Introduction

Peanuts was a beloved comic strip that ran in thousands of newspapers.  Americans processed many of the cultural changes of the 60's through Peanuts: "jogging", an obsession with "cool", psychotherapy, idealism, cynicism, and commercialization. At the same time, many of the themes explored by the Peanuts gang were timeless and deeply personal:  depression, unrequited love, identity, trust and belonging, for example. These are great subjects for starting and sustaining meaningful conversation. What did Peanuts mean to you then? What about now?