This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. When the holidays start to feel a bit repetitive, reach for Sprite Winter Spice Cranberry and put your twist on tradition. A bold cranberry and winter spice flavors fusion, Sprite Winter Spice Cranberry is a refreshing way to shake things up this sipping season and only for a limited time. Sprite.
Obey your thirst. iHeart for great seasonal savings on LG Gram laptops with Windows 11. PCMag Reader's Choice used with permission. All rights reserved. This is Sophie Cunningham from Show Me Something.
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This information is provided by Lilly, a medicine company. This is Rob Gronkowski from Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jules. For the second season in a row, I partnered with T-Mobile's Friday night 5G lights, powering up hometown football across America. This year, T-Mobile invested over $4 million in prizes to help schools take their Friday nights to the next level.
Now it's time to crown our $1 million grand prize winner. A huge congrats to Derrick's High School in Derrick's, Arkansas, home of the Outlaws and your 2025 T-Mobile Friday Night 5G Lights Champion. They scored a home field upgrade, Gronk Fitness weight room, a 2026 tailgate party, and an all-expense paid trip to the SEC Championship game. To every school that competed, posted, and rallied your communities, thank you. And a big thanks to T-Mobile for making it all possible and helping communities shine under the Friday night lights.
This season may be over, but the story isn't. Stay tuned for Season 3 in 2026.
So, let me get this straight. Your company has data here, there, and everywhere. But your AI can't use the data because it's here, there and everywhere? It seems like something's missing. Every business has unique data.
IBM helps your AI access your data wherever it lives to change how you do business. Let's create smarter business, IBM. And we continue with Our American Stories This one how a Charlie Brown Christmas came to be and almost didn Americans fell in love with the show when it first aired on television back in 1965. It's been a part of our lives ever since. But the story of how Charles Schultz's A Charlie Brown Christmas came to be is itself an American classic.
So too is the story of how it almost didn't come to be. But first things first, the 30-minute Christmas special wasn't birthed by the creative urge. It was commissioned by a commercial sponsor looking to turn the nation's most beloved newspaper cartoon strip into an animated TV special. Here's Lee Mendelsohn, who produced the special, telling the story of how this special came to be. Would your creative group be interested in doing a Christmas special for Coca-Cola?
Have you thought about doing one? I said, oh, absolutely. We think about it all the time. And he said, well, we need an outline down in Atlanta on Monday. It was Wednesday.
So send us what you have and we'll see what happens.
So I called Mr. Schultz on the phone. I called Mr. Melendez because we'd worked together on the documentary two years before. And I said, I think I just sold a Charlie Brown Christmas.
And they said, what's that? And I said to Schultz, that's something you're going to write tomorrow.
So Bill flew up from Hollywood, and I drove up from San Francisco, and he did write it on a Thursday. Those days we sent it by Western Union on a Friday, and Monday they called up and said, okay, let's do a Charlie Brown Christmas. The team worked fast. They had only three months to create a script, record it, make a soundtrack, and create 30,000 animation cells from scratch. And this was all before the days of computer animated design.
When the special was finished, it wasn't a hit with network executives. The first problem was the laugh track, or the lack thereof. It was unimaginable to produce TV comedy without it back in the 1960s. Schultz thought more highly of the viewers. He didn't believe they needed to be cued to laugh at predetermined moments.
Another disagreement involved the voice work. CBS executives wanted to use adult actors who pretended to be kids. Schultz believed that using children gave the characters more authenticity. The CBS executives also had a problem with the jazz soundtrack by Vince Giraldi. The music was too sophisticated for a children's program, they worried.
They wanted something younger. The CBS executives also thought the show was too slow. They didn't think there was enough action in a show dedicated to children with limited attention spans. Last, the CBS executives worried about the scene where Linus recites the story of the birth of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of Luke. It was too long, they believed, and too literal.
The CBS executives assumed that Americans, especially American kids, wouldn't want to sit through a spoken passage from the King James Bible. Quote, they were freaking out about something so overtly religious in a Christmas special, explained Bill Melendez. They basically wrote it off. Schultz didn't just get pushback from CBS executives. Members of his own team were skeptical, too.
Melendez himself was hesitant. Quote, I was leery of the religion that came into it. I was right away opposed to it, he told reporters. Luckily for Schultz, he was the beneficiary of a tight production schedule. Moreover, the network, the advertising agency, and the show's sponsor, Coca-Cola, had already promoted the show in TV Guide.
Schultz had leverage and he wasn't about to capitulate on key creative elements. And they aired the special as Schultz had intended And that why Charles Schultz was Charles Schultz He intuitively knew the things Americans cared about the things that gave their lives meaning The longtime Sunday school teacher also knew the reading from the Gospel of Luke was the centerpiece of the show and a centerpiece of American life. It's a scene we'll always remember as Charlie Brown sinks into despair while trying to find the true meaning of Christmas. Linus walks on stage, stage center, and under a narrow spotlight, quotes that scripture from the Gospel of Luke. And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them. And the glory of the Lord shone round about them. And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not. For behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in the manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill toward men. And after Linus finishes, He walks across the stage and says, quote, CBS executives were certain the show would be a ratings disaster.
