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Step into the technicolor world of PEZ!

We tour the Connecticut factory where more than 12 million tiny candies are pressed each day, guided by archivist Shawn Peterson, whose personal collection helped shape the Visitor Center.

Meet Brian Trauman, the Guinness World Record holder whose thousands of dispensers trace a lifetime of joyful obsession.

Hear Emily Tracy’s tender, funny, heartbreaking story about the PEZ tattoo she got to honor her mother.

And the hosts of PEZamania, the world’s largest PEZ convention, talk about how nostalgia and candy become community.

 

Suggested episodes:


Discovering delight - and despair - in dumpster diving


We have to talk about cuddle parties


Take a tour of the John Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal


Pawn queens: Tales and treasures from women pawn shop owners


Audacious at sea: Wisdom from strangers on a cruise ship

 

GUESTS: 


Shawn Peterson: Company archivist and historian at PEZ Candy, Inc. in Orange, CT. He manages the PEZ Visitor Center, where much of the collection on display comes from his own personal archive. He is also the author of PEZ: From Austrian Invention to American Icon and Collector’s Guide to PEZ: Identification and Price Guide


Brian Trauman: Owns the world's largest Pez collection and holds the Guinness World Record for “largest candy dispenser collection.” He has been collecting since 1999 and owns more than 6,400 dispensers 


Morgan Rhinehart and Landon Proctor: hosts of PEZamania in Ohio – the longest running collector convention in the world, established in 1991


Emily Tracy: Manchester resident who memorialized her PEZ-collecting mom with a tattoo of her head on top of a PEZ dispenser

Step into the technicolor world of PEZ!
We tour the Connecticut factory where more than 12 million tiny candies are pressed each day, guided by archivist Shawn Peterson, whose personal collection helped shape the Visitor Center.
Meet Brian Trauman, the Guinness World Record holder whose thousands of dispensers trace a lifetime of joyful obsession.
Hear Emily Tracy&rsquo;s tender, funny, heartbreaking story about the PEZ tattoo she got to honor her mother.
And the hosts of PEZamania, the world&rsquo;s largest PEZ convention, talk about how nostalgia and candy become community.
&nbsp;
Suggested episodes:
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf/2022-09-09/discovering-delight-and-despair-in-dumpster-diving">Discovering delight - and despair - in dumpster diving</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf/2023-02-10/we-have-to-talk-about-cuddle-parties">We have to talk about cuddle parties</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf/2023-10-27/haunted-artifacts-serial-killer-art-when-one-persons-treasure-is-another-ones-nightmare">Take a tour of the John Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf/2024-05-09/pawn-queens-tales-and-treasures-from-women-pawn-shop-owners">Pawn queens: Tales and treasures from women pawn shop owners</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf/2025-12-05/audacious-at-sea-wisdom-from-strangers-on-a-cruise-ship">Audacious at sea: Wisdom from strangers on a cruise ship</a>
</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
GUESTS:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>
Shawn Peterson: Company archivist and historian at PEZ Candy, Inc. in Orange, CT. He manages the <a href="https://us.pez.com/pages/hours-and-location">PEZ Visitor Center</a>, where much of the collection on display comes from his own personal archive. He is also the author of PEZ: From Austrian Invention to American Icon and Collector&rsquo;s Guide to PEZ: Identification and Price Guide
</li>
<li>
Brian Trauman: Owns the world's largest Pez collection and holds the Guinness World Record for &ldquo;<a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2023/8/this-man-owns-the-largest-pez-dispenser-collection-in-the-world-756767">largest candy dispenser collection</a>.&rdquo; He has been collecting since 1999 and owns more than 6,400 dispensers&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Morgan Rhinehart and Landon Proctor: hosts of <a href="https://www.pezamania.com/">PEZamania</a> in Ohio &ndash; the longest running collector convention in the world, established in 1991
</li>
<li>
Emily Tracy: Manchester resident who memorialized her PEZ-collecting mom with a tattoo of her head on top of a PEZ dispenser
</li>
</ul>

Audacious with Chion Wolf spotlights the stories of people whose experiences, professions, or conditions defy convention or are often misunderstood. Guided by deep curiosity and genuine compassion, the team behind Audacious creates space for the kinds of stories that rarely get told - and the kinds of questions we're often afraid to ask. From those speaking publicly for the very first time to voices already known around the world, every guest is met with care, and every story is honored as both deeply personal and profoundly human.

For more: ctpublic.org/audacious

Audacious with Chion Wolf spotlights the stories of people whose experiences, professions, or conditions defy convention or are often misunderstood. Guided by deep curiosity and genuine compassion, the team behind Audacious creates space for the kinds of stories that rarely get told - and the kinds of questions we're often afraid to ask. From those speaking publicly for the very first time to voices already known around the world, every guest is met with care, and every story is honored as both deeply personal and profoundly human.
For more: <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/audacious-with-chion-wolf">ctpublic.org/audacious</a>

Audacious with Chion Wolf spotlights the stories of people whose experiences, professions, or conditions defy convention or are often misunderstood. 

Audacious with Chion Wolf

Audacious with Chion Wolf spotlights the stories of people whose experiences, professions, or conditions defy convention or are often misunderstood.

Guided by deep curiosity and genuine compassion, the team behind Audacious creates space for the kinds of stories that rarely get told - and the kinds of questions we’re often afraid to ask. From those speaking publicly for the very first time to voices already known around the world, every guest is met with care, and every story is honored as both deeply personal and profoundly human.

Listen at ctpublic.org/audacious

Support is provided by a generous contribution from Suzanne Hopgood, in Memory of Frank Lord.

Audacious with Chion Wolf spotlights the stories of people whose experiences, professions, or conditions defy convention or are often misunderstood.
Guided by deep curiosity and genuine compassion, the team behind Audacious creates space for the kinds of stories that rarely get told - and the kinds of questions we&rsquo;re often afraid to ask. From those speaking publicly for the very first time to voices already known around the world, every guest is met with care, and every story is honored as both deeply personal and profoundly human.
Listen at <a href="http://ctpublic.org/audacious">ctpublic.org/audacious</a>
Support is provided by a generous contribution from Suzanne Hopgood, in Memory of Frank Lord.

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