Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi

You see, Avery is the host of a podcast called Articles of Interest, which is all about unraveling the hidden histories behind the things we wear.

She's done deep dives into the question of why women's clothing didn't used to have pockets, or how preppy Ivy League style got big in Japan.

And I wanted to talk to Avery because her latest season is all about how a massive shadowy force has been shaping the stuff we all wear for the better part of the last century in ways that most of us might not know about.

And what is that shadowy force, you might ask?

The United States military.

The United States military.

It is kind of common knowledge at this point that many of the most resource-intensive technologies that define our daily lives began in government-funded labs as military R&D, from nuclear fission to GPS to the internet.

But what Avery found is that that same military-industrial influence has shaped many things that are even more intimate in a way.

The very clothing we wear to express our sense of who we are or to protect ourselves from the elements.

And it's the kind of hidden influence you can actually see on the street today, if you have the right kind of eye.

Yeah, let's do it.

Avery and I start our walk in Soho.

The neighborhood is known for its high fashion, their fancy boutiques every few storefronts.

But these days, it's also been taken over by people wearing expensive outdoor gear.

Think Arc'teryx rain jackets or North Face puffies.

We're standing in the shadow of the monolithic brick REI store.

By the way, REI is a financial supporter of NPR.

And Avery starts to point out all these sartorial hints of the fashion world's military past.

Things that I'd failed to notice just a moment before.

Like storefronts I'd never heard of.