Full Carts

After a stop at the Apple Genius Bar, Devin and Andy visit Brooklyn Made , a two-location gift shop celebrating Brooklyn goods. What’s the difference between a gift shop and a self-gift shop? Are all Chambers of Commerce at least a little menacing? Should NYers be mocked for their bodega love? What was the Brooklyn Maker Movement, and how was it related to the aughts hipster? What does the Brookly...

After a discussion of the evolution of the CVS app and a trip to free some men’s underwear from TJ Maxx, Devin and Andy break down a visit to Primark , a discount clothing chain founded in Ireland and currently expanding in the US. How cheap is too cheap? How impressive is the Primark adaptive clothing selection? Is this a Mickey Mouse operation? Does Primark have the best variety of team gear out...

Historian, author , and brother-in-law of the podcast Jon Grinspan joins Devin and Andy to talk about coffee making and coffee drinking methods, as well as the coffee maker buying experience. What are some of your personal coffee canon events? How did the Civil War change the coffee game? Is making coffee the simplest or most complicated thing in the world? Are you a bean skeptic or bean believer?...

Devin and Andy check out Black Gold Records to take the pulse of shopping for used vinyl. The store also has a coffee bar and antiques; is coffee + cool things to browse the retail model that makes the most sense now? When and where are we listening to music? What else are we looking for at a record store: books on the occult? VHS concert tapes? Rare jazz? A vintage PIG shirt? Wall pieces? Useful...

Devin, Andy, and special guest Leslie Price (check out the excellent Hello Gloria newsletter!) explore some meanings of Abercrombie & Fitch : from its 1890s founding as an upscale sporting goods store through the dizzying and problematic Mike Jeffries horny-prep aughts to the more inclusive rebrand of today. How does Leslie’s experience of working at A&F in 2000 shape her sense of the bran...

For a holiday episode, D&A discuss 80s nostalgia (and Xmas shopping) movie 8-Bit Christmas (2021): toy fads, malls in movies, old school video games…. Was the inclusion here of Rampage an artistic or executive decision? How have bullies and gendered boots changed since 1988? What does cursive mean now? Has the age of manias around fad toys come to an end? What does it mean that Steve Zahn's da...

In part 2/2, Devin and Andy dig into the grocery half of Ten Ichi Mart . Would you rather have a poster of Gursky’s 99 Cent , or of this story’s lead ramen image? How about both?? Do you know the backstory of Cafe Du Monde canned coffee? Have you ever had hot canned coffee from a vending machine? Do you need to study this tutorial on how to open onigiri as much as Andy does? Are you curious about...

In part 1 of a two-parter, the Full Cart Fellows check out the Gift Shop half of Ten Ichi Mar t, a Japanese Grocery/Gift Shop. “ Don’t Call It An ‘Ethnic’ Grocery Store ,” urges the NYTimes (also: can we get a framed print of that lead image of an array of ramen??) Is a Zojirushi rice cooker worth it? What’s the difference between a variety store, gift shop, and “treat store”? How much stuff is to...

After a stop at lunch hotspot S&P , Devin and Andy check out eclectic New York dishware shop Fishs Eddy . Should all stores have their own graphic memoir ? Where do you fall on the cheeky-to-bawdy scale? How much should an irregular dinner bowl cost? Should prices correspond directly to display style? Are we at peak pet portrait? How best to commemorate the Metrocard as it is sunsetted? How co...

Devin and Andy visit the YETI NYC store and meditate on cult coolers and insulated drinkware. What if it turns out the bear from the company that tests products for bear-proofness is just someone in a bear suit ? Is Texas band Khruangbin (whose name is the Thai word for airplane, which Devin started to say) the ideal in-store music for Yeti? How big can the Yeti tent get without collapsing? What c...

Devin and Andy visit allowance store/ doodad emporium Five Below . Is it succeeding at its napkin-writ founding mission statement of  “You can always say ‘yes’ to the trendiest coolest high-quality stuff that you just gotta have”? Does the Dribble Zone, an in-store space where ball-bouncing is encouraged, show that we can exist freely and follow rules, a kind of mini social contract in action? Wha...

Devin and Andy check out the new(ish) Wilson Sporting Goods flagship in SoHo. Is figuring out a way to play tennis in NYC a sport in and of itself? How cool is the playground/park in this store? Can more than one guy in a neighborhood be retro-headband guy? What do we think of lounge spaces in stores? Are the books in back for sale, and do you have a copy of Budge on Tennis ? Theme music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠...

