APOCALYPSE DUDS: Clothing, Community & Culture

This week, we’re joined by Dr. Henrik S. Wilberg, recently of the NYT, author of the Substack Why We Remain in the Provinces, polyglot, surplus obsessive, and dad. We get his geographic CV and his summer travels, then go deep on the death of cool, the European/American style divide, and why vintage might be exhausted. Along the way: how American clothing first landed in Europe, countries rediscovering their own vintage, Ralph usurping the WASP ideal and selling American cool back to itself, the soft power of cool in the post-GWOT era, designers destroyed by capitalism, and the fantasy that we’re all still living in the same world. Henrik also previews his idea of “filial style,” which he describes as “piety rather than self-expression,” and explains why we remain in the provinces. Also: Barbra Streisand, fax machines, Brokeback Mountain, and a lot of things we forgot. Dead stars. Nothing is the same. Listen now, link in bio.

A sporting episode? What has become of your loyal co-hosts? Well, Matty is, as always, conversant, while Conor can at least talk about Baltimore. And so we do. We talk Baltimore, in a big way: The Baltimore Colts, their leaving town under the cover of darkness, Cal Ripken Jr, uniforms, jerseys, chain stitching, Under Armour (barf), skateboarding in the 90s, “functional art,” “No Ball Playing,” Clothing as cosplay, Nerds vs. Dorks, BALTIMORE DOESNT LIKE YOU EITHER, being ripped off, pigs, regional accents, Baltimore Pride, and a bushel more! As ever, you know where the link is.

We did not trick these titans into coming on! They volunteered for another round in the um luke warm seat. Ladies and Gents, theys and thems, we welcome back to the show the sharp as a tack editorial cartoonist, Kevin Kallaugher, of The Economist, and recently ousted from The Baltimore Sun and attorney, Barry Lynn, formerly Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and author of Piety & Politics: The Right-Wing Assault on Religious Freedom and (titled by me) Paid to Piss People Off: Peace, Porn, and Prayer. And, boy, do we get into it: Kal's 50th anniversary at The Economist, scandals, discovering Barry has a book of Kal's, how to engage with the checked out, mid-terms, the military, Sigh...The Democrats, Freedom of Expression Under Siege, fighting government overreach, the lame stream media, organizing on substack, Jerry Fucking Falwell, satire, humor, cartoonists and comedians and their similarities, Lewis Black, money, defining charisma, USA Bicentennial, BIG RIP to "Flimsy Lindsay" Graham, Mamdani, a box of flaming excrement, and, actually, maybe a few more boxes of burning shit.

This week on, a special late night episode, the tenacious tatooer, Peter Toatley. In Conor’s sleepiest episode ever, we still manage to cover: lines that didn’t age well; as ever, the climate; cooking; shout out the OG @anaffordablewardrobe; Crown Chicken; college algebra; teaching yourself math; dropping out of a liberal arts school; “the disposable economy;” puppetry; WWII USN overalls; Doing crossfit so you can eat hot dogs; Mexican hot dogs, and an Ambien more.

A very old friend today: Billy has known me since we were in 1st grade, so 30 years. We talk about "diving in," neurodivergence, metal, Apple's Tyranny, managing a tour and a record label, touring, veganism, yoga, friendship, and way more!

Typically, our sources need no protection, but, sometimes, they do. So, we welcome the individual or organization known only as R. L. Grails to the program. We have been in contact with this or these individuals for some duration now, but we have finally decided that it is time to bring his knowledge into the light. We talk, of course about Ralph Lauren, the man, the brand, the legend, etc, but we also peer deeply into the undeniable influence of hip-hop culture, Tommy Hilfiger vs Ralph Lauren, Nirvana as an entry to culture, growing up in the 90s, sharing knowledge, Maximalism, or Not Being A Minimalist, “getting the most out of ordinary things,” and more!

This week, we welcomed back long-time friend of the show, Militaria legend, astute journalist, collector, historian, and author of Combat Threads, Charles McFarlane. The first of a two-part series, we explore the beginnings of his writing career, his recent outdoors adventures, what pieces of vintage military gear still hold their own, the intersection of modern military clothing and outdoor gear, the WW2 distribution system, the “Tactical Military Industrial Complex”, and a slew of other topics.

This week, the super kind, super smart Eric Langois (pronounced LANG-WAH) in the studio! We talked about the American South via Asheville, NC, novelty ties, dressing for church, inspiration, chambray, The Andover Shop, writing, Hercule Poiroit, trains, the rules of menswear, vanity and hubris, and hogshead more!

