It's been 25 years since Bob Ross died and 26 years since his The Joy of Painting went off the air. But there are 52 episodes of the show available to stream on Netflix. Bob Ross and Chill is a thing. The 403 full episodes available on YouTube have accumulated something approaching 250 million views. And last summer, The New York Times did ross-paintings-mystery.html">a big Bob Ross investigation.

This hour: a look at the undying force for permed hair and puffy little clouds and happy little trees that is Bob Ross.

Plus: Could we do a show about Bob Ross without also talking Thomas Kinkade? No we could not. And so no we do not.

GUESTS:

• Nathan Badley - Cohost of the Nothing But a Bob Thang podcast
• Alexis Boylan - Associate professor of art history at UConn and the editor of Thomas Kinkade, The Artist in the Mall
• Justin Croft - Cohost of the Nothing But a Bob Thang podcast
• Emily Rhyne - Cinematographer at The New York Times

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired September 26, 2019.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.