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.

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

14 hours ago
14 hours ago
It’s a new season on Unpacking Peanuts, as the gang begins a long look at everyone’s favorite venerable grade schoolers: Linus, Lucy, and Rerun Van Pelt. In this first episode, we review the earliest episodes featuring two of Charles Schulz' beloved characters, and the seeds of greatness have already been sown.
Harold interviewed by Ted Koppel: https://youtu.be/DwsY4agO2qs?si=4Gf05kzociyR2cuITranscript 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 Jan 06, 2026
Tuesday Jan 06, 2026
The Legendary cartoonist of MUTTS, the comic strip Charles Schulz once said was “the last great strip of the 20th Century,” stops by to talk about Charles Schulz, the craft of cartooning, comics history and more in this fun conversation. Don’t miss it!
For more about Patrick visit MUTTS.com
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
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.

Thursday Jan 01, 2026
Thursday Jan 01, 2026
Happy New Year and welcome to all our new listeners! Here is a little intro to the show along with a look at one of our favorite strips of all time - July 11, 1954.
Sample some of our early interviews in It's A Clip Show Charlie Brown - https://shorturl.at/kOX0f.
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 Dec 23, 2025
Tuesday Dec 23, 2025
Everyone’s favorite abstract bird doodle takes center stage for this episode-long look at Snoopy’s relationship with his “friend of friends” Woodstock.
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
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 Dec 09, 2025
Tuesday Dec 09, 2025
The gang takes on the epic task of discussing Snoopy’s many visual changes and go on a few cartooning-related side quests as well… discussing Leonard Starr, Stan Drake, Hal Foster, Harold Gray and more.
Link to Snoopy image:
https://peanuts.fandom.com/wiki/Snoopy?file=Image_2022-06-02_120907435.png
Link to Scott McCloud's pyramid:
https://www.scottmccloud.com/4-inventions/triangle/index.html
Preorder 25th Anniversary Amelia Rules:https://bookshop.org/shop/Gville
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
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 Nov 25, 2025
Tuesday Nov 25, 2025
Comics legend Mark Evanier stops by to discuss his work on the amazing new book The Essential Peanuts. We discuss Mark’s life in comics including his relationships with icons like Jack Kirby, Jim Davis, and of course, Charles Schulz.
Mark's Blog https://www.newsfromme.com/
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
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 Nov 11, 2025
Tuesday Nov 11, 2025
The gang takes a closer look at Michael’s favorite era of Snoopy. Fourth wall breaks, funny punchlines, and a healthy dollop of Beagle violence are all discussed. Then we answer the question…. Who is the GOAT-- Linus or Snoopy?
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
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 Oct 28, 2025
Tuesday Oct 28, 2025
Today, the gang welcomes Andrew Farago: Curator of the Cartoon Art Museum, and author of several books on comics and two on Peanuts in particular. We discuss Andrew’s approach to crafting Snoopy’s “autobiography,” his love of comics in general, and his work on properties from Dune to the Ninja Turtles.
Andrew's book and other museum events are available here:https://www.cartoonart.org/store/snoopy-the-story-of-my-life-the-myth-the-legend-the-beagle
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
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 Oct 14, 2025
Tuesday Oct 14, 2025
We are thrilled to welcome Paige Braddock, the Creative Director Emeritus for the Schulz Studio. Hired by Charles Schulz himself as Creative Director in 1999, Paige is also the talented cartoonist behind Jane’s World, Peanut, Butter, & Crackers, and more.
Paige recommends the book Love Letters to Jane's World as a place to start. https://janesworld.us/janes-world/Her current work, Peanut Butter & Crackers, is available from Penguin Books and from Nosy Crow in the UK.https://peanutbutterandcrackers.com/
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
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 Oct 07, 2025










