APOCALYPSE DUDS: Clothing, Community & Culture

This week, we welcomed back long-time friend of the show, Militaria legend, astute journalist, collector, historian, and author of Combat Threads, Charles McFarlane. The first of a two-part series, we explore the beginnings of his writing career, his recent outdoors adventures, what pieces of vintage military gear still hold their own, the intersection of modern military clothing and outdoor gear,...

This week, we welcomed back long-time friend of the show, Militaria legend, astute journalist, collector, historian, and author of Combat Threads, Charles MacFarlane. The first of a two-part series, we explore the beginnings of his writing career, his recent outdoors adventures, what pieces of vintage military gear still hold their own, the intersection of modern military clothing and outdoor gear...

This week, the super kind, super smart Eric Langois (pronounced LANG-WAH) in the studio! We talked about the American South via Asheville, NC, novelty ties, dressing for church, inspiration, chambray, The Andover Shop, writing, Hercule Poiroit, trains, the rules of menswear, vanity and hubris, and hogshead more!

I’M RICK JAMES, NICK!  This week, we had the distinct pleasure of hosting New York’s Own, Nick James, but not that New York–until recently, anyway. Nick has a “chaotic” CV, to hear him tell it, so we get into it: joining the Air Force when he was 17,  Meteorology, Lab Science, Moving to The Big Apple, racial ambiguity, WESTSIDE GUNN, Buffalo, Birding, Military LARPers, lacrosse, thriftin...

This week we were thrilled to have a world-travelin’, freewheelin’, Ivy wearin’ Welshman in the studio (a first for us!), Jack Whitaker. We had a great time chatting about how the contrast of growing up in the Middle East and a small village in Wales, getting into clothing through skater style, shoes as a first fashion love, tough love from friends, the differences between American and English tai...

We gleefully welcome a born and raised Atlantan to the studio! We talk Atlanta’s “unique style language,” the Duality of Outkast,  finding photography  at an early age, the first really GOOD photo he made, the bullshit detector, redundant content “I don’t wanna see the 30th guy do the Ralph tuck” Bad mouthing Todd Snyder, Muddy Waters, B*** M***** and more!

This week, we’re excited to welcome a relative newcomer, but certainly no slouch, to menswear into the studio, Ethan Martin. A recovering sneakerhead, if you will, and a huge fan of cycling and Uncle Ralph, we had a great conversation about what brought him into the ranks of clothing aficionados’s, modern “extreme” sports, a love for old Armani, how AI is utter bullshit, catching the heavy music b...

This week, we’re delighted to welcome the indomitable writer, dresser, clothing community organizer, and all around cool cat, Jabari Sandifer to the studio. He gives us a glimpse into the city of Chicago from a seasoned local. We chat about familial influences on style, the always gnarly Kangol hat, finding your way into building community, some true Chicagoan takes that might surprise you, search...

This week in the studio, we had an incredibly fun chat with a ridiculously rad dude, stellar musician, and the man with “the best jeans in hardcore,” Nate Newton. We talked about his introduction to both clothing and music at an early age, admiring the style of country and western musicians, buying old Levi’s, band shirts, cast iron skillets, skateboarding and its influence, how to wear your cloth...

This week, we’re elated to have two returning guests, back together, the Power Couple of Clothing, the founders of Madsen Sylvester Studios, two of the most knowledgeable purveyors of vintage, and newly published authors, Tony Sylvester and Dr. Cyana Madsen. With the excellent newly published book, An Informal Guide to Workwear, we wanted to catch up about the inspiration and process of publishing...

This week, we are so happy to finally welcome ZG Burnett back into the studio. In part 1 of an undetermined number series about clothing care. We talk about general clothing maintenance, the allure of natural fibers, how to choose fabrics, stain removal, high-end brands cutting corners, washing tweed jackets, and so much more!

A seeming Master of Most Trades, Jeremiah Jones, founder of Sew Lab, joins us in studio to talk, among other things, rebuilding domestic manufacturing (in Baltimore and beyond), building cameras, learning to sew, working gigs to fund adventures, old Toyota vans, raves, starting a brand out of a tiny apartment, riding 400 miles a week on a bike in New York, pulling influence from history, Permacult...

Years in the making, we hosted someone who inspired the show, someone whose influence is undeniable, someone whose hot takes are scorching, we welcome the one, the only Mordechai Rubinstein, photographer, writer, father, dude, Deadhead, archivist. Truly a man of many parts! Our extended conversation was exactly what we’d hoped for: explosive, enjoyable, telling, and a barrel of laughs. We talked u...

