Articles of Interest
{{Short description|Narrative podcast about clothing and fashion}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox podcast
| image =
| caption =
| hosting =
| genre = Documentary
| format = {{hlist|Audio}}
| creator = Avery Trufelman
| length = 30–60 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| production =
| num_seasons = 5
| num_episodes = 39
| began = {{Start date|2018|09|25}}
| audio format =
| video format =
| ended =
| provider = Radiotopia
| ratings =
| website = {{URL|https://www.articlesofinterest.co/}}
| module =
}}
Articles of Interest is a podcast about the social history of clothing and fashion. Created by producer Avery Trufelman, the show originated in 2018 as a mini-series for 99% Invisible and became an independent member of Radiotopia in 2021.{{Cite web |year=2023 |title=Avery Trufelman |url=https://www.businessoffashion.com/people/avery-trufelman/ |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=The Business of Fashion |language=en}}
History
Trufelman told the Daily Front Row her interest in fashion was sparked by childhood visits to San Francisco in which she went thrifting on Haight Street, in addition to learning about Vivienne Westwood at the De Young Museum.{{Cite web |last=Drohan |first=Freya |date=2020-08-20 |title=Avery Trufelman is the Fashion-Obsessed Host of The Cut's New Podcast |url=https://fashionweekdaily.com/avery-trufelman-the-cut-podcast/ |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=Daily Front Row |language=en}} She became inspired to report on fashion from a design perspective as a 99% Invisible intern.{{Cite web |last=Amed |first=Imran |date=2024-03-01 |title=Avery Trufelman on the Meaning Behind the Clothes We Wear |url=https://www.businessoffashion.com/podcasts/creative-class/the-bof-podcast-avery-trufelman-on-the-meaning-behind-the-clothes-we-wear/ |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=The Business of Fashion |language=en}}
The first season of Articles of Interest, reported by Trufelman and edited by Joe Rosenberg, featured six short episodes exploring topics ranging from denim and pockets to punk fashion and the Hawaiian shirt, with commentary on their significance as viewed through the lens of capitalism, identity and aesthetics.{{Cite web |last=Quah |first=Nicholas |date=2018-10-24 |title=Articles of Interest Is a Fashion Podcast About Capitalism and Power |url=https://www.vulture.com/2018/10/articles-of-interest-podcast-review.html |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=Vulture |language=en}} The second season, released in 2020, focused on luxury items, including perfume, diamonds, and wedding dresses.{{Cite magazine |last=Larson |first=Sarah |date=2020-05-15 |title=Articles of Interest |url=https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/podcasts/articles-of-interest-05-25-20 |access-date=2024-07-26 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Greene |first=Steve |date=2020-07-17 |title='Articles of Interest': Avery Trufelman Can Help You Rethink What You Wear |url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/articles-of-interest-host-avery-trufelman-season-2-interview-1234574544/ |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}
In 2021, 99% Invisible host and creator Roman Mars sold the show to Sirius XM and spun off ownership of Articles of Interest to Trufelman.{{Cite news |last=Ugwu |first=Reggie |date=2021-04-26 |title=SiriusXM Is Buying '99% Invisible,' and Street Cred in Podcasting |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/arts/siriusxm-99-invisible-roman-mars.html |access-date=2024-07-26 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite tweet|user=romanmars|first=Roman|last=Mars|date=26 April 2021|number=1386757346064363520|title=BTW, before we sold, I broke off Articles of Interest and gave it to @trufelman. She's the captain now.|access-date=6 November 2021|url=https://twitter.com/romanmars/status/1386757346064363520}}
Departing from its previous episodic format, the show's third season, released in 2022, was a serialized history of Ivy style and the preppy subculture. Titled "American Ivy", the seven-part season documented the origins of prep at Princeton University, then Japan, as driven by the 1965 book Take Ivy. It returned to the United States to explore the rise of Ralph Lauren, J.Crew, and the publication of The Official Preppy Handbook, tracing the trend to current day.{{Cite magazine |last=Madden |first=Amelia |date=2023-02-06 |title=A Fabulous Podcast That Breaks Down the History of Preppy Style |url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/a42710995/articles-of-interest-fashion-podcast-preppy-style-history/ |access-date=2024-07-26 |magazine=Harper's Bazaar |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Lamb |first=Anna |date=2023-10-13 |title=Avery Trufelman unpacks preppy style in Harvard talk |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/10/avery-trufelman-unpacks-preppy-style-in-harvard-talk/ |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=Harvard Gazette |language=en-US}}
The show's fourth season returned to an individual-episode format in 2023, with stories on factory labor conditions, ballet shoes, and the Black Fashion Museum.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-05 |title="Articles of Interest" from Avery Trufelman Returns with New Episodes on an Ongoing Basis and "Normal Gossip" from Kelsey McKinney, Alex Sujong Laughlin, and Defector Media Begins a New Season as Part of Radiotopia from PRX |url=https://medium.com/prxofficial/articles-of-interest-and-normal-gossip-return-with-new-episodes-39128fd72c27 |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=PRX |publisher=Medium}}
Reception
Articles of Interest received critical acclaim beginning with its first season and continuing through its transition to independent production. The original six-part series was named a best podcast of 2018 by The New Yorker, The Globe and Mail, and the BBC.{{Cite magazine |last=Larson |first=Sarah |date=2018-12-05 |title=The Best Podcasts of 2018 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2018-in-review/the-best-podcasts-of-2018 |access-date=2024-07-26 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}{{Cite news |last=Thompson |first=Caitlin |date=2018-12-25 |title=The 10 best podcasts of 2018 |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books/article-the-10-best-podcasts-of-2018/ |access-date=2024-07-26 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}{{Cite web |last=Charles |first=Amy |date=2018-12-17 |title=The 10 best culture podcasts of 2018 |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20181218-the-10-best-culture-podcasts-of-2018 |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}} Vulture's Nicholas Quah praised it as a "picture-perfect starting point for those who need an introduction" to the cultural significance of clothing. "American Ivy" was named a best podcast of 2022 by The New York Times and The Atlantic.{{Cite news |last=Ugwu |first=Reggie |date=2022-12-08 |title=Best Podcasts of 2022 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/08/arts/best-podcasts-2022.html |access-date=2024-07-26 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last1=Standley |first1=Laura Jane |last2=McQuade |first2=Eric |date=2022-12-30 |title=The 35 Best Podcasts of 2022 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2022/12/best-podcasts-2022/672613/ |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}
Seasons
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="padding: 0 8px;" |Season ! rowspan="2" style="padding: 0 8px;" |Episodes ! colspan="2" |Originally aired |
| First aired
!Last aired |
|---|
| style="background: #B92D0E;" |
|1 |6 |{{Start date|2018|9|25}} |{{End date|2018|10|12}} |
| style="background: #B9800E;" |
|2 |6 | style="padding: 0 8px;" |{{Start date|2020|5|12}} |{{End date|2020|6|9}} |
| style="background: #DADA36;" |
|3 |7 | style="padding: 0 8px;" |{{Start date|2022|10|26}} |{{End date|2022|12|7}} |
| style="background: #6FC71C;" |
|4 |16 |{{Start date|2023|3|29}} |{{End date|2023|11|8}} |
| style="background: #4AA181;" |
|5 |TBD |{{Start date|2024|3|20}} | TBD |
References
{{reflist}}
{{Radiotopia|state=collapsed}}