A love letter to the glass jar collector in all of us

Producer Kalyani Saxena's jar collection. (Kalyani Saxena/Here & Now)
August 16, 2026

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A love letter to the glass jar collector in all of us

Many of us live our lives in pursuit of conventional goals like success and happiness. But some of us live for a more niche purpose: to find the perfect use for a little glass jar you have saved.

Do you see a perfectly shaped salsa jar, teeny jam container, or buxom peanut butter bottle and feel the urge to gleefully squirrel it away? Waiting for the right moment to bring it out again and give it the perfect new use? You’re not alone. Turns out more than half of American grocery shoppers reuse their glass containers. So why do we do it? How do we do it?

Host Scott Tong speaks with journalist Rachel Kurzius, who wrote about this in Vox, and is a glass jar collector slash hoarder herself.

This segment aired on August 14, 2026.

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