Copperplate Gothic is probably already on your computer. It comes pre-loaded on many. It has been there this whole time, quietly convincing people it's elegant.

It is not elegant.

In this episode, we examine why Copperplate has become the go-to typeface for business cards, law firms, and anyone who wants to seem serious — and why designers have described it as a "hodgepodge," a "pastiche," and, memorably, "like bad cherries." Along the way you'll learn more than you strictly needed to know about display typefaces, how they were a product of technological disruption, and — as a bonus — drop caps.

We also get to revisit our old mate Frederic (no K) Goudy, and briefly, his consistently under-credited wife Bertha Matilda "Woman Printer of the Year" Goudy.

Along the way Anitra and Inger take detours into what it means to be a "real twin," and Jason reveals an unexpected and extensive (and slightly disturbing) knowledge of the work of Sean Connery.

This episode gets pretty loose, even if Copperplate does not.

"Back to Font" is out now in English, German, and Spanish! Buy it on Amazon. It's got 5 stars!

Visit our website thetypepod.org to see the show notes.

#wehategoudy

You’ve seen Mrs Eaves everywhere—even if you’ve never known her name. In this episode, we uncover the story behind one of the most familiar typefaces around, and its designer, Suzanna Licko—a woman who gets credit for her work (well, mostly… it’s complicated).

Anitra dives into the research with plenty of side-eye and a healthy distrust of design history, informed in part by having gone to design school with private school boys. Along the way, we detour into the HR relations of early 18th-century print shops, trade magazines, and the so-called legibility wars of the early 1990s.

Stick with us—or better still, visit our website to see Mrs Eaves used in the transcript—and you’ll leave ready to dominate bookstores with your new favourite game: guess that book cover typeface (Spoiler alert: it's probably Mrs Eaves).

"Back to Font" is out now in English, German, and Spanish! Buy it on Amazon. It's got 5 stars!

Visit our website thetypepod.org to see the show notes.

#wehategoudy

An emergency podcast. Ripped straight from the headlines of a couple weeks ago.

When Calibri was unceremoniously replaced by Times New Roman under the Trump administration, we chose to process our feelings—potential travel ban be damned.

Yes, this episode is about fonts. And no, it’s really not.

In a looser, more unscripted conversation than usual, we turn rage into humour while exposing how typography has always been political: shaping authority, enforcing norms, and quietly excluding people.

Typefaces, it turns out, have never been neutral.

"Back to Font" is out now in English, German, and Spanish! Buy it on Amazon. It's got 5 stars!

Visit our website thetypepod.org to see the show notes.

#wehategoudy