Ep. 2 On the Disappearing Pleasures of the Passenger Side

Increasingly, self-checkouts are being recognized as a failed experiment.  More and more stores are removing them.  They of course cite theft and over-estimated savings in staff costs for the surprising reversal, but businesses are also having to admit that they are implicated in the social fabric, and they play a role in people’s well-being and their sense of connection.  Surely an odd concession for capitalists.

In this episode, I reflect on how the general experience of the self-checkout, the feelings it provokes, and the impulse that led to it in the first place, are being seen elsewhere.  I hope that the backlash against self-checkouts can serve as a lesson applicable beyond themselves.