how a seemingly mundane product became a cultural icon. The episode concludes by noting Tupperware's bankruptcy in 2024, despite the enduring cultural impact of the brand and its sales model.