I’M RICK JAMES, NICK! This week, we had the distinct pleasure of hosting New York’s Own, Nick James, but not that New York–until recently, anyway. Nick has a “chaotic” CV, to hear him tell it, so we get into it: joining the Air Force when he was 17, Meteorology, Lab Science, Moving to The Big Apple, racial ambiguity, WESTSIDE GUNN, Buffalo, Birding, Military LARPers, lacrosse, thrifting, skate culture, his intro to the menswear community, and, as always, way more!

This week we were thrilled to have a world-travelin’, freewheelin’, Ivy wearin’ Welshman in the studio (a first for us!), Jack Whitaker. We had a great time chatting about how the contrast of growing up in the Middle East and a small village in Wales, getting into clothing through skater style, shoes as a first fashion love, tough love from friends, the differences between American and English tailoring, clothing hills we die on, Oasis, financial industry dress stereotypes, and tons of other tangents!

We gleefully welcome a born and raised Atlantan to the studio! We talk Atlanta’s “unique style language,” the Duality of Outkast, finding photography at an early age, the first really GOOD photo he made, the bullshit detector, redundant content “I don’t wanna see the 30th guy do the Ralph tuck” Bad mouthing Todd Snyder, Muddy Waters, B*** M***** and more!

This week, we’re excited to welcome a relative newcomer, but certainly no slouch, to menswear into the studio, Ethan Martin. A recovering sneakerhead, if you will, and a huge fan of cycling and Uncle Ralph, we had a great conversation about what brought him into the ranks of clothing aficionados’s, modern “extreme” sports, a love for old Armani, how AI is utter bullshit, catching the heavy music bug, searching for the coolest Ralph Lauren garments, travel hacks, and a whole lot more!

This week, we’re delighted to welcome the indomitable writer, dresser, clothing community organizer, and all around cool cat, Jabari Sandifer to the studio. He gives us a glimpse into the city of Chicago from a seasoned local. We chat about familial influences on style, the always gnarly Kangol hat, finding your way into building community, some true Chicagoan takes that might surprise you, searching for something real, the sneakerhead to tailored clothing pipeline, the task of styling leather, and many more bombshell topics!

This week in the studio, we had an incredibly fun chat with a ridiculously rad dude, stellar musician, and the man with “the best jeans in hardcore,” Nate Newton. We talked about his introduction to both clothing and music at an early age, admiring the style of country and western musicians, buying old Levi’s, band shirts, cast iron skillets, skateboarding and its influence, how to wear your clothes, online clothing forums, what he’s wearing in the Apocalypse, and so much more.

This week, we’re elated to have two returning guests, back together, the Power Couple of Clothing, the founders of Madsen Sylvester Studios, two of the most knowledgeable purveyors of vintage, and newly published authors, Tony Sylvester and Dr. Cyana Madsen. With the excellent newly published book, An Informal Guide to Workwear, we wanted to catch up about the inspiration and process of publishing. We chat about French Workwear, the origin of the word textile, the history of indigo, functionality in clothing, finding Carhartt through hip-hop, identifying yourself through what you wear, and as always, so much more!

This week, we are so happy to finally welcome ZG Burnett back into the studio. In part 1 of an undetermined number series about clothing care. We talk about general clothing maintenance, the allure of natural fibers, how to choose fabrics, stain removal, high-end brands cutting corners, washing tweed jackets, and so much more!

A seeming Master of Most Trades, Jeremiah Jones, founder of Sew Lab, joins us in studio to talk, among other things, rebuilding domestic manufacturing (in Baltimore and beyond), building cameras, learning to sew, working gigs to fund adventures, old Toyota vans, raves, starting a brand out of a tiny apartment, riding 400 miles a week on a bike in New York, pulling influence from history, Permaculture, developing a personal way of problem solving, and much, much more.

Years in the making, we hosted someone who inspired the show, someone whose influence is undeniable, someone whose hot takes are scorching, we welcome the one, the only Mordechai Rubinstein, photographer, writer, father, dude, Deadhead, archivist. Truly a man of many parts! Our extended conversation was exactly what we’d hoped for: explosive, enjoyable, telling, and a barrel of laughs. We talked uniforms, we talked photography, we talked ethos, and perhaps most importantly, we talked about the origin story and the lore around who he is. We even got a speedrun through a portion of his closet! We hope you’ll enjoy this journey of a nearly mythical man as much as we did.

This week, an issue near and dear to your hosts and even producer: clothes for short people. We interview Deric Cano, all around radiant, Californian, someone who loves/tries to support his home community, and founder of the brand Art Cano. We chat about the struggles of getting a clothing brand off the ground, learning things on the fly, breaking gender norms, a deep love of vintage garments, stigmas around country of origin, buzzword designing, ethical manufacturing, and so much more!

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.