American Slide Chart: The Carol Stream, Illinois Company That Has Been Quietly Running the Analog World Since 1970
Most people have never heard of American Slide Chart. But if you’ve ever spun a cocktail mixing wheel, used an HVAC sizing chart, or received a popup college acceptance letter, you’ve almost certainly held one of their products without knowing it.
In this episode of Fascinating Nouns, I finally fulfill a 14-year obsession by sitting down with Nanette Keir, the creative force and public face of American Slide Chart, to explore the full history of the company and the industry it inhabits. From Perrygraf — founded in 1934 by Lester Perry in Maywood, Illinois, and so synonymous with the product that “perrygraf” became the generic term for a slide wheel — to the bootstrap founding of American Slide Chart by James E. Johnson in 1970, to the moment in 1988 when American Slide Chart became so successful it bought back its parent company and became the largest producer of slide charts in the world.
Along the way the conversation covers the Oughtred Society (the secret underground organization dedicated to the preservation of slide rules and calculating devices), the surprising and poignant story of company president Julie Anne Johnson, the tactile analog comeback driven by digital fatigue, and why volvelles and popup polyhedrons might be having their moment again.
This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in print history, information design, Chicago business history, analog technology, or the quiet persistence of companies that do one thing extraordinarily well.
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5 Oct 2026
*Bonus* – Fire Walk With Me Into The Return
In this bonus episode, Scott and I discuss the importance of Fire Walk With Me, how Mark and David timed The Return to debut almost 25 years to the day after the finale of season 2, the hidden darkness of Twin Peaks, and how Mark Frost is a prolific sports writer.
21 Sept 2026
Ep. 281: The Strange and Wonderful World of Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks Untold: The Real Story Behind TV’s Most Influential Show
Few television shows have left a mark on popular culture as deep and lasting as Twin Peaks. Created by David Lynch and Mark Frost and premiering on ABC in 1990, Twin Peaks didn’t just tell the story of who killed Laura Palmer — it rewrote the rules of what television could be, pioneering serialized storytelling, dream logic narratives, and the kind of obsessive audience engagement that defined prestige TV for the next three decades.
In this episode of Fascinating Nouns, I sit down with Scott Meslow — senior editor at The Week, culture contributor at GQ and New York Magazine, and author of A Place Both Wonderful and Strange: The Extraordinary Untold History of Twin Peaks — to explore the real behind-the-scenes story of the show: how Sheryl Lee was hired as an extra and became the soul of the series, how the Red Room was invented out of a contractual obligation (and a hot car), how ABC forced the reveal of Laura Palmer’s killer before the creators were ready, and whether David Lynch and Mark Frost actually knew who the killer was from the very beginning.
Whether you’re a longtime Twin Peaks fan, a student of television history, or simply curious about the show that inspired everything from The Sopranos to Lost to Severance, this conversation is essential listening.
A Place Both Wonderful and Strange (https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-place-both-wonderful-and-strange-the-extraordinary-untold-history-of-twin-peaks-scott-meslow/a68bf366214920f0?ean=9798894140391&bkshp-astro=t) is available now wherever books are sold.
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Purchase “A Place Both Wonderful and Strange” (https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-place-both-wonderful-and-strange-the-extraordinary-untold-history-of-twin-peaks-scott-meslow/a68bf366214920f0?ean=9798894140391&bkshp-astro=t)
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Who has been a guest on Fascinating Nouns
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John O'Connor
Dr Brian Hare
Tea Krulos
Noah Charney
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Apple Podcasts (US)
4.9 / 5
15 ratings
Spotify
3.3 / 5
3 ratings
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