Unpacking Peanuts

Latest Episodes:

1996 Part 1- The Strange Death of Tapioca Pudding Apr 22, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, the guys have a long discussion about what makes Peanuts work, and how Schulz’s presence is felt in the strip. Can that be the key to understanding Peanuts? Or is it possible we’re overthinking this? Meanwhile, Rerun provides some of the strip’s best moments. Charlie Brown is still up all night. And Spike is still fighting in the trenches. Plus: Charlie Brown has a thing for redheads.

Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com

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 follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.

Thanks for listening.

1995 Part 3 - The Outer Space Adventures of Woodstock and Spike Apr 15, 2025

Show notes

Woodstock goes to the moon and it makes Michael’s head hurt. Cheating is rampant at Peppermint Patty’s school, but no one seems to mind. And Schulz predicts the world of print on demand. Plus: An all time record on the anger/happiness index.

Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com

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 follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.

Thanks for listening.

1995 Part 2 - Woodstock is Emotionally Bankrupt! Apr 08, 2025

Show notes

Woodstock is at his wit’s end, and all his pal Snoopy can do is muse on Fitzgerald. Rerun shows us more facets of his ever expanding personality. Meanwhile Linus’s struggle for security rages on. Plus: Some Enchanted Evening

Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com

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 follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.

Thanks for listening.

1995 Part 1 - At Long Last, Charlie Brown is the Hero Apr 01, 2025

Show notes

When a kid from another neighborhood takes advantage of the guileless Rerun, Charlie Brown steps up to defend him. Elsewhere, Sally is still Sally, Lucy still loves Schroeder, and Schulz fights through his tremor. Plus: Al Capp

Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com

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 follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.

Thanks for listening.

Special Episode: Slide, Charlie Brown! Slide! Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

Hey, batta batta! It’s baseball time again, and the gang discusses one of Michael’s favorite Peanuts sequences and Jimmy fails to find Harold a favorite team. Join us as we explore the story that inspired the rarely seen “Charlie Brown’s All Stars!” Plus: Here’s a question…Why?

Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com

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 follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.

Thanks for listening.

With Lynn Johnston, Creator of For Better or For Worse Mar 18, 2025

Show notes

The world famous cartoonist of For Better or For Worse drops by to reminisce about her friendship with Charles Schulz, her career as a top syndicated cartoonist, and the time she walked a mile in Sparky’s shoes! It was an honor to have Ms. Johnston on the show, and we are thrilled to share this wide ranging conversation with you all! Plus: I’ll see you in the Louvre

Read For Better of For Worse at https://www.fborfw.com/

Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com

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 follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.

Thanks for listening.

With Judy "Snoopy" Sladky Mar 11, 2025

Show notes

Judy Sladky, champion ice dancer and the person hand-picked by Charles Schulz to portray Snoopy, skates into the Unpacking Peanuts studio. Judy shares stories from her decades of performing as her canine alter ego, and gives us a glimpse into her friendship with Charles Schulz. Plus: Cute Strike Zones

Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com

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 follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.

Thanks for listening.

With Rheta Grimsley Johnson, Author of Good Grief Mar 04, 2025

Show notes

We welcome the author of the Charles Schulz biography Good Grief, Rheta Grimsley Johnson, to the show. Rheta discusses working on the book, discovering the real Little Red-Haired Girl, and watching Schulz create the strip. Then, the gang analyses Rheta’s favorite Peanuts strips. Plus: She tells the harrowing story of the attempted kidnapping of Jeannie Schulz!

Rheta's books are available at the University of Georgia Press - ugapress.org
Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz is available on Amazon

Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com

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 follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.

Thanks for listening.

Wrap Up Season 10: Snoopy and Woodstock, and Calvin and Hobbes Feb 25, 2025

Show notes

In the wrap up of our latest season, the guys talk about the many changes to Schulz’s work throughout this period, reflect on the reality of artists aging, and then take a good long look at the differences and similarities between the work of Charles Schulz and Bill Watterson. Plus: Dick Van Dyke

Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com

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 follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.

Thanks for listening.

1994 Part 4 - Good Ol’ Down in the Dirt Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Comics Feb 18, 2025

Show notes

Olaf and Andy are becoming their own unique comedy team. The falling leaf makes its poetic return, and Charlie Brown is possibly hypnotized by Lucy’s trickery. Plus: A Half Inch Blanket of Outing Flannel

Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com

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 follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.

Thanks for listening.

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