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This hour we look at the world of political merchandise. We explore the history of political merchandise, what it can tell us about an election, and the latest trends going into 2024. Plus, we’ll talk with a t-shirt maker to learn about the current landscape of political merchandise, and what sales can tell us about the priorities of voters.

GUESTS: 
Claire Jerry: Curator of Political History for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Hunter Schwarz: Journalist and the founder and curator of the visual politics newsletter “Yello”
Mike Draper: Founder and owner of the t-shirt maker Raygun

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode. 

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

This hour we look at the world of political merchandise. We explore the history of political merchandise, what it can tell us about an election, and the latest trends going into 2024. Plus, we’ll talk with a t-shirt maker to learn about the current landscape of political merchandise, and what sales can tell us about the priorities of voters.
GUESTS: 
<ul>
<li>Claire Jerry: Curator of Political History for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History</li>
<li>Hunter Schwarz: Journalist and the founder and curator of the visual politics newsletter “<a href="https://yello.substack.com/" data-cms-ai="0">Yello</a>”</li>
<li>Mike Draper: Founder and owner of the t-shirt maker <a href="https://www.raygunsite.com/" data-cms-ai="0">Raygun</a></li>
</ul>
Join the conversation on <a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow" data-cms-ai="0">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/colinmcshow" data-cms-ai="0">Twitter</a>.
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/newsletters" data-cms-ai="0">Subscribe to The Noseletter</a>, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.
The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-colin-mcenroe-show/id714179884" data-cms-ai="0">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0AXtqrzWounIoJyIqz003p" data-cms-ai="0">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvYWMwYmU5NjktZDdkZi00NjBjLWE2NmMtYTZmOTAwZTFlYmQxLzcxZGM0YTBmLWU4Y2EtNDAyMS1hZWM5LWFhMDMwMDI2MDQyZC9iNjk1Y2I4Ny1mNmE5LTRjNzYtOGYxMS1hYTAzMDAyNjA0M2IvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M" data-cms-ai="0">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9b6b3cee-f69b-4729-a78b-181f851d80e8/the-colin-mcenroe-show" data-cms-ai="0">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/The-Colin-McEnroe-Show-p1208473/" data-cms-ai="0">TuneIn</a>, <a href="https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-colin-mcenroe-show-connecticut-public-lXR08dxQSM5/" data-cms-ai="0">Listen Notes</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode. 
Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

The Colin McEnroe Show

Political merchandise can tell us a lot about an election

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing. So we did another one.

This hour, the conversation winds around to America 250, Oasis, bird songs, the SAVE Act, Trump, natural lawns … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

Music Featured (in order):
bite my tongue – wilt
won’t make it out alive – Nicole Zuraitis, Larry Goldings
Just Say You Want Me – Lo Steele
Teach Me Tonight – Ledisi
I Do, I Do – Dua Saleh
Penny In The Lake – Ratboys
We Made It – Sammy Rae and the Friends ft. CELISSE

We&rsquo;ve been doing these shows where we don&rsquo;t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing. So we did another one.
This hour, the conversation winds around to America 250, Oasis, bird songs, the SAVE Act, Trump, natural lawns &hellip; Anything. (Seemingly) everything.
Music Featured (in order):
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8zHC0a-Gg4">bite my tongue</a>&nbsp;&ndash; wilt <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bwHoMqgs6U">won&rsquo;t make it out alive</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Nicole Zuraitis, Larry Goldings</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX-FfRGDA-c">Just Say You Want Me</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Lo Steele</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T04WO9HYSq4">Teach Me Tonight</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Ledisi</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G3zyKKM_Ss">I Do, I Do</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Dua Saleh</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX5adLHQobY">Penny In The Lake</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Ratboys</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LA69DiqAtw">We Made It</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Sammy Rae and the Friends ft. CELISSE</li>
</ul>

All calls: Crows make better noise than Oasis

The 98th Academy Awards were Sunday night. KPop Demon Hunters swept its two nominations. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein cleaned up in the craft categories and won three awards.

But the big question going into the night was what would win the big awards. Would it be Sinners, with its record-setting 16 nominations, or the seemingly inevitable One Battle After Another?

Inevitability won out. One Battle After Another won six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson.

This hour, The Nose reacts to the Oscars — the awards themselves, the ceremony as television, the fashion, the memes, Conan O’Brien’s turn as host — the whole thing.

