The Erasable Podcast

Journalist Gabe Bullard joins us to talk about his new book, Against Convenience: Embracing Friction in an Age of Endless Ease . We dig into what we trade away for ease: the Starbucks app, robotaxis, New Release Tuesdays, memories apps, and AI's "sheen of fakery" — plus Wendell Berry's rules for adopting a new tool and Gabe's chat with our friend Caroline Weaver. We’re missing Tim today because hi...

The Pencil Primer returns with part three: the other end of the pencil. We trace the eraser from stale bread crumbs to Goodyear's vulcanized rubber to Hymen Lipman's well-timed patent sale, then get into ferrules — wartime plastic ones, the Blackwing's famous clip, and why American pencils wear erasers while Japanese and German ones mostly don't. But first: Andy falls down a Carter Family rabbit h...

No Pencil Primer this time (part three is coming, promise) — instead, a Fresh Points extravaganza to say bye-bye to summer. Blackwing goes big with a Mickey and Friends collection and the gorgeous Frida Kahlo Volume 143, Andy's wristwatch rabbit hole deepens into designing the perfect podcaster's watch, Johnny hand-binds his kids' planners and stocks up on pastel Musgrave Ceres, and Tim shows off...

The Pencil Primer returns with part two: the case of yonder pencil. We trace the wood itself — from Conté's badass eyepatch to eastern red cedar, California incense cedar, and the creeping basswood era — plus why pencils are yellow (blame a Siberian graphite strike and some questionable 19th-century marketing) and why triangular pencils are weird. But first, the summer releases: Blackwing's birdin...

The whole gang is back together to catch up. Andy recaps his Field Notes–filled wedding, starts a new job, and falls down a serious wristwatch rabbit hole — from Bluetooth-modded Casio F-91Ws to a Draplin x Timex Scout. Johnny's loving a $30 Asvine piston-filler, a possibly haunted Cedar Pointe, and a Rhodia Goalbook in Peacock, while Tim is deep in World Cup fever and cheap-but-good Pen+Gear blac...

Andy's out this week for the best possible reason — he got married! (Congratulations, Andy and Erica! 🎉) So Johnny and Tim keep it short and sweet with a catch-up and some fresh points: Tim falls down a Blaze Foley rabbit hole and digs into a new book on heartland rock, Johnny can't stop playing No Man's Sky, and both Henries pick up guitars. Plus: Field Notes' new Explore America memo books, Mus...

We kick off the Pencil Primer — a new series for anyone who wants to start at the beginning of pencildom. This installment traces graphite from the legendary Borrowdale lightning strike of 1564 to Nicolas-Jacques Conté's clay-and-graphite breakthrough during the Napoleonic Wars, plus the Thoreau family's role in standardizing the American pencil grade scale and a tour through HB-to-9B. Plus, Tim's...

A big one this time around: we celebrate 12 years of Erasable, Andy launches a transcript site and an AI quiz generator, Johnny's been making books and hiking in 15-degree weather, and Tim christens his new Nahvalur Nautilus with a boiling water incident. Plus fresh releases from Field Notes, Blackwing, Baronfig, and Musgrave. For this episode, we recorded video, available to Patreon subscribers!...

The Erasable Podcast turns 12! As of March 12, we’ve officially been doing this podcast for 12 years. 279 hours of audio — that’s more than 11.5 straight days of Erasable! Tim is out today, but Johnny grills Andy about his trip to Hong Kong and Japan, including some of the cool pencils he found at a stationery shop in Kyoto that’s been in business since the 1600s. Have a listen! For this epis...

We’re back, after two months away! Sorry for the silence, friends. But we think we have something really special for you — a guest we’ve wanted to come on the show for almost 6 years. It’s Ian Schon of SCHONDSGN, a craftsman who makes incredible, unique fountain pens. We’re talking about his journey to  starting his own company, design and engineering challenges that fountain pens present, an...

Happy October! This very autumnal episode is a short one — just some fresh points and tools of the trade. Johnny’s playing too much Mario Kart World, Andy regales us with his trip to New York City, and Tim is designing a thuper thecret  notebook. Plus: we talk about some new Field Notes and feel very old because of the new Blackwing Eras.