This week, an issue near and dear to your hosts and even producer: clothes for short people. We interview Deric Cano, all around radiant, Californian, someone who loves/tries to support his home community, and  founder of the brand Art Cano. We chat about the struggles of getting a clothing brand off the ground, learning things on the fly, breaking gender norms, a deep love of vintage garment...

Sometimes, it feels like we don’t deserve to do these shows. This week, Apocalypse Duds Super Fan, Earnest Politico, Big Parking Lot Hater, 40s French Glasses Enthusiast, Astoundingly Thoughtful Genius, Kind, Pragmatic Operator, John T. Reuter. I don’t want to spoil it, but we covered much uncharted territory on this show about love, circumstance, and forgiveness. You really must listen. For a sho...

Tune in for our, urgent as ever, coverage of things happening and things not. 2025 and Somehow, Still Alive, In Spite of it All Year In Review Spectacular with our Revolutionarily Reliable Riter Renato Pagnani @renavate. We discuss long-awaited hip-hop records, some good and some bad, we talk Ren’s first GQ piece and hockey style, the goddamn “quarter-zip movement,” respectability politics, how a...

Matt is out this week, toiling in the sulfur mines of Southeast Georgia. I am joined by our new producer, Jamaal Tuhrik. We talk with Winston Jones, writer, reader, dresser, student, teacher, New Yorker about his journey (a word I wish we had more synonyms for) from “student to teacher and back again.” We answer The Quarter-Zip-Question, Perks of Packing Light, New York, Methodologies of Childhood...

On this week’s episode, we had the pleasure of chatting with an up and coming clothing aficionado, Eugene Park @euge.park. While he’s relatively new to the clothing game, his knack for figuring out his place in our little pocket of internet subculture shines through brilliantly. From growing up in the greater Chicago metro area and thrifting with his mom, to now living in Southern California, he h...

“All the way back to middle school, I’ve loved clothes…” our recent guest, David Lane, opined. He remembers begging his mom for Polo Ralph Lauren shirts, touching the shirt sleeves on the rack and feeling the differences. We talked Derek Guy and Put This On, the trials and tribulations of shopping at big and tall stores, O’Connell’s, not treating your clothing too preciously, LL Bean’s return poli...

Special lightning episode with the Director of The Accademia Nazionale dei Sartori, the oldest tailoring school in Italy, founded in the 1700s!  We talked about the amazing history of the school, what it takes to be a tailor, the family business, connecting with clients, the house style, and at least a few more fascinating tidbits. Check out the school on social media: FB: https://www.faceboo...

This week, we wanted to introduce a new member of the Duds team. @Jamaal_Tuhrik came on board a couple of months ago to help with production, social media, and ideas to expand the show and, boy, did we luck out! A fellow 90s kid, we explore his early days of learning to love clothing, the ways in which we discern influences as we age, dressing for yourself, gaining inspiration from the world aroun...

“What if you took the idea about go to hell pants and expanded it to every part of your life?” Our next guest, Dr. Evan Thomas Woods, Senior Lecturer at The Ohio State University, posed this very question on our program this week. Listen up, Dr. Woods is maybe the third or fourth PhD who we have coerced into appearing here, and we got pretty cerebral. We pondered Columbus, Ohio, “value theory,” et...

Menswear maven and photo guru Daniel Baraka in the studio this week! We contemplate Nashville, talk arrested development, Buck Mason, Sid Mashburn, paternal influence, becoming a photographer, world building, velvet slippers, up and coming Nashville brands, really wearing out your clothes, and more!

This week, we have an extraordinary guest from the windy hot dog stand of Chicago, Julia Z. Caisip @sartorialfantasybox was kind enough to grace us with her knowing presence. An amazing writer, a student of aesthetics, and someone who blurs the lines of many subcultures, it was a fantastic conversation. We talked Eastern European fiction, the concept of “Writing Up,” finding subculture through an...

A heavy hitter and #menswear Tumblr OG, Nico Lazaro has been, like Forrest Gump, everywhere in recent clothing history. We praised a return to long-form writing, moving to  and adjusting to LA, working with a handful of upcoming brands, including, you may have heard of it, Grailed.com , early adoption of social media, sharing his passion for clothing in palatable ways, getting back to his roo...