Less Talk, More Monkey from Archie McPhee: Recent Episodes
Archie McPhee
Archie McPhee has been creating and selling toys and novelties for 35 years. You might know us from Handerpants, the Devil Duckie or the Horse Mask. Hear the stories behind the products and what it's like to work for a novelty company. We make weird!
David and Shana say goodbye to Heff and go over the amazing new Archie McPhee products from 2021.
The issue is fixed now, but, for a period of months, PayPal was blocking the sales of all of our tardigrade items from being purchased. In this episode, we're joined by Tim Ellis from GeekWire and Dispatches from the Multiverse to talk about how an arms dealer caused a tardigrade tragedy.
We're joined by Seattle Broadcasting Legend Pat Cashman to talk about his new podcast, the team behind Almost Live!, and his time as a horror movie hose in Boise.
Listen to Pat's podcast, Almost Live! Still Alive here.
Find Archie McPhee products here.
David, Shana, and Heff return to the podcast with new products. Hear about how many legs a tardigrade has, how to replace a smile, and how roaches will evolve in the distant future.
Find the products discussed here!
We're working from home! The audio the quality is a little off on this one, but what can you do? We talk about what we're up to, what pop culture we're enjoying, and Shana learning to play the penny-whistle.
Archie McPhee
In this episode, David, Shana, and Heff talk about Twitter, Frankensteins, and a really bad product idea. Check out our blog for pictures of the drawings mentioned.
Swoon! Shana and David got to meet Paul Reubens, the man behind Pee-wee Herman. Also, the Ig Nobel Prize event at our Seattle store.
In this episode, we discuss our Archie McPhee product game, the upcoming Ig Nobel event at the Rubber Chicken Museum, and bunch of new products. Pickle casino!
In this episode, we cover Heff's hoverboard video, the Finger Spork video, and a video of a dancing turnip. Or Daikon.
We discuss the all company meeting, wearing a unicorn mask in the snow, and a mysterious haunted tea kettle.
In this episode, we talk about the loopholes various spooky, supernatural things have and which bathroom theme we would pick. We also mention a couple of new Archie McPhee products, including the Pagan Breakfast God Mask. Features the premiere of the vampire parsnip.
Archie McPhee
David, Shana, and Heff take a look back at some of the high points of 2019. We also say goodbye to the great Allee Willis, talk about being a clue on Jeopardy, and the mysterious package of five centaur paintings that arrived before Christmas.
Back by popular demand, it's another creative meeting episode! Shana, Heff, and David take your suggestions and turn them into (mostly) impossible Archie McPhee products. Also, Heff tells the story of the My Buddy prank.
We had our Christmas temps taste our new candy canes, Shana gives Heff and David sweet new shirts, and mannequins are following Heff around the building.
In this episode, we talk about our new automated sighing machine, chickens and our sweet new van...
Find our products at Archie McPhee
Who Would Buy This? The Archie McPhee Story. David, Shana, and Heff talk about the Archie McPhee book and its history.
David, Shana, and Heff an under-appreciated subset of the local celebrity, the local kook! What is a local kook? Are we local kooks? So many questions!
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Shana has a rubber chicken dress! Because, of course, she does. Also, Heff films babies doing stunts and the Fly Widow Game is here!
Former Archie McPhee employee CoCo returns to chat with David, Shana, and Q about where her path has taken her after leaving us and memories of some of our favorite customers.
A bonus section to our inspiration podcast. We had Q join us to talk about what makes a monster a monster. Are unicorns monsters? What about Santa Claus?
What inspires Archie McPhee? We get that question all the time and this episode is a discussion about creativity, collecting, and monsters.
David and Shana discuss the legend of the lost podcast, selling to people with a bad-smelling car, and our Atlas Obscura event!
Archie McPhee
Even if you don't know who Rusty Blazenhoff by name, we can almost guarantee you've read something she's written or enjoyed something obscure that she discovered. From Boing Boing to her own "inbox zine" Electric Dreams, she's made a huge impact on popular culture.
It's Sticknic time again. The Archie McPhee cooking contest that happens once a year. This year we had a Bibo theme! We're joined by Mark Pahlow and Nancy Leson.
Shana and David go through some of the new product at Archie McPhee, talk about Shana's trip to Ireland, and discuss misconceptions about Eyeball Finger Puppets.
David, Shana, and Heff talk about the previous 49 episodes of the podcast, announce a contest and talk about the store anniversary sale!
David, Q, and Heff have a discussion of movies that we love that are weird. Shana is on vacation!
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David tries to get weird stuff into Bigfoot documentaries, Terri the superfan visits the store, and Heff bids on a very big chicken.