Programmers, well, they were equally grim, informing the production team, quote, we will, of course, air it next week, but I'm afraid we won't be ordering anymore. On Thursday, December 8, 1965, the half-hour special aired, preempting The Munsters and following Gilligan's Island. 50% of American television tuned in. The cartoon was a critical and commercial hit, winning an Emmy and a Peabody Award. Linus's recitation was hailed by critic Harriet Van Horn of the World Telegram, who wrote, quote, Linus's reading of the story of the nativity was, quite simply, the dramatic highlight of the television season.
Coca-Cola, well, it was inundated with letters from fans of the special. Here's one. Gentlemen, I am writing the first fan letter in my 52 years of a rather full life to compliment you on sponsoring the A Charlie Brown Christmas television program. I don't know when any program has delighted as many adults as well as children, and I am writing to express the hope that you might be able to sponsor additional Charlie Brown programs. Grand Rapids, Michigan.
And here's another. To the makers of Coca-Cola, we wish to compliment you on the peanut show you sponsored on TV. Your production stands out as refreshing as your product. Our thanks to you Mr. Schultz for bringing to the fore in his wholesome philosophy the real spirit of Christmas, which is so often obliterated by a false one.
It is our hope that Peanuts may find a permanent place in the TV realm. May the makers of Coca-Cola be greatly blessed for their part in this worthwhile endeavor. Sign the Sisters of St. Francis in Bell Vernon, Pennsylvania. But Charlie Brown's Christmas found that permanent place in the TV realm, that's for sure, and in America's hearts.
It equaled only by the 1966 program How the Grinch Stole Christmas in its popularity among young and old alike Thank God the Grinch executives at CBS chose to air the special back in 1965. If it had been left to their instincts, we'd have one less national treasure to cherish come Christmastime. The story of a Charlie Brown's Christmas, the story of Charles Schultz in a way, and his intuitive understanding of what works in programming. The idea of having a jazz soundtrack, one of the most beloved of all time, was something all of the suits thought was a bad idea, but not Schultz. The kid actors, not the adult actors.
The laugh track and the absence thereof, and most importantly, that Bible scene. All of these great artistic decisions make Charlie Brown's Christmas what it is. That story, the story of how Charlie Brown Christmas came to be and almost didn't here on Our American Story. This is Eva Longoria from Hungry for History with Eva Longoria and Maite Gomez Rejon. Like the song says, it's the most wonderful time of the year.
And also a wonderfully busy one. All that merriment can weigh down even Santa's sleigh.
So keep it wonderful by keeping yourself wonderful with a crisp, cold Coca-Cola. Ah, pause for fizzy joy. Look out for yourself and then look out for everyone else. And together we'll make this season as wonderful as it's meant to be. Enjoy a Coca-Cola.
Refresh your holidays. Did you know Microsoft has officially ended support for Windows 10? Upgrade to Windows 11 with an LG Gram laptop. Voted PCMag's Reader's Choice Top Laptop Brand for 2025. Thin and ultra lightweight, the LG Gram keeps you productive anywhere.
And Windows 11 gives you access to free security updates and ongoing feature upgrades. Visit lgusa.com slash iHeart for great seasonal savings on LG Gram laptops with Windows 11. PCMag Reader's Choice used with permission. All rights reserved. The world's best ski and snowboard athletes are chasing medals.
Now you can follow their every move. Join Insider, the official U.S. ski and snowboard fan loyalty program, and get premium viewing at World Cup ski events, exclusive athlete meetups, discounts from brands you love, and a custom welcome gift mailed direct to your doorstep. This winter, show your support as they race for the podium. Head to insider.usskiandsnowboard.org and join today.
Bring incredible sound into every corner of your home this holiday with the new Wim Sound smart speaker. Get high-resolution audio with a 1.8-inch touchscreen, smart control, and modern design in one powerful speaker for just $2.99. From quiet mornings to lively holiday gatherings, Wim Sound makes every moment sound better and feel better, too. Get the gift of the season for the music enthusiast in your life or for yourself. Wim Sound.
Beautifully designed, effortlessly connected. Shop now at Amazon and search Wim Sound. That's W-I-I-M-S-O-U-N-D. This holiday season, give the gift of incredible sound with Vizio's full soundbar lineup available at Walmart. Transform any living room into a home theater with rich, immersive audio that brings every movie, show, and song to life.
Whether you're gifting a loved one or upgrading your own setup, Vizio soundbars deliver powerful, crystal clear sound that turns ordinary watching into extraordinary experiences. Stream your favorite holiday playlist with the iHeartRadio app and discover how good your music can truly sound. Head to Walmart.com and find your perfect Vizio soundbar today. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.
