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.
Latest episodes
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39 min
Scary Good Posters - The Thing and Creature from the Black Lagoon (Classic)
Since it’s October, we’re digging up one of our classic horror episodes for you here in the bar.Now that we’re thinking about it, if you don’t get your share of shock and terror fr…
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44 min
Comfort Food Personalities - Chef Boyardee and Orville Redenbacher
Today we continue our conversation about food products named for real people. We've moved out of the restaurant and into the grocery store to see what pop culture deliciousness awa…
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44 min
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 — a certain in…
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58 min
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 pi…
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33 min
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 kitsc…
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34 min
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. Today we’re taking a trip through the looking glass. We return to our…
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47 min
Signs of the Times - Barber Poles and Pawn Broker Balls
We’re revisiting one of our classic episodes. There are visual icons that have symbolized professions for so long their origin stories are unknown to the very customers served by t…
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46 min
Pop Culture Products - Wonka Bars and Duff Beer
Today we’re going to use our imaginations a little bit. We’ve brought a couple of interesting products with us to the bar...but not just any products. These two were originally cre…
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43 min
KISS, The Bicentennial and the Year 1976 (Classic Episode)
In honor of the nation’s 250th birthday, we’re revisiting one of our classic episodes. Why 1976? Plenty of reasons. We discuss each of our ages in this, the banner year our nation…
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44 min
Cult Products - TaB Soda and McDonald's Fried Apple Pie
Today we’re digging around in the backs of our minds and the pits of our stomachs to remember a couple of beloved food products. Ones that have cult followings and large groups of…
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47 min
Iconic Pop Culture Cars (Classic Episode)
We’re revisiting one of our classic episodes. While we don't recommend drinking and driving, we do recommend talking pop culture and cars while sitting safe and sound on a couple o…
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53 min
Visual Alphabets - Nautical Flags and American Sign Language
Signs, signs. Everywhere a sign. Today we’re going to be talking about a couple of colorful visual alphabets. Not typefaces, but the kinds of alphabets that are their own languages…
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1 h 05
Game Show Logos for The Gong Show and the Dating Game (Classic Episode)
We’re revisiting one of our classic episodes. Today we’re going to be talking about game show logos – the good, the bad and the ugly — and how sometimes all of those qualities coul…
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52 min
Fabric Patterns and the Stories Behind Camouflage and Paisley
There are some new tablecloths here in the bar, which has gotten us thinking about fabric patterns. Today we’re going to be talking about a couple of patterns that, if you don’t pe…
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36 min
Cups, Plates and Trophy Design
With March Madness wrapping-up and spring break calling, we’re revisiting one of our classic episodes. If you wander into any school, bar or thrift store, you're bound to see a col…
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41 min
Punk Meets Tech and New Wave is Born (Classic)
We’re revisiting one of our classic episodes. Bold colors. Funky haircuts. The Cold War and the Cola Wars. Video games and MTV. Japanese electronics and European fashion. Iconic mu…
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50 min
Homage Designs - A Poster for Swatch and an Orgy for Disney
Everyone says that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But if that were true, copyright law wouldn’t need to exist. We’re discussing a couple of items that could be called…
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33 min
Psychedelia Comes Down, Hangs Around and Gets Reinvented
For one last time, we’re delving into the depths of our expanded minds to talk about the impact of psychedelia on popular culture. We may have been at the bar a bit too long gettin…
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33 min
The 1960s and the Era of Peak Psychedelia
In our last episode we talked about the origins of psychedelia and learned about Bicycle Day celebrated every April. (Hint: it involved a lot of science and experimentation along w…
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33 min
The Origin Story of Psychedelia
Today we’re taking a trip through the looking glass. We’re kicking off our series on psychedelia with its origins, the impact on a generation of pop culture and its lasting effects…