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WORSE ON PURPOSE

Investigation

Cheap To Mandate, Expensive To Own

Sep 2, 2026

On the compounding effects of safety and emissions regulations on car ownership. Today, simple new cars are illegal to sell and all models are more costly to keep.

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Who Actually Makes Your Supplements?

Aug 26, 2026

Supplements are by far the most obfuscated category I have covered to date. Here's what you can do about it.

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The Car Got Better. The Deal Got Worse.

Aug 12, 2026

The industry got so good at building cars that it stopped making its money on them.

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Same Shoe, Different Factory

Jul 29, 2026

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.

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Your Cookware Got Worse On Purpose

Jul 15, 2026

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.

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The World Cup Got Worse On Purpose

Jul 8, 2026

A final seat cost £83 at the last Euros. FIFA is charging £3,119 for this one.

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Whole Foods Got Worse On Purpose

Jun 24, 2026

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.

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Your Appliances Got Worse On Purpose

Jun 11, 2026

Dozens of brands, five or six owners, and a fridge built to quit just after the warranty does.

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Your Pet Care Got Worse On Purpose

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.

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Your Mattress Got Worse On Purpose

May 14, 2026

The world's largest mattress maker now owns America's largest mattress retailer. The FTC tried to stop them and lost.

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Your Dinner Got Worse On Purpose

Apr 29, 2026

Restaurant prices keep climbing. The food keeps getting worse. There's a reason for both.

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Your Favorite Brands Got Worse On Purpose

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.

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Your Glasses Got Worse On Purpose

Apr 9, 2026

How an Italian orphan built a $27 billion monopoly that controls the brands, the stores, the lenses, and the insurance.

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Your Power Tools Got Worse On Purpose

Mar 31, 2026

How TTI and Stanley Black & Decker took the same playbook in opposite directions.

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Your Backpack Got Worse On Purpose

Mar 23, 2026

In 1986, a corporation that made women's lingerie bought every backpack brand you've ever trusted.

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WORSE ON PURPOSE

Why your stuff stopped lasting, who profited, and what's still built right.

The Brand Ledger
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Every brand I've covered. Who owns them. Whether they're still worth buying.

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