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
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
Tuesday Mar 14, 2023
What makes a bird a Woodstock? Well, someone must know, because even stupid questions have answers! We watch as the classic character slowly comes into focus, and marvel as Schulz remains firmly in the center of a changing zeitgeist. Then Michael takes us on a quick tour of Muscle Beach, and Snoopy kicks everyone’s butt in a sequence Jimmy believes reflects perfect management style. Plus: A square who doesn’t care, is no square at all.
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. 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 Twitter. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.
Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Mar 07, 2023
Tuesday Mar 07, 2023
Good Grief, we made it a year! Join us as we pat ourselves on the back, talk about our other influences as cartoonists, and… oh yeah! Talk about Peanuts! It’s been a wonderful year, so please enjoy this bonus episode as a thank you from us to you. Plus: Jimmy makes a true confession that will rock the Unpacking Peanuts Universe to its core!
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. 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 Twitter. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.
Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
Tuesday Feb 28, 2023
It's the Summer of Love, and we discuss the real world inspiration for the Little Red Haired Girl. Meanwhile, Schulz continues to fine tune the characters in both design and personality, as he fills out the year with a mix of long sequences (The Burning of the Blanket) and sharp one offs (Bird Hippie!). Plus: What is “Peak Forehead?”
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. 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 Twitter. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.
Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Feb 21, 2023
Tuesday Feb 21, 2023
Linus continues his reign as the master of sincere sarcasm. Sally gets hysterical, which Michael finds upsetting; and Charles Schulz, now the calm center of a worldwide phenomenon, works to integrate his flood of new ideas while maintaining his beloved core cast. Plus: Shermy lets it all hang out.
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. 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 Twitter. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.
Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Feb 14, 2023
Tuesday Feb 14, 2023
Love is in the air… or is that despair? Sometimes it’s the same thing, especially for Good Ol’ Charlie Brown. In this episode, we read through all of the Valentine’s Day strips Schulz produced in the first decade and a half of Peanuts. Lots of classics here, from loverboy Snoopy to frustrated Lucy, and the ongoing comic tragedy of Charlie Brown and the Little Red Haired girl. Plus: Plus nothing… it’s just the Valentine’s strips. Whaddya want?
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. 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 Twitter. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.
Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Feb 07, 2023
Tuesday Feb 07, 2023
In honor of the “Big Game” we take a look at all of the annual Charlie Brown versus Lucy football gags from the first 16 years of Peanuts. Is Charlie Brown an innocent? An optimist? A dupe? We may never know. But one thing’s for sure, Lucy sure can play him like a fiddle. Plus: The death of Krazy Kat?
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. 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 Twitter. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.
Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Jan 31, 2023
Tuesday Jan 31, 2023
There’s a new girl on the scene and she’s set to be a star, as Schulz turns the kid comic genre on its head with the debut of a startlingly modern new heroine; the immortal ‘‘Peppermint” Patty. Meanwhile, Snoopy is living an adventurous life, and Charlie Brown has no idea what’s going on. Plus: Engelbert Humperdinck. No, the other Engelbert Humperdinck.
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. 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 Twitter. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.
Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Jan 24, 2023
Tuesday Jan 24, 2023
Snoopy’s latest persona is a pop culture sensation, and he’s threatening to take over the entire strip! Unless the French Foreign Legion calls him away. Elsewhere, Sally still has her eye patch, Charlie Brown is still Charlie Brown, and Linus and Lucy are moving away! Plus: maze, M-A-Y-S, maze.
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. 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 Twitter. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.
Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Tuesday Jan 17, 2023
Today, the guys welcome Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center Curator Benjamin Clark. Benjamin leads a team of professionals dedicated to the preservation, display, and interpretation of the life and art of Peanuts comic strip creator, Charles M. Schulz. We talk about the excitement and challenges of working for the Peanuts brand, the care that goes into each exhibit at the museum, and the process of writing the new book Charles M. Schulz: A Life in 100 Objects. Plus: the origin of the Radio 914!
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. 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 Twitter. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.
Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Jan 10, 2023
Tuesday Jan 10, 2023
Peanuts is peaking and we are here for it! Charlie Brown goes to camp and makes a good temporary friend. Not content with becoming a mere pilot, Snoopy also launches both his writing and surfing careers. Lucy cures Charlie Brown with Psychiatry à Go Go, and Linus manifests the gift of prophecy. Plus: Sydney or the Bush?!
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. 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 Twitter. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.
Thanks for listening.