logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2025
49m 9s

The Queen of Tupperware

NPR
About this episode
Who ushered housewives into the workforce and plastic storage containers into America’s kitchens? Today on the show, the rise and fall of Brownie Wise, the woman behind Tupperware's plastic empire — and a revolution in women’s work.

Guests:
Alison Clarke, author of Tupperware, the Promise of Plastic in 1950s America
Bob Kealing, author of Life of the Party: The Remarkable Story of How Brownie Wise Built, and Lost, a Tupperware Party Empire

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


Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Up next
Yesterday
How Bad Bunny took Puerto Rican independence mainstream
How Bad Bunny became the global voice of a generation in crisis — and what it means when resistance becomes profitable.Guests:Carina Del Valle Schorske, writer, translator and wannabe backup dancer. She wrote a New York Times Magazine profile about Bad Bunny you can read here. Va ... Show More
48m 50s
Feb 10
The right to free speech
Freedom of the press. The right to assembly. And the right to free speech. The first amendment includes some of the most fundamental and most debated rights. In this episode, we explore how the meaning of free speech has changed throughout history and continues to evolve today. T ... Show More
21m 19s
Feb 5
The Man Who Took On The Klan
In 1871, Ku Klux Klan violence in South Carolina got so bad that the governor sent a telegram to President Ulysses S. Grant warning that he was facing a state of war. Grant sent him Amos Akerman: a former Confederate soldier and slaveholder who became the U.S. government’s most z ... Show More
48m 40s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2017
Aarti Sequeira -The Life Behind the Party
Welcome to our all new series on (wait for it) FOOD! We kick off this series on one of our most FAVORITE topics with the amazing cookbook author and host of Food Network’s Aarti Party, Aarti Sequeira! Aarti got her start as a journalist and working CNN, dreaming of becoming the n ... Show More
1h 17m
Jul 2025
Barbie for President!
July 29th, 1992. The Baltimore Sun runs a feature about a surprise candidate in the upcoming presidential race: Barbie. The 11.5-inch icon of girlhood and glamor is running for office – and flying off the shelves. But how did a plaything become important enough to make national n ... Show More
36m 22s
Jul 2023
Barbie for President!
July 29th, 1992. The Baltimore Sun runs a feature about a surprise candidate in the upcoming presidential race: Barbie. The 11.5-inch icon of girlhood and glamor is running for office – and flying off the shelves. But how did a plaything become important enough to make national n ... Show More
35m 23s
Dec 2024
Martha Stewart Live at iHeart: “Living is a Limitless Subject Matter.”
Martha Stewart has been a household name for over four decades and she still isn’t done building her empire. During her rise, the world’s first female self-made billionaire ignored conventional wisdom to become an Emmy Award-winning TV host, best-selling author, and creator of a ... Show More
23m 38s
Sep 2023
The secret club for radical New York women
In downtown New York, in the early 20th century, a secret club of women met regularly, to discuss ideas, politics, art and their own lives. They forged friendships and alliances, and took up some of the most significant social fights of the day. Joanna Scutts joins Elinor Evans t ... Show More
43m 57s
Nov 2024
Kate Middleton's Face & Martha Stewart's Fortune
Martha Stewart is a whole vibe -- which is probably why Netflix made a doc about both her and it. Trouble is, the billionaire professional homemaker, jailbird and Snoop's best friend isn't too happy with the end result...  Plus, why did Kate Middleton’s face attract so much atten ... Show More
51m 28s
Apr 2024
Jane Velez-Mitchell - Sober and Vegan for the Planet
Jane Velez-Mitchell is best-known for her work in broadcast television, but her career - and life - has been a master class in making a change and sticking to it. After confronting her alcoholism as an early career journalist, Jane began living more authentically than she ever ha ... Show More
43m 58s
Oct 2024
Food Network Star Sunny Anderson Always Has Cookies On Tap
<p>Katie talks with her Food Network co-host of The Kitchen, Sunny Anderson. They reminisce about their audition for the hit series, in which they had to give a how-to on making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The two share more hilarious and heartfelt memories on the show, i ... Show More
40m 20s