Full Carts

Devin and Andy visit a 7-Eleven on a warm afternoon. Is the Slurpee machine working? Can bodegas and 7-Elevens coexist? What do convenience stores mean? Will the roller grill ever be seen as legitimate? Is 7-Eleven’s website one of the best places for coffee info and Tetris merch ? Do you acknowledge the difference between Frozen Uncarbonated Beverages (FUBs) and Frozen Carbonated Beverages (FCBs)...

Devin, Andy, and their first guest, Carlo, visit a Brooklyn location of the arts & crafts chain Michaels . Can crafting save us from ourselves? Is the seasonal section a compromise, or the heart of the Michaels experience? Is a pivot to a Perler beading podcast next? Will Carlo’s recent experience of a shiny suburban Michaels affect his cart score? Who will bring back latch hook kits? Do we ne...

Devin and Andy visit The Oculus (elaborate transit hub with shops on the old World Trade Center lot) and Brookfield Place . People liked to complain about the blandness of mid-late 20th century mall architecture, but is it possible to to overcorrect? Could the pricey Davidoff cigar lounge day pass be worth it for those who are not cigar aficionados? Does Pop Mart out-funko Funko? Should malls hire...

Devin and Andy visit a Swatch store in the Oculus . Has your wrist been taken over by a smartwatch? Are you a freewrister? What is more 80s than these old Swatch ads ? Which Simpsons character would you like to see on a Swatch, and what would you like to see them doing? Is this Basquiat Swatch cringe or legit? Does anyone do neon better? Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , art by ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Margaret Flatl...

Devin and Andy visit a Moleskine store and discuss notebooks. Has Moleskine fallen off, or do people just like to complain online? Is Field Notes still crushing it? Do we hold by Wirecutter reviews? Does a notebook store necessarily feel like a gift shop? How many products can be sold with Ernest Hemingway’s posthumous endorsement? Can you be legendary and iconic, or should you pick one? Music by...

Devin and Andy head to a few NYC souvenir shops near Rockefeller Center. Why are we being followed? What’s the best way to show that you heart NY? Can the souvenir shop and its wares be modernized? What store would you hole up in? Some souvenir/NY merch links: We Are Happy To Serve You Cup Official I Heart NY tee Melamine state memento trays and plates (not NY, but cool) Pretzel Hotdog NY beanie N...

Devin and Andy head to FAO Schwarz in Rockefeller Center. Will the Schwar(t)z be with them? Is this toy store overwhelming in a good way, just overwhelming, or not overwhelming enough? Are the toy demonstration vibes more state fair or uncanny sci-fi? Are you tempted by this magic snow ? Does the floor piano live up to its star turn in Big ? How cool is this McDonald’s wallet ? Or this TMNT one ? ...

Devin and Andy discuss “ Underwear Power ,” the lively last chapter of The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again ). It's an essay about shopping for socks and underwear with a friend at Macy’s. Is buying more American than thinking? Is underwear shopping really that revealing? Does everyone have a four minute set about losing socks in the laundry? What would Andy make of our cu...

Devin and Andy visit a Gap Factory store and think about Gap. Does most of 90s pop culture emerge directly from Gap’s Khaki Soul (1999) ad? Are we still swinging to Khaki Swing (1998)? How crucial is pocket quality to a pair of pants? Does Gap Factory need the SNL Gap Girls to fold things into shape? What does the Gap arch logo on a sweatshirt mean these days? And what would it take for Gap to pre...

Devin and Andy visit Foodtown : larger than a corner store, smaller than a supermarket. Does anyone read into font choices like Devin? Can Andy figure out how to open the door? Will Devin find spiritual uplift in the soda section? Can you Do the Dew on only 7.5 ounces? Why all the breadcrumbs? Is anyone in the salad dressing aisle shipping Paul Newman and Ken? Links: Tell it To My Heart by Taylor...

Devin and Andy explore fast food merch sites and discuss their findings. The expansive McDonald’s selection ( two sites !) includes some tempting Crocs , but shouldn’t they be called Krocs? Why is the current Taco Bell merch so serious , as opposed to their normally playful vibe? Could Chipotle pivot from burrito seller to clothing / accessory line? How many podcasts have started with an idea jott...

Devin and Andy visit Forbidden Planet , a giant comic book & toy & more store in New York. Is Bazooka gum the original jaw enhancer? Has the comic book world gotten friendlier and more open? Is Forbidden Planet like being inside the best claw machine in the world? What patches are on your battle jacket? Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , art by ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Margaret Flatley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , production assist...

