Sometimes, it feels like we don’t deserve to do these shows. This week, Apocalypse Duds Super Fan, Earnest Politico, Big Parking Lot Hater, 40s French Glasses Enthusiast, Astoundingly Thoughtful Genius, Kind, Pragmatic Operator, John T. Reuter. I don’t want to spoil it, but we covered much uncharted territory on this show about love, circumstance, and forgiveness. You really must listen. For a show requiring no prep,John was one of our most prepared ever. Maybe half the time, we share the show outline before the  show, but not this time. We remained electrically on the rails, ever closer to the show’s mission, if there is one.

Tune in for our, urgent as ever, coverage of things happening and things not. 2025 and Somehow, Still Alive, In Spite of it All Year In Review Spectacular with our Revolutionarily Reliable Riter Renato Pagnani @renavate. We discuss long-awaited hip-hop records, some good and some bad, we talk Ren’s first GQ piece and hockey style, the goddamn “quarter-zip movement,” respectability politics, how a good casual outfit is better than a bad formal outfit, Sabrina Carpenter, grad school, living in a post-trend world, our Top 5 Albums of the Year, and more drivel!

Matt is out this week, toiling in the sulfur mines of Southeast Georgia. I am joined by our new producer, Jamaal Tuhrik. We talk with Winston Jones, writer, reader, dresser, student, teacher, New Yorker about his journey (a word I wish we had more synonyms for) from “student to teacher and back again.” We answer The Quarter-Zip-Question, Perks of Packing Light, New York, Methodologies of Childhood Clothing Acquisition, Parental Influence, Teaching, Learning, Classroom Style, A Deep Dive Into His Socials, Trials and Tribulations of Making Content, And More!

On this week’s episode, we had the pleasure of chatting with an up and coming clothing aficionado, Eugene Park @euge.park. While he’s relatively new to the clothing game, his knack for figuring out his place in our little pocket of internet subculture shines through brilliantly. From growing up in the greater Chicago metro area and thrifting with his mom, to now living in Southern California, he has a unique perspective. We talk finding your style as a full grown adult, a love of sneakers, the intimidation factor of fashion, bucking the rules, Uncle Ralph, making a career out of your passion, and a whole lot more.

“All the way back to middle school, I’ve loved clothes…” our recent guest, David Lane, opined. He remembers begging his mom for Polo Ralph Lauren shirts, touching the shirt sleeves on the rack and feeling the differences. We talked Derek Guy and Put This On, the trials and tribulations of shopping at big and tall stores, O’Connell’s, not treating your clothing too preciously, LL Bean’s return policy, helping other people, the nightmare of packing for a trip, dressing on the fly, American tailoring secrets, and more, up our sleeves.

Special lightning episode with the Director of The Accademia Nazionale dei Sartori, the oldest tailoring school in Italy, founded in the 1700s! 

We talked about the amazing history of the school, what it takes to be a tailor, the family business, connecting with clients, the house style, and at least a few more fascinating tidbits.

Check out the school on social media:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/accademiasartori

IG: https://www.instagram.com/accademiasartori/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ACCADEMIANAZIONALEDEISARTORI

LinkedIn: Accademia Nazionale dei Sartori

This week, we wanted to introduce a new member of the Duds team. @Jamaal_Tuhrik came on board a couple of months ago to help with production, social media, and ideas to expand the show and, boy, did we luck out!

A fellow 90s kid, we explore his early days of learning to love clothing, the ways in which we discern influences as we age, dressing for yourself, gaining inspiration from the world around you, building community, integrity in fashion, and, as always, a hell of a lot more!

“What if you took the idea about go to hell pants and expanded it to every part of your life?” Our next guest, Dr. Evan Thomas Woods, Senior Lecturer at The Ohio State University, posed this very question on our program this week. Listen up, Dr. Woods is maybe the third or fourth PhD who we have coerced into appearing here, and we got pretty cerebral.

We pondered Columbus, Ohio, “value theory,” ethics and aesthetics, the “need to be systematized,” the ups and downs of veganism, “Standing up against a world that’s becoming flat and conformist,” “use it or lose it” creativity, HIS TRIPLE DIGIT COLLECTION OF JACKETS, fuck you jackets, go to hell pants, pulling inspiration from old paintings, “pattern maximalism,” fit pic philosophy, “school picture day smile,” Ivy brands: J. Press, J. Crew, Ralph Lauren, Chipp, etc, collecting, collections, so throw caution to the wind, and check it out! 

Menswear maven and photo guru Daniel Baraka in the studio this week! We contemplate Nashville, talk arrested development, Buck Mason, Sid Mashburn, paternal influence, becoming a photographer, world building, velvet slippers, up and coming Nashville brands, really wearing out your clothes, and more!

This week, we have an extraordinary guest from the windy hot dog stand of Chicago, Julia Z. Caisip @sartorialfantasybox was kind enough to grace us with her knowing presence. An amazing writer, a student of aesthetics, and someone who blurs the lines of many subcultures, it was a fantastic conversation.

We talked Eastern European fiction, the concept of “Writing Up,” finding subculture through an identity crisis, how Ivy is the punk of tailored clothing, embracing queer and butch culture, Dress Sneaker Hate Fest, DND, Steam Punk, character study, stunted American sexuality, and a shoutout to high school English teachers, and a mustard squirt more!