Unpacking Peanuts

It’s a special day for Unpacking Peanuts. Charlie Brown and Lucy are here! We welcome voice actors Melanie Kohn and Duncan Watson to the show. They discuss their time spent as Peanuts’ star players, how they got the gigs, and what it’s been like reconnecting with Peanuts fans in recent years. We even get them to reprise their old roles as we discuss their favorite strips! Plus: Keene is nifty!   F...

The most famous character never drawn (the movies don’t count, you blockhead!) makes her first non-appearance, and it’s a heartbreaker. Then Schulz writes a few anti-hallmark cards, and three goofballs openly ridicule certified genius Windsor McCay! Plus: Punchlines that punch you. Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold...

The character of Charlie Brown is deepening as Schulz explores more subtle shades of emotion. Meanwhile, in the Van Pelt household tempers are wearing thin, and in Chicago It’s full on gang warfare as Harold gives us a detailed explanation of just how the syndicated comics game worked back in the wild early days. Plus: Harold and Jimmy try (and fail) to think of the word “avatar.”   Transcript ava...

Jimmy expands on his theory of how Charles Schulz is a character in Peanuts. Michael talks to leaves, and Harold gets his first comic book! Plus: Liz Phair, and Alan Moore, and Mort Sahl, and Gertrude Stein 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. Additio...

It’s the Swinging Sixties, and Linus wants to be all love! But Lucy might have a nefarious plan to thwart him. Meanwhile, Snoopy endures the Icicle of Damocles, while in the real world Schulz meets Hallmark to deliver some warm feelings. Plus: Hate at a Different Angle and a shout out to Librarians.   Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michae...

Harold, Jimmy and Michael welcome cartoonist and musician Todd Webb to the show! Todd is the creator of the critically acclaimed daily strip The Poet, and the creative force behind the music of Seamonster. The gang take a look at Todd’s favorite strips, and discuss influences, working methods, and why Peanuts is just the bee’s knees. Plus: Good Grief! Ernie Bushmiller??!! toddbot.com Read The Poet...

We wrap up the fabulous 50’s with a look at how far we have come! Michael, Harold, and Jimmy pick their favorite year of strips so far, answer the mail, and take a peek at a great “lost” influence on Charles Schulz. Plus: Buy Jif! Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music b...

While Charlie Brown is succeeding as a brother, Linus is ranting about someone called “The Great Pumpkin.” When he’s not fawning over his beloved teacher Miss Othmar that is. Plus: Sally smooches Linus. 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...

Sally Brown is born! Will becoming a big brother change Charlie Brown for the better, or is it just going to derail his baseball career? Also, Lucy starts a new business…as the gang’s gruff therapist of course! But is five cents too much for her “advice?” Plus: Schulz provides others a shelter from the storm. Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley...

Have you ever had to try to glue crayons together? Linus has. Jimmy tells more vaguely troubling childhood anecdotes, and Lucy thinks Charlie Brown is a spy. Meanwhile, back in 1958 it’s Liberals versus Conservatives as everything new is old again. Plus: Is Happiness Overrated? Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buch...

Jimmy asks: What is art for? Linus becomes a fanatic. Lucy loves Schroeder. Violet admires her dad, and Snoopy starts a very weird trend. Be sure to tell your pencil pal that it’s another great year of comics from Charles M. Schulz. Plus: Hi-Fi’s and Hula Hoops.   Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced...

We welcome the host of the OG Peanuts podcast, It’s a Podcast, Charlie Brown, William Pepper. William gives us the lowdown on his long running show and then picks his Fab Five Peanuts strips of all time! Plus: Does Lucy mean well? William Pepper's work available at Carnival of Glee Creations https://www.carnivalofgleecreations.com/ Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is...

Harold, Michael and Jimmy discuss what makes Schulz’s art different from contemporaries like Mort Walker or Dik Brown. Michael unlocks one of the secret Peanuts joke formulas, and we check in on the Good ol’ Angerometer. Plus: What a Team! Good Grief! Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced and edited b...

Charles Schulz is loosening up and branching out. He even hires his friend, good ol’ Jim Sasseville and launches a second strip. Meanwhile, Lucy is torn between the desire to create and the desire to destroy. Plus: Do polar bears get cold? Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner...

Charlie Brown’s kite is stuck in a tree… for a week! We take a long look at this rarely seen series of strips that Schulz himself considered a high water mark. Plus: Bug watching with Lucy. 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...

Lucy presents some little known facts and Linus figures some things out. There are a lot of kids in the Schulz household, and it’s fueling a whole bunch of hilarious comics. Plus: Charlie Brown gets what he wants… or does he? Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Mic...

We are halfway through the first decade of Peanuts, and It’s been a thrill to watch Charles Schulz develop his strip from humble beginnings to the cusp of greatness. In this finale episode, we recap where we have been so far and hint at where we go next in the world of Peanuts. Plus: We answer the mail!   Unpacking Peanuts Season Two begins June 14th Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Un...

It’s a year filled with classic jokes and classical music, but Charlie Brown’s stomach hurts and it’s all Lucy’s fault. Yet while Charlie Brown steps back, the rest of the gang rise to the moment. Plus: Jimmy reveals his pick for the GOAT Peanuts strip. Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced by Liz Sum...

Schulz is living the posh life in Minnesota while willing Peanuts to ever greater heights. It’s the era of big laughs and big jaws, and Snoopy is busting out…and kinda ticked off! Plus: Snow comes UP, you blockhead. Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additiona...

Jimmy unleashes an outlandish Peanuts conspiracy theory as we investigate the strangest sequence in all of Peanuts when Lucy hits the links with … adults?? Plus: Braun… Charlotte Braun.

Slick and ever-tightening cartooning mixed with some beautiful detail and a touch of the surreal is the look of the year for Schulz, and his cast of characters are growing richer and more complex as they feel unrequited love, sibling rivalry and more. Plus: Violet is ahead of her time! Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Har...

Linus is growing up fast. Also, how to become a virtuoso the Charles Schulz way, and more discussion about the letter “W” than is allowed in most municipalities. Plus: Filthy! Grimy! Children!

As Schulz world continues to grow both in life and within the panels of Peanuts, Jimmy, Michael, and Harold reflect on the influence of Schulz on their own process. Also Peanuts versus the Photorealists, the definition of fussbudget and variations on the theme of cruelty. Plus: Harold Googlestomps on Jimmy’s “research!” 

Join us as we chat with accomplished cartoonist, and Editorial Director of the Charles M. Schulz Studio, Alexis Fajardo! We discuss Lex’s two decades of work as the creator of the popular Kid Beowulf series as well as his work helping to produce Peanuts books for the world, and his top five Peanuts strips. Plus: A Peppermint Preview!   Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts...

It’s the first appearance of Snoopy the mimic!  And he may be the most complex character in the history of western literature, but he’ll always be Lucy’s baby brother to us… Linus is here!   Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shuk...