Thursday, November 12, 2026

Ralph Nader, Consumer Crusader (Throwback) : Throughline : NPR

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American lawyer and consumer activist Ralph Nader, whose book 'Unsafe at Any Speed', led to the passage of improved car safety regulations. He is at a Senate hearing at Washington triggered by his publication.

Whether it’s pesticides in your cereal or the door plug flying off your airplane, consumers today have plenty of reasons to feel like corporations might not have their best interests at heart. At a moment when the number of product recalls is high and trust in the government is low, we’re going to revisit a time when a generation of people felt empowered to demand accountability from both companies and elected leaders — and got results. Today on the show, the story of the U.S. consumer movement and its controversial leader: the once famous, now infamous Ralph Nader.


Guests:
Ralph Nader, American political activist, author and consumer advocate.
Joan Claybrook, lawyer and former president of Public Citizen.
Paul Sabin, Randolph W. Townsend, Jr. Professor of History and Professor of American Studies at Yale University.

To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.

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