APOCALYPSE DUDS: Clothing, Community & Culture

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.

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/accademiasartoriIG: https://www.instagram.com/accademiasartori/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ACCADEMIANAZIONALEDEISARTORILinkedIn: 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!