In this episode, we talk about how Bibo's feet are the least interesting part of him, our appearance on the NPR game show Says You!, and uff da.
Archie McPhee
Says You!
We let Arlo, son of Alastair, and Cash, the son of Scott Heff, take over the podcast and tell us what they learned during a day at Archie McPhee...
Mark Pahlow joins us for a discussion of the times that Archie McPhee has been in trouble. From shredded money to a disgruntled Beatle, we've had problems with everyone! By the way, we apologize in advance to St. Paul.
In this episode, we talk about the 21 Bigfoot in 24 hours challenge, Fly Widows and gauge Heff's feistiness.
Get the details on Shana's TV appearance and a rehash of past fake products that Archie McPhee has posted. Bacon tuxedos, difficult conversation toast, and toast mattresses.
Shana, David, and Heff discuss the latest Archie McPhee products, Shana's upcoming TV appearance and tell the Uff Da store story...
Shana, Heff, and David take your favorite words and turn them into potential Archie McPhee products. We cover bejeweled insects, stealing rocks to sell, and Heff's buffet underpants.
You sent us questions about Archie McPhee and we answered them! Shana, David, and Heff are full of answers. So many answers.
David, Shana, and Heff talk about ideas that seemed good at the time, but for one reason or another Archie McPhee didn't do. An office salt lick, safety poster coloring book, and a David Sedaris action figure.
This week's episode is brought to you by Bigfoot.
In this episode, Shana, David, and Heff go over a series of Archie McPhee products that we love but did not sell. From Strange Friends to Obvious Plants, it's a cornucopia of unpopular goodness.
In this episode, we lift the curtain a bit and tell you which Archie McPhee products are not our favorites. We talk about toilet seat covers, the uncanny valley of flavors, Shana's devil costume and the fact that Heff has never eaten bologna.
We went to Twitter and asked for some random words to spur our creativity. Then we took those words and made up Archie McPhee products. It's not our whole creative team, only half of it, but David, Heff, and Shana try and give a peek into what our creative meetings are like.
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In this episode, we talk about NOT forgetting Shana's birthday, read the weirder quotes from some of our meetings and talk about how clowns establish the copyright on their makeup. Don't dabble in clowns.
Archie McPhee
Heff smells a glitter chicken. Shana is a pie princess. David loves the glow in the dark rubber chicken.
See new products here!
Shana, David, and Heff go through Archie McPhee catalog 62 from 1999. Discuss how much communication we had to do about the internet, why you don't need to write what something is on a picture of that thing and jasmine-scented Angel Snot.
Go to the Archie McPhee blog to follow along in the catalog.
Our first episode of 2019 gets back into the swing of things by recapping some of the happenings of the holiday season, discussing the superfan box, and bragging about Keenan Thompson trying Clamdy Canes on New Year's Eve. (He did not care for them.)
Find out more about Archie McPhee here!
It's the end of the year and we are nostalgic. Shana, Heff, and David take a look back over the previous 12 months. This is the last episode of this season. We'll see you again in 2019!
The creator and owner of Archie McPhee, Mark Pahlow, joins us again to talk about putting together the first Archie McPhee Catalog. If you'd like to follow along, you can find a link to the catalog in the Archie McPhee blog.
We talk about our new Superfan Subscription, so if you want it. Order fast! There are only ten and they'll sell out. Plus, the Tonight Show, Geekwire, Seth Godin, and werewolf swatters.
For more info check out our website!
For the past decade, Archie McPhee has been producing products specifically for Christmas with our unique spin. In this episode, we go through a few of our favorites.
More info here!
Shana and David go over all the costumes and notable occurrences during the 2018 Halloween season at Archie McPhee.
Go to the Archie McPhee blog for picture!
If Archie McPhee has a muse, it's Bibo. This strange character from a kid's show became one of the iconic Archie McPhee products and inspired a whole army of pop culture influencers. David, Scott, and Shana discuss his level of aspirational weirdness and how he inspires absurdity in all who accept him into their hearts.
See Bibo here!
Mark Pahlow is here! The founder of Archie McPhee shares how it came to be, what you should eat while watching monster movies, what it feels like to be fired as a Viking and how being disappointed in someone else can lead to innovation and self-sufficiency. This is a good one!
Click here for more info on Archie McPhee.
Follow Mark Pahlow on Twitter.
Scott Heff, Shana Danger, David Wahl, and Steve Q, talk about some of their favorite and most memorable horror movies. We talk about William Castle, The Conjuring, and why Shana carried a white nail for a year.
More Archie McPhee info here!
In this episode, we talk about how we come up with products. Also, Mad Magazine is awesome, Pee-wee Herman is awesome and spiders in your ears are not awesome. Please do not send us product ideas.