Off-price retailer Marshalls (no apostrophe), sister store of TJ Maxx, is the subject of this week’s Full Carts. Has the Golden Age of Discount Department Stores passed? Does coconut-based candy count as health (or at least healthy) food? Is Def Leppard more clothing logo than band at this point? How is this podcast like the NFL combine? Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , art by ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Margaret Flatl...

Devin and Andy visit Party City to gather material for the party that is this podcast. Can a store greeting embody the whole of its shopping experience? Does the party supply game always come down to balloons? Should a party store be intentionally bland so as not to upstage the actual parties they’re supplying? Can an impressive selection of Pop Rocks and Big League Chew make up for shortcomings e...

Devin and Andy visit a big Game Stop in Manhattan and offer their thoughts. Does every gamer reach a point when they can’t keep up with game technology? What is the meaning of the popularity of Funko Pop? What is the ideal show for a tiny TV ? What would you add to this library of Mini Brand books ? Why does this review of a Game Stop say so little about actual games? Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Jed Becker⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Devin and Andy break down their visit to PARTEA , a store in the East Village with arcade crane claw games, toy vending machines, mystery boxes, as well as bubble tea and chicken sandwiches. Is this place selling stuffies, entertainment, food, or lessons in handling frustration? How high-concept can a store get and still be a store? What’s the ideal crane game inventory? Would Partea be better off...

Devin and Andy gather & scatter some thoughts on the antique/vintage store shopping experience after a visit to Yesterday’s News in Brooklyn, New York. Does having things lead to satisfaction, or to just wanting more of those things? Are pop culture objects from the 90s the hot new vintage? Why are bottles and cups and flasks full not just of liquid, but of meaning? How is a vintage store like...

How much pickles would a bookstore sell if a bookstore could sell pickles? Devin and Andy visit and review Sweet Pickle Books , a used bookstore on Manhattan’s Lower East Side that also stocks pickles. Can a store cater to your cultural touchstones too precisely? Are used books inherently countercultural? How does merch fit into the bookstore experience? What psychology is at work on the Pay What...

Devin and Andy visit the closeout store Lot-Less , but they have a Lot-MORE to say about it! Are odd store layouts in old spaces charming or disorienting? When can addictiveness be pitched as a positive thing? Are Bonne Maman jam and Peanut Butter & Co peanut butter really discount store staples?? How important is lighting to a store experience? What’s the ideal subject for a novelty sock? (No...

Devin and Andy visit a few cannabis shops in New York City, both legal and unlicensed. What’s shopping like in this new & evolving market?  Is stoner culture a lure or deterrent to smoking? Were Midwestern elementary schools in the early 80’s right to make sure 10 year olds lived in fear of angel dust? Are legal dispensaries fun? Does store security make you feel exasperated, or secure? Why ar...

Devin and Andy discuss and rate their visit to Hershey's Chocolate World in NYC, after a stop at the Krispy Kreme Flagship . How is a donut like cole slaw? How important are those fun-size bars Hershey hands out at the door? Can you tell if the employee vibe is genuine? Can fractals be explained by the point-of-purchase line at Hershey's, and vice-versa? Are these the most reasonable price...

Devin and Andy discuss and rate their visit to the LEGO Store in Manhattan's Rockefeller Center, one of around 100 LEGO stores in the US. Does the store do justice to the brand? When you step barefoot on a LEGO now, are you really stepping into a tradition, a community? Are we at Peak Lego? Is it okay to call them "Legos"? Were did all the hat and hair pieces in the minifig bins go?...

Devin and Andy discuss and rate their visit to the Nintendo Store in Rockefeller Center. Is going to Ace’s Pizza like visiting The Oracle? What would John D. Rockefeller make of the disappearance of public seating in the center bearing his name? Should candy cigarettes be more realistic-looking? What can we divine from the curious balance of TV show merch at the NBC store? What if you could actual...

Devin and Andy discuss and rate their time browsing the online marketplace  Temu . Is this whole site a dream? If so, who or what is doing the dreaming? Amazon? The web itself? The year 1987? An old comic book prize page that got mixed up with some infomercial DNA? Are you more in the market for tiny spy cameras, or tiny spy camera detectors? Does this site contain the absolute zenith of melon-sli...

Devin and Andy visit an Old Navy store around Halloween, but there's a lot of Xmas merchandise, so it feels like the winter holiday season. Do we miss when Old Navy had lunch counters, and sold sweaters packaged like ground beef? Are all the dad styles here for dads, or for kids biting dad style? Will Andy find a way to mention Razzles in every episode? Will Devin's theory about Simpson&#3...