Unpacking Peanuts

Sally Brown is born! Will becoming a big brother change Charlie Brown for the better, or is it just going to derail his baseball career? Also, Lucy starts a new business…as the gang’s gruff therapist of course! But is five cents too much for her “advice?” Plus: Schulz provides others a shelter from the storm. Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley...

Have you ever had to try to glue crayons together? Linus has. Jimmy tells more vaguely troubling childhood anecdotes, and Lucy thinks Charlie Brown is a spy. Meanwhile, back in 1958 it’s Liberals versus Conservatives as everything new is old again. Plus: Is Happiness Overrated? Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buch...

Jimmy asks: What is art for? Linus becomes a fanatic. Lucy loves Schroeder. Violet admires her dad, and Snoopy starts a very weird trend. Be sure to tell your pencil pal that it’s another great year of comics from Charles M. Schulz. Plus: Hi-Fi’s and Hula Hoops.   Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced...

We welcome the host of the OG Peanuts podcast, It’s a Podcast, Charlie Brown, William Pepper. William gives us the lowdown on his long running show and then picks his Fab Five Peanuts strips of all time! Plus: Does Lucy mean well? William Pepper's work available at Carnival of Glee Creations https://www.carnivalofgleecreations.com/ Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is...

Harold, Michael and Jimmy discuss what makes Schulz’s art different from contemporaries like Mort Walker or Dik Brown. Michael unlocks one of the secret Peanuts joke formulas, and we check in on the Good ol’ Angerometer. Plus: What a Team! Good Grief! Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced and edited b...

Charles Schulz is loosening up and branching out. He even hires his friend, good ol’ Jim Sasseville and launches a second strip. Meanwhile, Lucy is torn between the desire to create and the desire to destroy. Plus: Do polar bears get cold? Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner...

Charlie Brown’s kite is stuck in a tree… for a week! We take a long look at this rarely seen series of strips that Schulz himself considered a high water mark. Plus: Bug watching with Lucy. Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by...

Lucy presents some little known facts and Linus figures some things out. There are a lot of kids in the Schulz household, and it’s fueling a whole bunch of hilarious comics. Plus: Charlie Brown gets what he wants… or does he? Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Mic...

We are halfway through the first decade of Peanuts, and It’s been a thrill to watch Charles Schulz develop his strip from humble beginnings to the cusp of greatness. In this finale episode, we recap where we have been so far and hint at where we go next in the world of Peanuts. Plus: We answer the mail!   Unpacking Peanuts Season Two begins June 14th Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Un...

It’s a year filled with classic jokes and classical music, but Charlie Brown’s stomach hurts and it’s all Lucy’s fault. Yet while Charlie Brown steps back, the rest of the gang rise to the moment. Plus: Jimmy reveals his pick for the GOAT Peanuts strip. Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced by Liz Sum...

Schulz is living the posh life in Minnesota while willing Peanuts to ever greater heights. It’s the era of big laughs and big jaws, and Snoopy is busting out…and kinda ticked off! Plus: Snow comes UP, you blockhead. Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additiona...

Jimmy unleashes an outlandish Peanuts conspiracy theory as we investigate the strangest sequence in all of Peanuts when Lucy hits the links with … adults?? Plus: Braun… Charlotte Braun.

Slick and ever-tightening cartooning mixed with some beautiful detail and a touch of the surreal is the look of the year for Schulz, and his cast of characters are growing richer and more complex as they feel unrequited love, sibling rivalry and more. Plus: Violet is ahead of her time! Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Har...

Linus is growing up fast. Also, how to become a virtuoso the Charles Schulz way, and more discussion about the letter “W” than is allowed in most municipalities. Plus: Filthy! Grimy! Children!

As Schulz world continues to grow both in life and within the panels of Peanuts, Jimmy, Michael, and Harold reflect on the influence of Schulz on their own process. Also Peanuts versus the Photorealists, the definition of fussbudget and variations on the theme of cruelty. Plus: Harold Googlestomps on Jimmy’s “research!” 

Join us as we chat with accomplished cartoonist, and Editorial Director of the Charles M. Schulz Studio, Alexis Fajardo! We discuss Lex’s two decades of work as the creator of the popular Kid Beowulf series as well as his work helping to produce Peanuts books for the world, and his top five Peanuts strips. Plus: A Peppermint Preview!   Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts...

It’s the first appearance of Snoopy the mimic!  And he may be the most complex character in the history of western literature, but he’ll always be Lucy’s baby brother to us… Linus is here!   Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shuk...

PEANUTS EVERY SUNDAY! Peanuts gets a Sunday page, and Charles Schulz comes out swinging. Interesting developments on the Snoopy watch, and Jimmy and Michael get a joke decades later than they should have, and the introduction of one of the icons of Peanuts… Lucy Van Pelt. Plus: Snoopy goes to the Electric Chair!   Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com   Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy...

Charles Schulz spends his first year as a full-time cartoonist exploring the form, and honing his themes. Little gags, little folks, and toy pianos are where it’s at in '51,  but is this new girl Violet good… or evil? Plus: What is up with this dog?

It’s all the best, the funniest, and the firsts as we go through the strips of Peanuts’ first full year. We touch on the deepening of Schulz’s craft and themes, the influence of UPA animation, plus: the Zen of Charlie Brown.

Peanuts is the greatest comic strip of all time, and three cartoonists, Jimmy Gownley (Amelia Rules! & 7 Good Reasons Not to Grow Up) Harold Buchholz (Mystery Science Theater, Sweetest Beasts) and Michael Cohen (Strange Attractors, Tangled River) are reading the whole thing! Join them as they discuss Charles Schulz’ comic strip masterpiece year by year starting with the very first strip on Oct 2....

We do a deep dive into the first few months of the Peanuts comic strip, as Charles Schulz and Charlie Brown begin their epic journey together. We meet our hero Good Ol’ Charlie Brown, his pals Patty and Shermy. Plus: A cute little pup named Snoopy. Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com   Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz. Produced by Liz Sumner...

Unpacking Peanuts begins next week! Join Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Jimmy Gownley on their great Peanuts Re-Read, and enjoy this special sneak peak at an upcoming episode.

Welcome to Unpacking Peanuts, the show where three cartoonists take an in-depth look at the greatest comic strip of all time-- Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. Hosted by Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz Coming March 15, 2022