April 07, 2022

Meditations on the COVID-19 Beard

21 minutes

Meditations on the COVID-19 Beard

Season 1, Episode 12

You may have noticed an increase in facial hair over the past two years, and Sean Wetselaar says that’s not surprising. According to his research, it’s not just the fashion of the times that drives our choices about shaving but also the politics and traumas of the day.

Wetselaar is a manager of scripts and content at The Score Esports, where he helps cover everything from competitive gaming to internet memes. He’s also a freelance writer based in Paris, Ontario.

In this episode:

Wetselaar talks about his own choices when it comes to growing facial hair during a pandemic and why he made different choices while in lockdown.

He then gets into the research part of his story, looking at the care that has to go into maintaining facial hair.

The history of how and when trends in facial hair happened fascinated Wetselaar.

He then describes the influence of professional pressures as it relates to facial hair and the changing trend that emerged in the 2010s.

Wetselaar then shares what he is currently reading right now.

Finally, we check in on what we're talking about this week at The Walrus.

Links:

Live Bearded on YouTube
Gillette
Millionaire’s Shortbread via Sugar Spun Round
Chocolate chip cheesecake bars via Pillsbury.com
The Walrus Talks Video Room

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Instagram @thewalrus

Looking to get in touch about the podcast? You can reach us at [email protected].

Credits:

Hosted and produced by Sheena Rossiter and Angela Misri, with editing by Angela Misri.

Music provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music Additional music: "Stay Cool" by Loops Lab, "Podcast Intro" by Inplus Music, and "Umbrella Pants" by Kevin Macleod.

Private Reflection by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4241-private-reflection

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Protofunk by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunk

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Umbrella Pants by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4559-umbrella-pants

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

...more