Season 2 | Episode 2: "Mustaching"

"You cannot grow a beard in a moment of passion,” wrote GK Chesterton. As unfortunately true as that may be, people today are increasingly passionate about beards, mustaches and generally men's grooming, especially in Austin, Texas. During this second episode of Zeugma's second season, group members Andy Uzendoski and Jake Cowan take on the technology and visual rhetoric surrounding facial hair in honor of Movember.

You can stream the episode below; you can also download it via iTunes and LibSyn.

First up we talk to Mike from Handlebar, a mustache themed bar in downtown Austin, about the merchandising and marketing of beards and mustaches. We'll try to identify just what it is that makes facial hair so popular among young adults today, and what your average Joe or Jane, with or without facial hair, can do to get involved with charities this month for Movember – aka, No-Shave November.

After speaking with Mike, we'll hop across the street to the Good Life Barbershop, where we meet up with Debbie, the owner and head barber (pun intended). An expert on men's grooming, Debbie goes into the details of how people are styling their beards and mustaches today. She tells us what technology is involved in trimming and shaving modern facial hair, and what people talk about when in the barber's chair with a blade to their neck.