After a thrilling cold open, Devin and Andy discuss Swedish clothing chain H&M . How important is a store’s soundtrack ? How much weight should you give a brand’s ranking from Good on You , a website that assesses fashion label ethics? (A food version of this is Yuka .) Is this a great time for panda dupes? Why are children's clothing departments so much more fun than what's out for adults? Ho...

Devin and Andy go to TARGET . Is the 2004 opening of the first Brooklyn Target a perfect encapsulation of a certain slice of aughts culture, with multiple Sevignys, as well as albino snakes? Where would fashion be without designer x mass retailer collaborations, started by Target and Isaac Mizrahi? What is the ideal size for a Target? (Hint: prob not 200,000 sq ft.) Do Target groceries make sense?...

Devin and Andy discuss a visit to Dave & Buster’s . Is the Times Square D&B a perfect fulcrum between seedy 1970s Times Square and the Disneyfied Times Square of the aughts? How much fun is too much fun? Are we in it for playing games or winning tickets? Which prizes are a good deal? Should Dave & Buster's have quiet time? Have we hit on the ideal blend of ancient carnival games wi...

Devin and Andy visit P.C. Richard & Son and consider stereos, recliners, mattresses, T.V.s,  and appliance stores in general. Can anybody beat The Wiz in cultural references? Will anyone beat Crazy Eddie’s 7,500 commercials ? (Inspiration taken from this list of defunct retailers.) Have you ever been disappointed because you were geared up for a hard sell but didn’t get one? Do Studebaker retr...

Tennis t-shirts, anyone? Devin and Andy go online and check out the popular US OPEN merch . What celestial body could a stack of souvenir Honey Deuce cocktail tumblers reach? What’s the best kind of ball for getting autographs? How do The Matrix and The Hudsucker Proxy fit into all this? Do you maybe just need a tee promoting the New Rochelle Challenger, sponsored by Phil’s Tire Town? Should the U...

D&A head to Economy Candy on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and make a side visit to IT’SUGAR in Coney Island (check out their candy cans ). Would you do business with a candy sleuth calling himself “The Candyman”? What rare candies would you have him track down: Tangy Taffy? Gatorgum? A Hi-Chew flavor that you maybe only dreamt of? How are your Pez-loading skills? Are imported candy bars a...

Devin and Andy head to The Pickle Guys on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, on a street once known as Pickle Alley, where Guss' Pickles once dominated. Would you be ready to name your favorite pickle if queried by a pickle person? ( check out the video !) Are we at Peak Pickle? Is pickle merch ascendant over pickle flavor ? How important is human interaction when shopping? Who's eating all...

Devin and Andy head to the Staten Island Mall ! What can a Food District do that a Food Court cannot? Has there been a better time to hit the mall for novelty socks? Can robots make cotton candy as well as humans? Are kiosks stronger than ever? What is the relationship between Hot Topic , Spencer’s (née Spencer’s Gifts), and Newbury Comics ? Is the presence of Apple and Lego a reliable indicator o...

Devin and Andy head to a ShopRite grocery on Hylan Blvd. in Staten Island. Can you judge a grocery store by the quality of its vending machines? Is Freeosk the future of free samples? What and where are these Smart Carts ?? Are nearly interchangeable grocery store chain names strategic? Are we all living in the Keebler tree, still? Are we going to go back here someday ? Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠...

Devin and Andy head to the Brooklyn Beach Shop on the Coney Island Boardwalk. How does current Coney Island express its heritage as the People’s Playground? How bad is stealing from beach stores? Does a boardwalk shop need a certain amount of kitsch? Might the parachute drop in fact be an interdimensional portal? Links: Weegee’s Coney Island (classic photo) PBS Coney Island Documentary (1991) Offi...

Devin and Andy visit sea creatures and their gift shop at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island. Are sharks, rays, or jellyfish more soothing to watch? Is there a Jaws resurgence , and would it have been helpful if Devin and Andy had read this article about the 50th anniversary of the book before recording? How well do you need to know the works of Lil Big Stack to take Devin’s quiz? If you were a...

Devin and Andy get fizzed up about soda sizes and variations. Is the 7.5 oz mini-can the greatest modern soda innovation? Just how explosive are Devin’s theories about coffee snobbery and diet cola taste suppression? Is the 20oz bottle an abomination? Is the 3-liter a symbol of American overreach? Which friend of Pepsi inventor Caleb Bradham are you? Do we always look at soda as a time machine? Wo...

Devin and Andy visit an Ace Hardware in Ace’s centennial year. Will they find more truths or issues in a 1984 essay about why men like hardware stores ? Is every purchase a miniature identity crisis? Are any salespeople more helpful than hardware salespeople? Does Whit Stillman's Barcelona have the most memorable critique of 1980s American consumer culture? How long until Korky Flapper gets a...