Unpacking Peanuts

Spooky Season is upon us, and Harold, Michael, and Jimmy are taking a special episode long look at the Great Pumpkin, both in the strip and the animated special. They highlight the themes and origins…

The guys discuss the profound way in which Schulz engages and honors his readers on their own terms. Meanwhile, in the strip, Linus is patting birds on the head, Sally can’t deal with kindergarten, a…

Schulz continues to explore longer stories and more subtle emotions, as Linus (briefly) gets glasses, Lucy and Schroeder bicker, and Snoopy experiences a winter of loss. Luckily, it doesn’t affect hi…

It’s a special day for Unpacking Peanuts. Charlie Brown and Lucy are here! We welcome voice actors Melanie Kohn and Duncan Watson to the show. They discuss their time spent as Peanuts’ star players, …

The most famous character never drawn (the movies don’t count, you blockhead!) makes her first non-appearance, and it’s a heartbreaker. Then Schulz writes a few anti-hallmark cards, and three goofbal…

The character of Charlie Brown is deepening as Schulz explores more subtle shades of emotion. Meanwhile, in the Van Pelt household tempers are wearing thin, and in Chicago It’s full on gang warfare a…

Jimmy expands on his theory of how Charles Schulz is a character in Peanuts. Michael talks to leaves, and Harold gets his first comic book! Plus: Liz Phair, and Alan Moore, and Mort Sahl, and Gertrud…

It’s the Swinging Sixties, and Linus wants to be all love! But Lucy might have a nefarious plan to thwart him. Meanwhile, Snoopy endures the Icicle of Damocles, while in the real world Schulz meets H…

Harold, Jimmy and Michael welcome cartoonist and musician Todd Webb to the show! Todd is the creator of the critically acclaimed daily strip The Poet, and the creative force behind the music of Seamo…

We wrap up the fabulous 50’s with a look at how far we have come! Michael, Harold, and Jimmy pick their favorite year of strips so far, answer the mail, and take a peek at a great “lost” influence on…

While Charlie Brown is succeeding as a brother, Linus is ranting about someone called “The Great Pumpkin.” When he’s not fawning over his beloved teacher Miss Othmar that is. Plus: Sally smooches Lin…

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…

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 ver…

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 …

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 t…

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 …

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…

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.

Transcrip…

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 …

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 …