It's a Podcast, Charlie Brown

IT'S A PODCAST, CHARLIE BROWN episode 54! A GREAT episode for a GOOD man! The good man in question is, of course, our man Chuck Brown. We talk about the history of iconic stage musical YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN. We cover the original 1966 "concept" album to the 1967 off-Broadway production, to Broadway, to TV (including the 1985 animate feature) and beyond.  We also have a "Random Strip of...

Welcome to IT'S A PODCAST, CHARLIE BROWN, episode 53. Hurry up and listen, then clear your schedules, everybody! There's a new book coming out September 22 with the simple, but no less enticing, title THE PEANUTS BOOK. You are going to want to own and read this one! And this month on the podcast, we've got the book's author Simon Beecroft! We talk about the book, Schulz and Peanuts. We also talk a...

I really need a giant mug of root beer right now. Or maybe Schroeder's mom's slipper full of root beer. (You'll understand after you listen.) So, here's the thing. The recording of episode 52 went just fine. The post-production? Not so much. BUT, we got the episode out, though you'll notice the audio is glitchy in some places. Sorry about that. The good news is...SNOOPY'S GETTING MARRIED, CHARLIE...

Episode 51 of IT'S A PODCAST, CHARLIE BROWN is one for the history books! No, sorry, I meant, it's an episode about how "Peanuts" was shaped by the history happening around it and how "Peanuts" itself IS history. Our guest, historian BLAKE SCOTT BALL, has many thoughts. His forthcoming book is titled: "Charlie Brown's America". We've also got a Random Strip of the Month and an episode of "Peanuts...

EPISODE 50! We made it! Because people think numbers ending in "5" and "0" are significant, and, let's say, in honor of the Peanuts secondary player "5" and because, as Peppermint Patty tells Franklin, "In answer to your question, Franklin, I think we know who the ZERO is..." we thought this month we'd talk to a man steeped in the 70 year (another number ending in zero) history of our favorite com...

This month in episode 49, we're losing our marbles. No worries, though because we can still have our cake and eat it too. From 2006, we're watching "He's a Bully, Charlie Brown" and from 1997, we've got "It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown". Will these provide the best viewing experience every or will we have to be bullied into finishing them? We've also got a review of the "Peanuts by Sch...

Now that Easter is over and you've had a chance to clean up the mess from the Easter Bunny lobbing eggs over your fence in deference to social distancing, here's episode 48 of the podcast to relax with. We've got an interview with Gini Holtzman who, back in the day, provided the voice for "Peppermint Patty" in a number of TV episodes, including "Snoopy's Reunion" and the iconic "It's Flashbeagle,...

Springtime. And the livin' is easy! Okay, actually things are kind of brutal out there right now. But that makes this the perfect time to self-medicate with more PEANUTS! And episode 47 is just the tonic you need! From 1992, we're watching IT'S SPRING TRAINING, CHARLIE BROWN where Mr. Hennessey from CHARLIE BROWN'S ALL-STARS (episode 1!) offers new uniforms to the baseball team. Yay!  All Chuck an...

February's episode 46 is sweet like the box of candy you and Sally Brown wish your valentine had gotten you. We're watching 1975's BE MY VALENTINE, CHARLIE BROWN and a short documentary extra called "Unlucky in Love: An Unrequited Love Story". Splash on some shaving lotion from your heart-shaped bottle and join us! We also have a Random Strip of the Month and a Peanuts by Schulz short called "Tenn...

Greetings, fellow blockheads! Welcome to episode 45! A new year, a new episode. What more could you ask for? This month, we've got a special guest. William Johnson is the author of the forthcoming book "A History of Peanuts on Parade", a life-long Peanuts fan, and an occasional Chik-Fil-A cow. I had many questions about these things. Tune in to hear many answers.  We've also got a Random Strip of...

Christmastime is here! Happiness and cheer! Fun for all that children call... IT'S A PODCAST, CHARLIE BROWN ep. 44! This month, Samantha Claus (you'll have to listen to understand) brings "Sparky" playwright Jack McManus back to the show. We'll be discussing the 2002 TV episode "Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales". Also, unlike poor Sally's dollhouse bicycle, you'll also find under your podcast tree...

Phew! After many technical glitches, episode 43 is here. Sorry about the lost five minutes in the second half of the show. Try to enjoy! The TV episodes featured in episode 43 find Charlie Brown first trying to get rid of one of the Peanuts gang - Lucy - and then trying to bring one into the fold - Snoopy. In the end, of course, the Peanuts universe rights itself and Peanuts Town is harmonious onc...

