Man Shops Globe

If you can get past the fact that Man Shops Globe is basically a glorified Anthropologie commercial, it's a pretty fascinating portrait of how, art, creativity, and capitalism intersect. Johnson finds things that, to the untrained eye, might look like throwaways -- and then either sells them as-is, repurposes them, or has them reproduced for mass distribution. He also finds artists who are creating new and interesting objects and commissions original pieces that ultimately end up in stores -- or, in the case of a chandelier made from recycled materials that he found in South Africa, in the children's room at the White House. (You, too, can buy one for a mere $4,800.)

It's fun to watch Johnson shop. But it's important to remember that this isn't just a shopping spree; it's business, and Anthropologie is profiting from every deal he scores. In one episode, Johnson scours South Africa for new items and finds a rural artisan named Mr. Botha who makes furniture out of reclaimed wood using primitive tools and materials. Johnson falls in love with a particular style of chair and buys three; viewers don't hear how much he pays for them, but we later learn that Anthropologie has ordered as many chairs from Mr. Botha as he can produce in a year (chairs that, based on similar items on the company's website, will sell for about $200 -- or more). It would be interesting to know how much of that money will end up in Mr. Botha's pocket ... but that would probably take all the fun out of it.