Find more info about Archie McPhee here.
We take a look at some of the media coverage of Archie McPhee and how it influenced the company. Also, Heff goes to the grocery store for canned macaroni and cheese, canned clams and six pumpkins.
Visit our blog for more about Archie McPhee and show notes!
Ok, so 20 years ago, David accidentally left a Medium Treasure Box in his trunk. It survived water, neglect and multiple cars and now we've decided to open up this time capsule on the podcast. Check out the blog post on the Archie McPhee site to see the pictures of the objects discussed.
As the seasons change from summer to fall, it means that Archie McPhee is getting new products! This week we discuss our local cryptozoological creature the Wallingford Beast, Sloth Masks and taste test our new candy canes. Will we like Clamdy Canes and Mac & Cheese Candy Canes? Listen and find out.
We read classic customer letters from our crank file. From shoplifting kids to Gene Shalit to an erotic take on Einstein's Theory of Relativity. This episode has it all.
We take a look at all the Archie McPhee squirrel feeders and talk about their development, customer reaction and how hard it is to take a picture of a squirrel. Also, Scott Heff would like to apologize to DJ Ravioli and Shana's cats for his statements during this podcast.
What happens on an Archie McPhee photo shoot? Quite a bit actually. We talk about uncooperative butchers, unicorns in unitards and all the strange places we've worn Archie McPhee masks.
Shana Danger, David Wahl, and Scott Heff are joined by former store-staffer Steve Q to talk about his favorite products, monsters, satanic panic, cheeks in a box, Handitaur and Loafman.
We want a do-over! Heff, David, and Shana start the story over and tell you a bit about how the company is structured, how we first heard about Archie McPhee and how we got hired. It probably should have been our first episode. Sorry! See the blog post here!
In this episode, we're joined by fKNKX food commentator and former columnist and restaurant critic for the Seattle Times, Nancy Leson to discuss the Archie McPhee employee Sticknic contest. As usual, the conversation swerves between the topic at hand and others as diverse as monkey models, George Foreman, shredded money, and mexi-fries.
Find out more about Nancy Leson here!
We finish our discussion of 1996/1997, go over old store events and talk about the forgotten hunchback craze of the late 1990s. Don't forget to go to the Archie McPhee blog so you can see the catalog we're discussing!
The memories come flooding back. David Wahl and Shana Danger describe what 1997 at Archie McPhee was like to Scott Heff. Why did we make a Computer Voodoo? Would the Frog Chef have his own show on the Food Network? Follow along with the catalog on the Archie McPhee site.
David, Scott, and Shana take a look at Archie McPhee catalog 46 from 1996/1997. If you go to the blog on the Archie McPhee site, you'll be able to follow along. Find out what was "hip" back in the olden days.
See the catalog pages by clicking here.
In the early 2000s, we made an action figure of a guy that worked at our company. In this episode with talk with Fuzz, the man behind the Fuzz Action Figure. Did it change his life? Why were we so fascinated with him? How did we market it?
Visit Archie McPhee for more details!
In this episode, David Wahl, Shana Danger, and Scott Heff give the first part of the Archie McPhee bacon timeline and mention about half, or less, of the bacon product that we've ended up making. You'll also be able to hear Scott Heff's reaction to eating Bacon Mints for the first time. Click here for more info!
The second half of our interview with art historian and novelty expert Kirk Demarais. We talk about his book Mail-Order Mysteries, swapping potatoes for orphans, inflatable lady legs and what you get when order Dracula Dirt.
Check out picture and links on the Archie McPhee website. You can also check out Kirk Demarais.
David, Scott, and Shana discuss the many Bigfoot products from Archie McPhee. We discuss our favorite gazer, Bigfoot's butt and reveal Bigfoot's favorite cookie. Check out the blog post on mcphee.com for more info.
Why would anyone make a pickle yodel? In this episode, we discuss the practical reason behind the nonsense. Also, how we discovered Shields and Yarnell were fans of Archie McPhee.
For more info, visit the blog post for this episode on mcphee.com.
Shana, David, and Heff discuss the opening ceremony for the Rubber Chicken Museum, how Heff closes the building and why there are goldfish in all our bubbles. For more info go to mcphee.com.
Shana, David, and Heff talk about the origins and reactions to Handerpants, the underpants for your hands.
To leave feedback go to the blog on mcphee.com or email unicorn@mcphee.com.
Find additional info about this episode on mcphee.com in the blog. Email questions or comments to unicorn@mcphee.com.
You will find other info about this episode on mcphee.com in the blog. Email questions and comments to unicorn@mcphee.com.
Check out the blog on mcphee.com for show notes. Email questions and comments to unicorn@mcphee.com.