I write Worse on Purpose, an investigation into why the things you buy don't last... and who profits when they don't.
Aug 5, 2026
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7 min read
No sponsorships. No affiliate links. No outside money. The rules Worse on Purpose runs on, written in public, for readers to enforce.
Jul 29, 2026
11 min read
Only two major running brands still own their factories. The rest rent from the same pool of contractors. Many do so with no commitment past the current order.
Jul 22, 2026
10 min read
An ode to Pirsig: What quality is and how it is degraded.
Jul 15, 2026
13 min read
One buyout firm quietly collected Pyrex, Corelle, Instant Pot, and Oneida. Farberware is a name on a 200-year lease. And the pans still worth buying.
Jul 8, 2026
8 min read
A final seat cost £83 at the last Euros. FIFA is charging £3,119 for this one.
Jul 1, 2026
How the things you buy get worse, who profits from it, and how to tell before you pay.
Jun 24, 2026
9 min read
It started as a flooded little store the neighbors bailed out by hand. It became an arm of Amazon that scores its own workers on how likely they are to unionize.
Jun 11, 2026
Dozens of brands, five or six owners, and a fridge built to quit just after the warranty does.
May 27, 2026
How Mars, KKR, and JAB quietly bought up the clinics that treat America's dogs and cats, why your bill keeps climbing and the legal trick that lets a corporation own a practice in states where that is illegal.
May 14, 2026
The world's largest mattress maker now owns America's largest mattress retailer. The FTC tried to stop them and lost.
Apr 29, 2026
Restaurant prices keep climbing. The food keeps getting worse. There's a reason for both.
Apr 21, 2026
One company owns Brooks Brothers, Champion, Eddie Bauer, Billabong, Sports Illustrated, and the licensing rights to Elvis's likeness. They don't make a single product themselves.
Apr 9, 2026
How an Italian orphan built a $27 billion monopoly that controls the brands, the stores, the lenses, and the insurance.
Mar 31, 2026
How TTI and Stanley Black & Decker took the same playbook in opposite directions.
Mar 23, 2026
5 min read
In 1986, a corporation that made women's lingerie bought every backpack brand you've ever trusted.
