Two Designers Walk Into a Bar | Podcast Guru

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Pop culture inspires some serious fun. Join hosts Todd Coats and Elliot Strunk, two creatively curious pals living between the bookends of grand museums and dive bars, the sweet spot where highbrow and lowbrow become drinking buddies. They talk influential work and uncover stories of how the familiar became iconic. Think Behind the Music for the stuff we love. ----- Visit https://www.twodesignerswalkintoabar.com/ for images, links, episode extras and more. ----- Two Designers Walk Into a Bar is part of the Evergreen Podcasts network.

Recent Episodes

Episode 142: Comfort Food Personalities - Bob Evans and Nathan Handwerker

A lot of chain restaurants and widely-known food products have real names and personalities behind them. Some of these businesses put their founders front and center while others stick with founders’ names even when the motivations for starting the business get lost as the times and brand stories change. Today we discuss a couple of our favorites: Bob Evans and Nathan Handwerker (you know, the hot dog guy).

43 MIN

Episode 141: Greetings from Two Designers - Postcards for Ham Radio and Our Nation's Landmarks

Postcards. Even in the age of instant communication, receiving a postcard in the mail is pretty fun. Friends checking-in from familiar haunts or destinations unknown with little pieces of mailed artwork. Today we’re discussing a couple of iconic types of postcards that have delivered surprise and delight to mailboxes for decades: QSL cards and the giant letter “Greetings From” souvenirs.

57 MIN

Episode 140: Dogs Playing Poker, Ernest P. Worrell and Pitchmen Going Pop (Classic Episode)

We're still on summer vacation, so we’re revisiting one of our classic episodes. Hey, Vern. In this episode we discuss how artwork advertising cigars became a cornerstone for kitsch and a character promoting local businesses became a movie star. What is the deal with dogs playing poker, anyway? And how did Ernest P. Worrell go from plugging local car lots in Nashville to saving Christmas in movie theaters across the country? We answer these questions and introduce you to what may be the coolest artist name in history.

32 MIN

Episode 139: The Origin Story of Psychedelia (Classic Episode)

With news of Ken Kesey’s bus Further returning to San Francisco, we’re revisiting one of our classic episodes. We return to our series kickoff on psychedelia by discussing its origins, the impact on a generation of pop culture and its lasting effects. Psychedelia’s origins are messy, fascinating, and full of odd little historical crosscurrents. We discuss science, bicycle rides and the first official album of psychedelic music.

33 MIN

Episode 138: Signs of the Times - Barber Poles and Pawn Broker Balls

There are signs that have symbolized professions for so long that their origin stories are unknown to the very customers served by them. Today we're discussing two of those symbols: barber poles and pawnbroker balls. Unless you’re truly in the middle of nowhere, you can find within minutes of where you live, work or both.

47 MIN