GUESTS:
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Vivian Nabeta: Director of digital marketing for Connecticut State Community College
Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek

Music featured (in order):
There’s No Business Like Show Business – The Original Movie Orchestra
Peg – Steely Dan
Everything’s Come Up Roses – The Replacements
I Lied to You (Live at the Oscars) – Miles Canton, Shaboozey, Brittany Howard, Eric Gales, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Golden (Live at the Oscars) – EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami
The Way We Were – Barbra Streisand (but the original proper version)

The 98th Academy Awards were Sunday night.&nbsp;KPop Demon Hunters&nbsp;swept its two nominations. Guillermo del Toro&rsquo;s&nbsp;Frankenstein&nbsp;cleaned up in the craft categories and won three awards.
But the big question going into the night was what would win the big awards. Would it be&nbsp;Sinners, with its record-setting 16 nominations, or the seemingly inevitable&nbsp;One Battle After Another?
Inevitability won out.&nbsp;One Battle After Another&nbsp;won six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson.
This hour, The Nose reacts to the Oscars &mdash; the awards themselves, the ceremony as television, the fashion, the memes, Conan O&rsquo;Brien&rsquo;s turn as host &mdash; the whole thing.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Shawn Murray:&nbsp;A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the&nbsp;Nobody Asked Shawn&nbsp;podcast</li>
<li>Vivian Nabeta:&nbsp;Director of digital marketing for Connecticut State Community College</li>
<li>Gene Seymour:&nbsp;A &ldquo;writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek</li>
</ul>
Music featured (in order):
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcF5qeUDW6k">There&rsquo;s No Business Like Show Business</a>&nbsp;&ndash; The Original Movie Orchestra</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki2GxDUxEkM">Peg</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Steely Dan</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVg3AKLO2S8">Everything&rsquo;s Come Up Roses</a>&nbsp;&ndash; The Replacements</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3ae7BvTuC4">I Lied to You (Live at the Oscars)</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Miles Canton, Shaboozey, Brittany Howard, Eric Gales, Christone &ldquo;Kingfish&rdquo; Ingram</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex4SrdtvHwE">Golden (Live at the Oscars)</a>&nbsp;&ndash; EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifWOSnoCS0M">The Way We Were</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Barbra Streisand (but the original proper version)</li>
</ul>

The Noscars 2026

Mike Pesca is one of our very favorite guests — onanynumberoftopics.

His book, Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History, is a whole series of earth-shattering, hypothetical, what-if questions (and posited answers to said earth-shattering, hypothetical, what-if questions):

What if a blimp full of money had exploded over world track headquarters in 1952? What if Nixon had been good at football? What if Bobby Fischer had received proper psychiatric help? What if the Dodgers hadn’t left Brooklyn? What if basketball rims were smaller than basketballs? What if the 1999 U.S. women’s national soccer team had lost the Women’s World Cup? And yes: What if the Olympics had never dropped tug of war?

It goes on and on.

Pesca joins us for the hour.

GUESTS:
Will Leitch: Contributing editor at New York magazine, founder of Deadspin, and a whole bunch of other things
Mike Pesca: Host of The Gist and the author of Upon Further Review
Louisa Thomas: Staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Carlos Mejia, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired June 7, 2018.

Mike Pesca is one of our very favorite guests &mdash; <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/2025-03-19/march-madness-2025">on</a> <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/2023-05-01/the-artist-formerly-known-as-the-colin-mcenroe-show-conversations-about-rebranding">any</a> <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/arts-and-culture/2019-05-23/from-the-bad-ideas-dept-its-a-show-about-towels">number</a> <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/2025-03-21/from-the-bad-ideas-dept-todays-show-is-not-about-tapirs">of</a> <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/2022-03-03/an-hour-with-the-gist-podcast-host-mike-pesca">topics</a>.
His book, <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/mike-pesca/upon-further-review/9781455540372/">Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History</a>, is a whole series of earth-shattering, hypothetical, what-if questions (and posited answers to said earth-shattering, hypothetical, what-if questions):
What if a blimp full of money had exploded over world track headquarters in 1952? <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/upon_further_review/2018/05/the_new_podcast_from_slate_s_mike_pesca_explores_the_greatest_what_ifs_in.html">What if Nixon had been good at football?</a> What if Bobby Fischer had received proper psychiatric help? <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2018/05/what-if-the-dodgers-had-never-left-brooklyn.html">What if the Dodgers hadn&rsquo;t left Brooklyn?</a> What if basketball rims were smaller than basketballs? <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2018/06/what-if-the-1999-u-s-womens-national-soccer-team-had-lost-the-womens-world-cup.html">What if the 1999 U.S. women&rsquo;s national soccer team had lost the Women&rsquo;s World Cup?</a> And yes: What if the Olympics had never dropped tug of war?
It goes on and on.
Pesca joins us for the hour.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Will Leitch: Contributing editor at New York magazine, founder of Deadspin, and a whole bunch of other things</li>
<li>Mike Pesca: Host of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mikepesca.com/thegist">The Gist</a>&nbsp;and the author of Upon Further Review</li>
<li>Louisa Thomas: Staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.louisathomas.com/#louisa">Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams</a></li>
</ul>
The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-colin-mcenroe-show/id714179884">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0AXtqrzWounIoJyIqz003p">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9b6b3cee-f69b-4729-a78b-181f851d80e8/the-colin-mcenroe-show">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/The-Colin-McEnroe-Show-p1208473/">TuneIn</a>, <a href="https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-colin-mcenroe-show-connecticut-public-lXR08dxQSM5/">Listen Notes</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/newsletters">Subscribe to The Noseletter</a>, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.
Join the conversation on <a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/colinmcshow">Twitter</a>.
Colin McEnroe, Carlos Mejia, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired June 7, 2018.

Political merchandise can tell us a lot about an election

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