Unpacking Peanuts

The show where three cartoonists take an in-depth look at the greatest comic strip of all time-- Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. Undeniably one of the most influential cartoonists in history, Unpacking Peanuts examines Schulz’s contributions to art, storytelling, and pop culture. Hosts Jimmy Gownley, Harold Buchholz, and Michael Cohen bring their lifelong love and admiration of Peanuts to the conversation. The interaction between the hosts is genuinely funny and insightful as they discuss the strip’s impact on the medium and the world.

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Your Hosts

Your hosts for Unpacking Peanuts are Jimmy Gownley, the cartoonist behind Amelia Rules, The Dumbest Idea Ever, and Seven Good Reasons Not To Grow Up;  Michael Cohen, cartoonist behind A Gathering of Spells, Tangled River and Strange Attractors as well as composer for the band Complicated People, and this podcast;  and Harold Buchholz, executive producer and writer of Mystery Science Theater 3000, former vice-president of Archie comics and cartoonist behind the Instagram strip Sweetest Beasts. Unpacking Peanuts is produced and edited by Liz Sumner.

Episodes

4 days ago

The gang celebrates the USA’s birthday by looking at one of the latest iterations of Snoopy’s alter egos…The Revolutionary War patriot.
UP Recommends:
The American Revolution by Ken BurnsSuper Context Podcast: An autopsy of mediaGunsmoke on the radioZen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store.
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark. 
For more from the show follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.  
Thanks for listening.

Tuesday Jun 23, 2026

The straight man of all straight men gets an episode all to himself. Will the gang finally crack the code on this beloved figure of Peanuts past?
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store.
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark. 
For more from the show follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.  
Thanks for listening.
 

Tuesday Jun 09, 2026

Finally, it’s come to this: The Roy episode. Roy befriends both Charlie Brown and Linus at camp. And if that’s not exciting enough, old people talk about how neat telephones were. But maybe his main raison d'être is to introduce the world to the swinging-est character ever - Peppermint Patty.
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store.
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark. 
For more from the show follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.  
Thanks for listening.

Tuesday May 26, 2026

Sally’s pal Eudora finally gets a turn in the spotlight, as the gang revisits her debut sequence from 1978 and finds a fun and unique character who still feels modern.  
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store.
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark. 
For more from the show follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.  
Thanks for listening.

Tuesday May 12, 2026

We start our look at the bit players in Peanuts in this new season of “Sidekicks and Second Bananas.” In this episode Bill, Olivier, Harriet, Conrad, and Woodstock get to shake their tail feathers in the spotlight.
Mentioned in the Mailbox:Health Capsules by Dr. Michael A. Petti and cartoonist Jud Hurdhttps://www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2022/06/02/health-capsules-1961-2022/
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store.
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark. 
For more from the show follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.  
Thanks for listening.

Tuesday Apr 28, 2026

The gang takes a cockeyed look at the Peanuts strips that make you go “hmmm.” From Charlie Brown sharpening himself to the beauty of a girl named Truffles, it doesn’t get weirder than this.
Strips we discuss and the original episode names:
Truffles - March 31 & April 1, 1975 - 1975 Part 1
Spike and Woodstock on the Moon - October 6, 1995 - 1995 Part 1
Pencil Sharpener - January 25, 1990 - 1990 Part 1
Tapioca Pudding - September 4, 1986 - 1986 Part 1
School Building - January 8-9, 1976 - 1976 Part 1
Finale of Mr. Sack - July 5, 1973 - 1973 Part 1
Sentient Blanket - March 17, 1965 - 1965 Part 1
The Whirly Dog - March 14, 1960 - 1960 Part 1
Schroeder Meta Strip - October 1, 1952 - 1952 Part 2
Charlotte Braun — November 30, 1954 — 1954 Part 2
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store.
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark. 
For more from the show follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.  
Thanks for listening.
 

Tuesday Apr 14, 2026

Re-Run arrives and struggles to assimilate into the family for the next twenty years. Lucy is still a grouch. Sally still loves Linus. And speaking of consistency, which Peanuts characters changed the least? The gang investigates. 
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store.
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark. 
For more from the show follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.  
Thanks for listening.

Sittin' In the Mailbox #2

Tuesday Apr 07, 2026

Tuesday Apr 07, 2026

It’s a fun-sized mailbag bonus episode! Listeners ask us probing questions like whose is the adorable voice behind our introduction, and tell us stuff we never knew like there is a plush version of Snoopy as Mister T. Plus more great business suggestions for Sony.
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store.
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark. 
For more from the show follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.  
Thanks for listening.

Tuesday Mar 31, 2026

Linus is doing the St. Francis shtick, but that doesn’t stop him from playing a mean shortstop. The gang discusses Schulz’s ability to layer contradictory elements to create some of the richest characters in comics.
Here's a link to our episode about the football strips:https://tinyurl.com/footballstrips
 
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store.
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark. 
For more from the show follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.  
Thanks for listening.

Tuesday Mar 17, 2026

The gang celebrates four years of podcasting about Beagles and Blockheads by looking at a totally random group of Peanuts strips, and even a few non-Peanuts strips too! Here's to many more years of joy discussing Charles Schulz's masterpiece.
Random Non-Peanuts Strips are posted in the Obscurities section of the website.
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store.
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark. 
For more from the show follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.  
Thanks for listening.

Copyright 2026 Jimmy Gownley, Harold Buchholz, Michael Cohen, and Liz Sumner. All rights reserved.

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