The fashion and culture podcast “Articles of Interest” will return for a seventh season that explores the relationship between the US military, the high-tech performance wear industry and America’s fascination with “gorpcore.” Host Avery Trufelman will tease the seven-part series in Monday’s episode of “Articles of Interest,” about the history behind zippers.
The season, titled “Gear,” is the culmination of a two-year investigation and will premiere on Oct. 22. Trufelman’s research took her to a military convention in Washington, DC, the corporate archives of REI in Seattle and the Outdoor Recreation Archive in Utah.
“[The military is] embedded in every single aspect of American life, like the military is just all around us. Everyone contracts with the military. It’s just part of the air we breathe. And so of course, it’s in our clothing,” Trufelman told The Business of Fashion.
Trufelman describes the story behind “Gear” as a uniquely American tale, dating back to the US military’s early adoption of functional, utility-based uniforms, which has since been implemented worldwide. The series will also investigate the military and outdoor gear industry’s relationship with climate change and homelessness. “These fates are really interwoven,” Trufelman said. “Especially in the United States, we don’t really have a social safety net. … The only sort of fallback that we have is actually, like, a tent and a good jacket.”
The upcoming season will be the show’s first multi-part series since “American Ivy,” which premiered in 2022 and unpacked the historical and cultural significance of the prep aesthetic.
“Gear” was produced in partnership with independent podcast network Radiotopia and will be available on all major audio streaming platforms.