You Don’t Know Peanuts - The Untold Stories

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Unique Program Brings Snoopy Art to Hospitals Around the World Feb 11, 2025

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Since 1984, The Foundation for Hospital Art has been dedicated to softening the hospital environment with colorful paintings, wall murals and ceiling tiles. Over 1,000,000 volunteers and patients have united to create over 53,000 paintings for over 8,500 hospitals in 195 countries.
Peanuts Worldwide has teamed up with the foundation to bring Snoopy, Woodstock, Charlie Brown and the whole Peanuts gang to hospitals around the world - including Antarctica!

Jeannie Schulz: The Woman Behind the Man Behind Peanuts Feb 04, 2025

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Did Charles Schulz tell lots of jokes? Did he enjoy a good prank? What kind of humor made him LOL? Hear the behind-the-scenes stories about his sense of humor when we talk with Charles' wife, Jeannie Schulz. Jeannie shares some of her late husband's favorite jokes and how something as serious as War and Peace impacted the Peanuts comics. Jeannie also talks about how Sparky was a master at the pace of the four-panel strip, included serious topics in his daily strips while still making them funny, and why he hated the name Peanuts for his comic strip.

The Secret History (and Superfandom) Behind Charles Schulz’s Long Relationship with Hallmark Dec 17, 2024

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Hallmark and Peanuts have sold over one billion Peanuts greeting cards worldwide since their introduction in 1960. This partnership also helped produce the popular Snoopy plush dolls and the iconic Snoopy for President campaign. Peanuts podcast hosts Melissa Menta and David Templeton talk to Hallmark archivist and historian Samantha Bradbeer Stephens about the longstanding friendship between Hallmark founder and Peanuts superfan Arnold Shapiro and Charles Schulz.

How Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the Other Peanuts Characters Transformed Public Art Worldwide Dec 10, 2024

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The Peanuts Global Artist Collective is an unprecedented global initiative in which the beloved Peanuts characters have been brought to life in new and exciting ways for the public to experience. The project was first launched in the spring of 2018 with seven murals in New York City and then expanded to numerous cities worldwide. Podcast hosts Melissa Menta and David Templeton talk to Brazilian artist Eli Sudbrack, one of the artists who participated in the initiative.

The Origin Story of Franklin: How the First Black Peanuts Character Met the Gang Dec 03, 2024

Show notes

For the first 18 years of the Peanuts comic strip — from 1950 until 1968 — all the characters looked mostly the same: They were all white kids.

Then, with the nation battling civil unrest, a cartoon boy named Franklin changed everything.

Hear about what inspired the 1968 creation of Franklin and how he was brought into the Peanuts gang.

Melissa and David talk about Franklin’s enduring legacy and speak with Marissa Nance, CEO of Native Tongue Communications.

The trio also discusses The Armstrong Project, which provides training, connections, and scholarships to encourage more people of color to participate in animation. Learn how the project started and how Rob Armstrong, the cartoonist and friend of Charles Schulz, inspired the character Franklin's last name.

The Story Behind ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ Nov 26, 2024

Show notes

Nothing about the holiday comic strip brought to life was conventional — from its jazz soundtrack and Bible verse to the child actors used to voice the now-classic Christmas classic. For over 50 years, we’ve been part of Charlie’s seasonal depression, Lucy’s pageant and the puny but perfect little tree wrapped by Linus’ blanket.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" was the first of many Peanuts animated TV specials, movies and series.

Learn what it took to get “A Charlie Brown Christmas” on the air from insider Jason Mendelson, son of Peanuts legend Lee Mendelson. Lee produced "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and even wrote the lyrics to the famous theme song.

As a child, Jason voiced several Peanuts characters and has countless stories about the holiday special and the show’s beloved music, including the bumpy path it took to get the music just right.

The Untold Story Behind The Macy’s Day Parade Peanuts Balloons - What it Takes for Snoopy to Soar Nov 18, 2024

Show notes

How do they make those giant balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City? How do they keep them from flying away? How many times has Snoopy been part of the parade. What about Charlie Brown? Will Linus ever get his balloon?

Melissa and David get the inside scoop from Will Coss, vice president and executive producer of branded entertainment at Macy's. Will shares some of the outrageous inside details few people know - “Inflation Eve,” anyone? - and he even talks about what happened during last year’s parade when part of the Beagle Scout Snoopy deflated. He walks us through the design process for a new balloon idea and what it takes to make a balloon actually "fly.” He also shares fun behind-the-scenes stories about the “Peanuts” parade balloons, including some Charles Schulz designed himself.

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