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Audacious with Chion Wolf

The PEZ Factor(y)! Inside the sweetest obsession

By Jessica Severin de Martinez,
Coco Cooley, Megan Fitzgerald, Robyn Doyon-Aitken , Chion Wolf
Published December 12, 2025 at 7:00 AM EST
Host of Audacious, Chion Wolf recieves a freshly warm pez inside of the Pez Factory on July 29, 2025 in Orange, CT. (Ayannah Brown/Connecticut Public)
1 of 6  — Audacious - Pez Factory
Host of Audacious, Chion Wolf recieves a freshly warm pez inside of the Pez Factory on July 29, 2025 in Orange, CT. (Ayannah Brown/Connecticut Public)
Ayannah Brown / Connecticut Public
Host of Audacious, Chion Wolf inside of the Pez Factory infront of a vat of orange sugar on July 29, 2025 in Orange, CT. (Ayannah Brown/Connecticut Public)
2 of 6  — Audacious - Pez Factory
Host of Audacious, Chion Wolf inside of the Pez Factory infront of a vat of orange sugar on July 29, 2025 in Orange, CT. (Ayannah Brown/Connecticut Public)
Ayannah Brown / Connecticut Public
Host of Audacious, Chion Wolf and intern Coco Cooley listen as Shawn Peterson, Direct to Consumer Business Manager, gives a tour of the Pez Factory on July 29, 2025 in Orange, CT. (Ayannah Brown/Connecticut Public)
3 of 6  — Audacious - Pez Factory
Host of Audacious, Chion Wolf and intern Coco Cooley listen as Shawn Peterson, Direct to Consumer Business Manager, gives a tour of the Pez Factory on July 29, 2025 in Orange, CT. (Ayannah Brown/Connecticut Public)
Ayannah Brown / Connecticut Public
The Pez Factory includes an interactive museum that attendees can explore. From history to a scavenger hunt, you can learn about all the different types of PEZ, their collaborationd, and how they have continued to produce thousands over the years July 29, 2025. (Ayannah Brown/Connecticut Public)
4 of 6  — Audacious - Pez Factory
The Pez Factory includes an interactive museum that attendees can explore. From history to a scavenger hunt, you can learn about all the different types of PEZ, their collaborationd, and how they have continued to produce thousands over the years July 29, 2025. (Ayannah Brown/Connecticut Public)
Ayannah Brown / Connecticut Public
The Pez Factory includes an interactive museum that attendees can explore. From history to a scavenger hunt, you can learn about all the different types of PEZ, their collaborationd, and how they have continued to produce thousands over the years July 29, 2025. (Ayannah Brown/Connecticut Public)
5 of 6  — Audacious - Pez Factory
The Pez Factory includes an interactive museum that attendees can explore. From history to a scavenger hunt, you can learn about all the different types of PEZ, their collaborationd, and how they have continued to produce thousands over the years July 29, 2025. (Ayannah Brown/Connecticut Public)
Ayannah Brown / Connecticut Public
Emily Tracy is a Manchester resident who memorialized her PEZ-collecting mom with a tattoo of her head on top of a PEZ dispenser.
6 of 6  — emily tracy pez tattoo
Emily Tracy is a Manchester resident who memorialized her PEZ-collecting mom with a tattoo of her head on top of a PEZ dispenser.
Chion Wolf / Connecticut Public

Step into the technicolor world of PEZ!

We tour the Connecticut factory where more than 12 million tiny candies are pressed each day, guided by archivist Shawn Peterson, whose personal collection helped shape the Visitor Center.

Meet Brian Trauman, the Guinness World Record holder whose thousands of dispensers trace a lifetime of joyful obsession.

Hear Emily Tracy’s tender, funny, heartbreaking story about the PEZ tattoo she got to honor her mother.

And the hosts of PEZamania, the world’s largest PEZ convention, talk about how nostalgia and candy become community.

Suggested episodes:

GUESTS: 

  • Shawn Peterson: Company archivist and historian at PEZ Candy, Inc. in Orange, CT. He manages the PEZ Visitor Center, where much of the collection on display comes from his own personal archive. He is also the author of PEZ: From Austrian Invention to American Icon and Collector’s Guide to PEZ: Identification and Price Guide
  • Brian Trauman: Owns the world's largest Pez collection and holds the Guinness World Record for “largest candy dispenser collection.” He has been collecting since 1999 and owns more than 6,400 dispensers 
  • Morgan Rhinehart and Landon Proctor: hosts of PEZamania in Ohio – the longest running collector convention in the world, established in 1991
  • Emily Tracy: Manchester resident who memorialized her PEZ-collecting mom with a tattoo of her head on top of a PEZ dispenser

Jessica Severin de Martinez, Meg Fitzgerald, and Robyn Doyon-Aitken contributed to this show, with help from Coco Cooley and Isaac Moss. 

Audacious with Chion Wolf is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tune In, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

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Audacious with Chion Wolf
Jessica Severin de Martinez
Jessica Severin de Martinez is a producer for Audacious with Chion Wolf.
See stories by Jessica Severin de Martinez
Coco Cooley
Coco Cooley is a Talk Show Production Intern for summer 2025. She is a current Wesleyan student studying Anthropology and Sociology, while pursuing an Anthropology thesis about Renaissance Faires. She also enjoys cooking, watching bad television, and swimming in non-ocean bodies of water.
See stories by Coco Cooley
Megan Fitzgerald
Meg Fitzgerald is the senior manager of projects and radio programming.
See stories by Megan Fitzgerald
Robyn Doyon-Aitken
Robyn Doyon-Aitken is the Deputy Director of Audio Storytelling and Talk Shows
See stories by Robyn Doyon-Aitken
Chion Wolf
Chion Wolf is the host of Audacious with Chion Wolf on Connecticut Public, spotlighting the stories of people whose experiences, professions, or conditions defy convention or are often misunderstood.
See stories by Chion Wolf