Devin and Andy visit Spirit Halloween and suss out whether it’s a trick or a treat. Or both! Can a Spirit store serve as a haunted house substitute? Is Bobby Strings the ultimate example of the name-letter effect? Are SpongeBob and Scooby-Doo characters as embedded in the costume canon as policeman, cheerleader, convict, and clown? What percentage of folks are looking to win a best costume award at the party? Have you thought this Skelly purchase through??
Display VHS of The Exorcist
Punkrocker by Teddybears w/ Iggy Pop (with correct lyrics!)
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin and Andy visit a Banana Republic Factory Store. Are old Banana Republic catalogs the real Great American Novel? At what age does a Newsies-style cap stop being ironic? Should a factory store offer a more affordable version of its big sibling’s styles, or be more of its own thing? Why can’t even AI figure out when Banana Republic Factory started? When culturally important chain stores close or radically change, should one location be preserved for posterity? Is the handkerchief ready for a comeback??
Some Banana Republic history by nickthrowsafit
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin, Andy, and guest Sam Talevich visit the Bandai Namco Cross Store in Industry City, Brooklyn. What is a Cross Store, exactly? How many Gashapon machines are required to have something for everyone? 150? 300? 3000?? Can you win at claw machines with proper training? Should there be a flagship store dedicated solely to Pac-Maniana? Do Taito no Tatsujin skills translate to real world drumming?
Lucky Wander Boy by D. B. Weiss
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin and Andy visit Daiso, a Japan-based discount home goods and variety store, in Brooklyn’s Industry City. Will “two and a quarter store” catch on as much as “dollar store”? Is pickle candy ever good? Can electric erasers bring us back to a time of buzzing offices and techno-optimism? Are we at, past, or still climbing to Peak Bag Dangler? How bougie do you like your garbage bags? Does your life have a feeling of cleanliness??
Brimful of Asha by Cornershop
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin and Andy visit a newly opened Lidl—a discount grocery chain with roots in Germany—on a warm August day. Do people confuse Lidl and Aldi? What about Aldo and Lids? Are all the prices with surprise endings, like, say, $2.47, trying to scramble our brains? How important is music to the grocery shopping experience? Are we ready for the grueling psychological test of comparing store brands and national brands at close range?
This episode features a new segment: “That really steams my beans!” What about the shopping experience steams your beans??
LIDL wiki
Vintage Mickey Mouse ice cream bars
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
After a stop at See’s Candies, Devin and Andy visit America’s oldest apothecary, C.O. Bigelow. Will the drugstore soda fountain please come back? Does Bigelow represent peak tortoiseshell? Are swanky manual toothbrushes bought exclusively for apartment photo shoots? Will the dream of Smell-O-Vision in every home be realized? What’s the best health-to-beauty ratio for a pharmacy? Are those real vices, or are you vice signaling?
Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody video by David Lee Roth
POH (Personal Oral Hygiene)
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin, Andy, and guest Jared Selsberg head to a Brooklyn Cyclones game in Coney Island and report on the experience. What is the meaning behind the more whimsical minor league team names? Is a bobblehead or a baseball cap the ideal promotional item? How about jewelry or a spirit towel? Do we miss the stadium parking lot ticket reseller? How about roving food vendors, whose numbers seem to be dwindling? Will minor league food concessions catch up with the majors in quality? Have they already caught up in price? Should Maimonides Park hand out souvenir copies of Rambam’s Guide for the Perplexed? Do some heckles echo throughout eternity? Is anyone still keeping score??
Cpl. Klinger of M*A*S*H* in Mudhens gear
History of Kenosha’s Simmons Field (former home of Kenosha Comets & Kenosha Twins, current home of the Kingfish)
Sugar Land Space Cowboys shop
The Athletic on new ballpark concessions
NYT on PawSox leaving Rhode Island
NYT on Seinfeld night at the Cyclones
Cyclones Hot Dog Hats and Hot Dog Tees
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin and Andy visit The Locavore Variety Store in the West Village, Manhattan: a shop where nearly everything for sale is made within 100 miles. Is the artist as pencil sharpener present? Is the pencil the last honest object? Is there room for a nut company that doesn't use suggestive nut puns? What weird things do people want to do with/to a barrel of pickles? Do we need a movement to bring back the community bulletin board? Who is using the tester lip balm??
