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PODCAST

Unpacking Peanuts

Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, Liz Sumner

The show where three cartoonists take an in-depth look at the greatest comic strip of all time-- Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. Undeniably one of the most influential cartoonists in history, Unpacking Peanuts examines Schulz’s contributions to art, storytelling, and pop culture. Hosts Jimmy Gownley, Harold Buchholz, and Michael Cohen bring their lifelong love and admiration of Peanuts to the conversation. The interaction between the hosts is genuinely funny and insightful as they discuss the strip’s

arts visual arts

All Episodes

74:46

Mean Girls 3 - Now 33% Meaner

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/09/22

The gang expands their scope, and looks at mean girls throughout the Peanuts run, including Lucy, Frieda, and Good ol’ Molly Volley.Aaron Forringer's story: https://shorturl.at/sbsOh Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza

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79:55

Mean Girls 2 - How Much is Mean and How Much is Just...

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/09/08

Our exploration into the sassiest, snarkiest, twosome in all of Peanuts: Patty (original recipe) and Violet continues. These two may be mean, but they are also hilarious. But are they worse on their own, or together? Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen

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75:52

Mean Girls 1 - Patty and Violet: Conformity Police

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/08/25

Michael curates a delightfully mean collection of some early Peanuts strips featuring two of Peanuts strongest (and meanest) personalities: the original Patty, and good ol’ Violet Grey.Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Paul Hebert's article: A World Where Rage Was Funny and Insecurity Was Loveable: Peanuts, Doonesbury and the Long 1960s. https://shorturl.at/I6Qvk Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy

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64:14

Cartoonists’ Salute to Schulz!

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/08/11

Just five short months after Charles Schulz’s passing, the top cartoonists in the field dedicated a day of their own strips to remembering Sparky. The gang looks at Peanuts tribute strips by Jim Davis (Garfield) Aaron McGruder (Boondocks) Cathy Guisewite (Cathy) and more.See the Go Comics article: https://www.gocomics.com/profile/OfficialGoComics/collections/44986 Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at

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83:07

With Neil Cohn - Author of Speaking In Pictures

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/07/28

We talk with Neil Cohn, an Eisner-nominated cognitive scientist who looks at how our brains perceive comics. His latest book, Speaking in Pictures, challenges the conventional understandings of how pictures communicate, how people learn to draw, and the nature of language itself. And Peanuts was fundamental to his ground-breaking research. https://www.visuallanguagelab.com/ @neilcohn.bsky.social @thevisuallinguist on Instagram Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and

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83:11

Charles M. Schulz and the Seven Deadly Sins of...

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/07/14

In 1980 Legendary Captain Marvel artist C.C. Beck created his personal list of “The Seven Deadly Sins of Comics Creators.” In this episode the gang discuss Beck’s manifesto and see if and how it applies to Schulz's work.Shout out to TwoMorrows.com and AlterEgo for this article: https://www.twomorrows.com/alterego/articles/06sins.html Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy

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57:24

You Don’t Look 250, Snoopy

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/07/04

The gang celebrates the USA’s birthday by looking at one of the latest iterations of Snoopy’s alter egos…The Revolutionary War patriot. UP Recommends: The American Revolution by Ken Burns Super Context Podcast: An autopsy of media Gunsmoke on the radio Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen,

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61:05

Sidekicks and Second Bananas Episode 4 - Shermy: Just...

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/06/23

The straight man of all straight men gets an episode all to himself. Will the gang finally crack the code on this beloved figure of Peanuts past? Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark. For more from the show

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54:01

Sidekicks and Second Bananas Episode 3 - Roy: A Good...

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/06/09

Finally, it’s come to this: The Roy episode. Roy befriends both Charlie Brown and Linus at camp. And if that’s not exciting enough, old people talk about how neat telephones were. But maybe his main raison d'être is to introduce the world to the swinging-est character ever - Peppermint Patty.Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and

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54:24

Sidekicks and Second Bananas Episode 2: She's Eudorable!