We’ve got a special episode today. Tyler McCall, co-owner of Chicago stationery shop Pencil & Paper, joins us to talk about the havoc caused by the Trump administration’s chaotic tariff policies. These policies aren’t just hurting small businesses like Tyler’s — they’re also driving up costs and creating disruptions for everyday consumers in ways you might not expect. This conversation is for anyo...

Happy International Workers Day, everyone! If you get a long weekend, we really hope you make the most of it. (Andy’s going to the SF Pen Show, for example!) Before we go off and celebrate, we’re coming atcha with some new Fresh Points, including some new Blackwings, a cool film camera, and the question that plagues our minds, “why is loose leaf paper so terrible?”. Show Notes and Links Erasable P...

We have a very special episode for you today, folks. We’re joined by Allison King, a novelist who recently published The Phoenix Pencil Company , a multi-generational story about Chinese-American women, data privacy, surveillance, LGBT love, and… pencils! We read the book and loved it, and Allison is here to answer some questions. If you want a copy for yourself, you can buy it at this link , or p...

After a month full of travel from our intrepid hosts, involving everything from counterfeit theatre tickets to marriage proposals to a literal train wreck, we’re back to regale each other with stories from our travels, and, of course, the stationery we picked up along the way. Plus, we announce a future book club episode with The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King. For this episode, we recorde...

The summer limited editions are out early this year! Join us for the scoop on two releases from Blackwing, some very watery Field Notes, and finally — you can buy our newest Erasable merch! For this episode, we recorded video, available to Patreon subscribers! If you’re a patron, head over to see our faces and visual examples of many of the things we discuss. And if you’re not a patron, join...

May is upon is, and we’re here with a short one, discussing our tools of the trade, and some fun fresh points — Johnny talked about his sugar cane notebooks for Earth Day, and Andy introduced some new spring Erasable swag for 2025 (Stay tuned!) For this episode, we recorded video, available to Patreon subscribers! If you’re a patron, head over to see our faces and visual examples of many of t...

To celebrate our podcast turning 11 last month, we’re traveling back in time to channel our 11 year-old selves, and examine what stationery meant to us as Little Guys. For this episode, we recorded video, available to Patreon subscribers! If you’re a patron, head over to see our faces and visual examples of many of the things we discuss. And if you’re not a patron, join us at any level and you can...

Today’s episode is a short one — Tim’s out, and Johnny and Andy talk about some of their new pencil hauls (including a Pentel Black Polymer 999 that Andy’s particularly excited about). Johnny gets civilly disobedient (more so than usual, that is) in his reading from his zilbaldoni. For this episode, we recorded video, available to Patreon subscribers! If you’re a patron, head over to see our...

Welcome to the first installment of Re-rasable , a new series where we resurface some of our most memorable episodes and interviews from the past ten years. For this inaugural edition, we’re rewinding to Episode 106 and our conversation with Henry Hulan , Chairman of the Musgrave Pencil Company . This interview was a true highlight, giving us a rare inside look at the history and craftsmanship of...

We’re back for the New Year, with a ton of Fresh Points and Tools of Our Trade -- and the first sections from our Zibaldoni! For this episode, we recorded video, available to Patreon subscribers! If you’re a patron, head over to see our faces and visual examples of many of the things we discuss. And if you’re not a patron, join us at any level and you can see this and other supplemental content at...

For our last episode of 2024, we came together to talk about some of our favorite Tools of the Trade from the last year. Andy recounts his trip to Hawaii and Tim talks about a new segment we’re starting next year. For this episode, we recorded video, available to Patreon subscribers! If you’re a patron, head over to Patreon to see our faces and visual examples of many of the things we discuss. And...

Today on the show, we have a much needed catch up, with a freewheeling discussion around Tools of the Trade and Fresh Points. We cover the new Blackwing 574, the Field Notes Dream Journals, Bluesky, and even talk about something Andy's only dreamed of — Star Trek wine. For this episode, we recorded video, available to Patreon subscribers! If you’re a patron, head over to Patreon to see our faces a...