The Locavore Variety Store site
NYPost story about The Locavore Variety Store
Pizza Suds dish soap
The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure by The Magnetic Fields
Beautiful Bazzini Pistachios
Nail clippers: No-Mes (NY), EDJY (Detroit), Green Bell (Japan)
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin and Andy visit and revisit classic infomercials and Home Shopping sales pitches. But wait, there’s more! Is the infomercial dead, or has it simply been struck down and gone on to become more powerful than we can possibly imagine? Will a new Ron Popeil or ShamWoW Vince rise to sell us on gadget bliss? Is something a true scam if (almost) everyone knows it’s a scam? Probably! Does the rich satirical culture bequeathed by the infomercial make its flaws worthwhile? Are we doomed to forever search for devices that make food preparation slightly more convenient? Are operators still standing by??
Broomshakalaka (Adult Swim)
Fartcopter (Adult Swim)
Eddie (Adam Goldberg) is a dehydrating maniac on Friends
BBC One by Ming Tea
Ginsu commercial
Mr. Microphone by Ronco ad
Simpsons Superstar Celebrity Microphone ad
Simsons Juice Loosener infomercial
Help Me, Mr Popeil by “Weird Al” Yankovic
Sobakawa Pillow infomercial
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin, Andy and guest Leslie Price (co-founder of Gloria) discuss Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo after a cold, cold open. Is Uniqlo’s Lifewear catalog a pretty decent magazine? Does the Uniqlo checkout, whether conscientiously handing back a credit card, or utilizing RFD tags, indicate a considered peak of customer service? Is a flagship a different store, essentially? Can an app’s sizing tech ever approach an actual changing room? Has Uniqlo digested Prep values—from Take Ivy to The Official Preppy Handbook to J. Crew—and created a superlative version of the style? Is their website confusing, or is any problem likely with the user? What is the right way to pronounce Uniqlo??
Kingdom of Prep excerpt in Vanity Fair, by Maggie Bullock
NYPost on NYC pronunciations
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin and Andy go to the Lower East Side and visit the new gift/souvenir/smoking paraphernalia store from Nashville, A Shop of Things. Is it broadly true that Millenials and X-ers like charms, and Gen-Zers like stuffies? Where do you stand on seasonal soda varietals? Has ACME solved the express lane sign conundrum? Is there a Betty Boopissance happening? If you were to wear a cap with a food written on it, what would it be? Would you sign a petition for a store to carry Sonny Angel? What are cigarette themed goods pointing towards? Is that a kitschy lighter in your pocket??
Corduroy by Pearl Jam
Betty Boop/Cab Calloway/Minnie the Moocher cartoon
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeodContact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin and Andy check out vintage clothing resellers 2nd STREET and Buffalo Exchange. Should people approach the attempt to sell their beloved things to a secondhand store as a kind of therapy, wherein the ego is stripped bare? Do we care about getting top $, or do we mostly want to be told our stuff is special? What should we do with all the negative-star reviews we write in our heads? Shouldn't Depop have been discussed? Is wearing the clothing of others a form of connection? Should Andy get that satin Pepsi jacket??
[Note: This episode, with a discussion of Norm Peterson from Cheers, was recorded just before news broke that George Wendt died. We raise our mugs: “Norm!”]
Nobody Beats the Wiz Seinfeld
Two of Hearts by Stacy Q (Or: Two of Carts?)
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin, Andy, and Claire Hamilton visit the new Printemps store on Wall Street. What and who is a department store for, now? Is this really a supersized boutique? Is the best department store the one with the most seating? Will this place foment a revolution, or be a cool place to meet someone for snacks and people watching? What does it take for a store to set you dreaming??
Novel excerpt: Playworld by Adam Ross
Department store classic: Corduroy by Don Freeman
About Charging Bull sculpture
About the Red Room mosaic in Printemps
Food and Drink options at Printemps
NYPost article about food at Printemps (good photos)
Some brands at Printemps: Jacquemus, Marni, The Falls
Some history on the original 1653 wall that stood where Wall Street is (New York Almanack)
Flash Gordon and the Wood Beast
KaDeWe Berlin, Hands Tokyo (stores)
When Women Ran Fifth Avenue by Julie Satow
Goodbye to Lord & Taylor by Sarah M. Seltzer (NYTimes)
Ode to Le Train Bleu the lost Bloomingdale’s restaurant, by Luke J. Spencer (Messy Nessy)
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin and Andy check out CVS, one of two big drugstore chains standing. Do Mini Melts and Dippin' Dots need their own Twizzlers vs Red Vines style debate? How important is the condition of the actual floor in a chain drugstore experience? Would you be up for some throwback Consumer Value Stores merch? Would people be buying Fubbles Bubble Blasters if they were 25 dollars? How about $100? Does Rewind It need better photos for their packages? What’s your theory about cereal sales? Did the PooPourri woman and the Squatty Potty guy ever get together??