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/05/26

Sally’s pal Eudora finally gets a turn in the spotlight, as the gang revisits her debut sequence from 1978 and finds a fun and unique character who still feels modern. Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark. For

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58:02

Feel a Little Freedom: Snoopy and the Beagle Scouts

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/05/12

We start our look at the bit players in Peanuts in this new season of “Sidekicks and Second Bananas.” In this episode Bill, Olivier, Harriet, Conrad, and Woodstock get to shake their tail feathers in the spotlight.Mentioned in the Mailbox: Health Capsules by Dr. Michael A. Petti and cartoonist Jud Hurd https://www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2022/06/02/health-capsules-1961-2022/ Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at

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83:48

I’m Just Pretending It Never Happened! The Weirdest...

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/04/28

The gang takes a cockeyed look at the Peanuts strips that make you go “hmmm.” From Charlie Brown sharpening himself to the beauty of a girl named Truffles, it doesn’t get weirder than this.Strips we discuss and the original episode names: Truffles - March 31 & April 1, 1975 - 1975 Part 1 Spike and Woodstock on the Moon - October 6, 1995 - 1995 Part 1 Pencil Sharpener - January 25, 1990 - 1990 Part 1 Tapioca Pudding - September 4, 1986 - 1986 Part 1 School Building - January 8-9, 1976 - 1976

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70:08

The Family Van Pelt Episode 6 - All in the Valley of...

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/04/14

Re-Run arrives and struggles to assimilate into the family for the next twenty years. Lucy is still a grouch. Sally still loves Linus. And speaking of consistency, which Peanuts characters changed the least? The gang investigates. Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by

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25:18

Sittin' In the Mailbox #2

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/04/07

It’s a fun-sized mailbag bonus episode! Listeners ask us probing questions like whose is the adorable voice behind our introduction, and tell us stuff we never knew like there is a plush version of Snoopy as Mister T. Plus more great business suggestions for Sony.Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and

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62:49

The Family Van Pelt Episode 5 - A Really Squiggly...

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/03/31

Linus is doing the St. Francis shtick, but that doesn’t stop him from playing a mean shortstop. The gang discusses Schulz’s ability to layer contradictory elements to create some of the richest characters in comics.Here's a link to our episode about the football strips: https://tinyurl.com/footballstrips Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen,

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80:59

It’s An Anniversary Show, Charlie Brown!

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/03/17

The gang celebrates four years of podcasting about Beagles and Blockheads by looking at a totally random group of Peanuts strips, and even a few non-Peanuts strips too! Here's to many more years of joy discussing Charles Schulz's masterpiece.Random Non-Peanuts Strips are posted in the Obscurities section of the website. Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley,

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73:15

The Family Van Pelt Episode 4 - Old People Who Happen...

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/03/03

Lucy torments Linus with a call to their blanket-hating grandma. She explains that to be a good brother he has to work at it, and he succeeds with a bowl of ice cream. A new segment is revealed, “Hangin’ Out at the Thinkin’ Wall.” This week the guys discuss Snoopy before resuming the season-long look at the Van Pelt Family. Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Listener Joshua Stauffer's new podcast

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59:21

The Family Van Pelt Episode 3 - The Goofy Dynamics...

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/02/17

Linus’s original struggle for security is with Lucy… and was it her blanket originally?! Plus Linus learns the difference between tv and reality in language he can understand.Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla

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72:57

The Family Van Pelt Episode 2 - Big Kids Drive Me Crazy

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/02/03

Linus is bringing out Lucy’s inner Lucy, yet somehow his head remains undented. In this episode, the Van Pelt kids’ personalities are slowly coming into focus… No wonder Linus needs that blanket!Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store. Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by

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83:14

The Family Van Pelt Episode 1 - Schulz Tackles a Baby!

Unpacking Peanuts ·

2026/01/20

It’s a new season on Unpacking Peanuts, as the gang begins a long look at everyone’s favorite venerable grade schoolers: Linus, Lucy, and Rerun Van Pelt. In this first episode, we review the earliest episodes featuring two of Charles Schulz' beloved characters, and the seeds of greatness have already been sown.Harold interviewed by Ted Koppel: https://youtu.be/DwsY4agO2qs?si=4Gf05kzociyR2cuI Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at

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