This month, much like the Pied Piper himself, episode 42 of the podcast will lure you away from all those other shows with a mesmerizing spell of Peanuts goodness. Wait, in that metaphor, that makes you all a bunch of rats. Never mind. *ahem* Anyway, we're watching IT'S THE PIED PIPER, CHARLIE BROWN, a year 2000 (!) direct-to-video release; the first after Schulz died. We also say goodbye to THE C...

Good grief! This month in episode 41 of the podcast, actor Brad Kesten learns the danger of reaching out to podcasters and saying things like (a) I really like your show and (b) I was the voice of Charlie Brown on TV. When you do that, you end up getting drafted to be on the show. Brad was the voice of Charlie Brown for most of the run of "The Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show", in "It's Flashbeagle, Ch...

This month in episode 40, the Peanuts kids are headed off to camp! RACE FOR YOUR LIFE, CHARLIE BROWN from 1977 is the third big screen outing for the Peanuts and they set sail on troubled waters. Raft races! Bullies! Dangerous waterfalls! Sweet motorcycles! Bears that knock first! You're gonna need Velcro (brand fastener) on your popcorn bag, otherwise the tension is gonna make you drop your snack...

In the 1980s, Charles Schulz and his son Monte Schulz set out to create the "Citizen Kane" of Peanuts specials. The result was 1988's IT'S THE GIRL IN THE RED TRUCK, CHARLIE BROWN.  In this special, scripted by the two Schulzes, we find animated cartoon Spike wandering around live-action Needles, California - ala "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" - where he meets up with Jenny, played by Schulz daughter...

Playwright Jack McManus returns to the podcast this month to discuss one of his favorite Peanuts specials: "Why, Charlie Brown, Why?" from 1990. This first TV special of the 90's arose out of Schulz's desire to honestly talk to kids about cancer. One of the Peanuts kids is diagnosed with leukemia and we follow the others as they process this information. It's a heavy episode. Does it manage to bot...

It's time to start the music! It's time to light the lights! It's time to get things started on the....oh, wait. That's the Muppet Show. Anyway , we're talking about the 1988 animated version of SNOOPY THE MUSICAL on the podcast this month. So, to be clear: there was a comic strip called "Peanuts" (you may have heard of it) that became a stage show called SNOOPY THE MUSICAL, which, in turn, was tu...

On episode 36, it's the return of author/illustrator Jason Yungbluth! Several months ago, Jason appeared on the show and offhandedly commented that his "favorite" Peanuts special is the 1976 "IT'S ARBOR DAY, CHARLIE BROWN". So...I invited him back to the show to defend that dubious position. That'll teach him to express an opinion! We also have a Random Strip of the Month and a review of a "Peanut...

Greetings, fellow blockheads! IT'S A PODCAST, CHARLIE BROWN Episode 35 is here! Just so you're not confused, I messed with the schedule this month and not just because this episode is dropping a day late. We've still got a random strip of the month. We've still got a "Peanuts by Schulz" short (this one is called "Reach for the Stars"). We even still have episode 17 (the penultimate one!) of "The C...

This month, episode 34 is booting one through the ol' uprights with not one but TWO football themed episodes.  First up is IT'S YOUR FIRST KISS, CHARLIE BROWN from 1977. Charlie Brown's kicking prowess is all that stands between victory and defeat in the big Homecoming game. (Never mind that this is usually a high school thing. Peppermint Patty has a game to win!) Will the Little-Red-Haired-Girl-t...

This month on the podcast, all of the Peanuts secrets are revealed... Okay, not really. But we do have a conversation with Benjamin Clark, curator of the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California. Benjamin gives us some insight into the daily life of a curator, how exhibits are put together, and a LOT of exciting things coming up in coming years. I even asked him, as t...

Good grief, happy holidays, everybody! Episode 32, IT'S CHRISTMASTIME AGAIN, CHARLIE BROWN, was just too darn big for one podcaster, so I called in a partner. Paul Johnson, host of "Total Stickcast" and a new show, "The Happy News Podcast" drops by. Together, we woof, meow, moo, whatever (you'll get that after this episode) through this story as Christmas commercialism gets revenge on Charlie Brow...

This month, we've got author/illustrator Jason Yungbluth talking about his post-apocalyptic take on adult versions of the Peanuts gang in "Weapon Brown". We've also got September 1985 the fifteenth episode of "The Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show", which isn't apocalyptic, but does feature Charlie Brown in a pelican costume. So there's that. We've also got another "Random Strip of the Month" (make sure...

The first one to catch that in the intro to this month's podcast I call this episode 29, when it is in fact episode 30, wins ONE MILLION DOLLARS. Oh, hey! I won! Oh, but I don't have a million dollars.... Anyway, we've got a pleasingly odd episode this month. From 1985, we dive into season two of "The Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show" with episode 14. I don't know what sort of medication Schulz, Melend...