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin, Andy, and guest Claire Hamilton visit Art of Play: a puzzle- and game-forward toy shop with a secret theater for close-up magic. Will Andy learn how to pronounce Printemps before they get there? Can magic be new? What do magicians mean now, culturally? How far back did Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium set the cause of irl wonder emporia? Is it a puzzle? A fidget? A toy? An executive desk sculpture? What is the ideal length of time for a top to spin??
David Blaine levitating on St. Marks Place
Switchpen at Vat19
Wavelinks and Wavelength
Doug Henning’s World of Magic/SNL Doug Henning
Mystery Date: Game, Ad, Meme, Meme Source
Shopkeeping book by Peter Miller
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin and Andy drop in and visit Zumiez. Is it a shoe store, a clothing store, or a skate store? What is the meaning of “mallthentic”? How does this place triangulate with Spencer’s and Hot Topic? What clothing or accessories did your school forbid? How is Lord Nermal related to Garfield’s Nermal, if at all? Is Nirvana pure merch now? Was everyone at least skater-adjacent in the 90s?
Keep A Breast bracelets
Free Stuff for Kids book (1979)
Zumiez free stickers guide
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Devin and Andy consider the state of the Newsstand in New York City. Have newsstands taken some of that big OTB energy? Is it true newsstands aren’t allowed to sell anything for more than $20? Are newsstands slowly working their way back into the subways? Are Corn Nuts health food? What pivot could restore this essential street-level retail to glory? How does sound sculpture fit into all this?
Assorted sources:
Primark pronunciation
2022 Newsstand article in City and State NY
Map of Newsstands in NYC
The OTB Parlors, Limping Along (NYTimes 2010)
Professor Hitt’s Rundowns and Workouts
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
After a stop at the Apple Genius Bar, Devin and Andy visit Brooklyn Made, a two-location gift shop celebrating Brooklyn goods. What’s the difference between a gift shop and a self-gift shop? Are all Chambers of Commerce at least a little menacing? Should NYers be mocked for their bodega love? What was the Brooklyn Maker Movement, and how was it related to the aughts hipster? What does the Brooklyn “brand” mean these days? Should Brooklyn chocolate covered pretzel specialist Fatty Sundays do a collab with Saturdays NYC??
Bodega Cat book (a triumph!), Bodega cat shirt, Bodega cat puzzle, Bodega cat sticker
Closet deadstock Brooklyn 4th Largest City sticker, and the Welcome Back, Kotter opening credits that inspired it (check out the backstory!)
Clixo toys
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
After a discussion of the evolution of the CVS app and a trip to free some men’s underwear from TJ Maxx, Devin and Andy break down a visit to Primark, a discount clothing chain founded in Ireland and currently expanding in the US. How cheap is too cheap? How impressive is the Primark adaptive clothing selection? Is this a Mickey Mouse operation? Does Primark have the best variety of team gear outside of the leagues themselves? What does it mean when ice cream in the food court costs more than a hoodie??
Dirty Underwear by Willy Chavarria
Jordanluca pee jeans
Calico Cut Pants (currently sold out)
Peeing your pants is cool excerpt from Billy Madison
Full Carts Social:Bluesky,Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact:FullCartsPod@gmail.com
Historian, author, and brother-in-law of the podcast Jon Grinspan joins Devin and Andy to talk about coffee making and coffee drinking methods, as well as the coffee maker buying experience. What are some of your personal coffee canon events? How did the Civil War change the coffee game? Is making coffee the simplest or most complicated thing in the world? Are you a bean skeptic or bean believer? Is it always iced coffee weather for Gen Z? Is the beauty of hot coffee in that contradictory mix of comfort and stimulation??
How Coffee Fueled the Civil War by Jon Grinspan (nyt)
Robert Downey Jr.’s New “Happy Coffee” Is Really Depressing (Sprudge)
Does Anyone Drink Hot Coffee Anymore? (nyt)
(Note: Jon gives the coffee equipment shopping experience...3.5 carts.)
Full Carts Social: Bluesky, Instagram
Theme music by Jed Becker, cover art by Margaret Flatley, music insertion by Skye MacLeod
Contact: FullCartsPod@gmail.com
