Tough Cookie: The Wally “Famous” Amos Story

Latest episodes

Showing 8 · updated from the feed

Holiday Bonanza! Cookie Q&A and A Very Dickens Christmas

Enjoy this episode from our friends at Milk Street Radio! We answer your calls with Vaughn Vreeland (of New York Times Cookie Week fame) to help you bake the best cookies

Dec 19 2025
54 min

Legacy Is a Tricky Thing

The final chapter of Wally Amos’s life (and this podcast) begins with him quite literally on the run back to Hawaii and sets up a series of painful battles for host Sarah

Nov 26 2025
50 min

When a Cookie Crumbles

As Wally Amos continues to chase the fading fame from his Famous Amos days, he drifts farther and farther away from those who know him best, including host Sarah Amos, hi

Nov 19 2025
58 min

Almost Happy Endings

On the surface, Wally Amos appears to have it all: the fame, the fortune, and a new wife and daughter. And to top it off, he’s living in a big pink mansion in Hawaii. He’

Nov 12 2025
53 min

The Cookie King

From Andy Warhol to Andy Kaufman, the meteoric success of Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies was filled with big personalities and truly original ideas, infused with the

Nov 5 2025
45 min

Don’t Take Pictures in Hell

Born in 1936 in Tallahassee, Florida, Wally Amos would rise from a poor Black kid in the segregated South to the first Black agent at the William Morris Agency, by way of

Oct 29 2025
45 min

My Dad, Famous Amos

Meet Wally Amos. He founded the ubiquitous Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies in 1975, turning the brand into an overnight sensation and himself into a pop-culture fixtur

Oct 29 2025
41 min

Welcome To The World of Wally “Famous" Amos

A poor Black kid from the segregated South, Wally Amos would go on to be one of the most recognizable business and pop-culture figures of the 1970s and 1980s after launch

Oct 15 2025
5 min

Chart trend

Position in the Documentary chart (US), last 90 days.

#1#101#200JunJulAugSep

#5

all-time peak

14

days in the top 10 since Oct 2025

Chart positions

Where Tough Cookie: The Wally “Famous” Amos Story ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 17, 2026).

#148 ▼ 19 Documentary US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

Well done and a beautiful ending. Must listen. So many life lessons. Great to know the true history of what was clearly one of the most notable and “famous“ pioneering black Americans of the 20th century.

Russell Fugett · Jan 2026

This story is a rollercoaster in all the good ways. It resonated with all of the family drama, tug at heartstrings with the view of Wally from the kids’ perspectives, and lit me up hearing about Wally’s character and all the good-and bad- he achieved in his lifetime. I loved it all.

discomabes · Dec 2025

What an absolutely beautiful show. The scripting got better and better as it went along, and the last episode had me in tears. It’s a stunning exploration of family and legacy (and absolute messiness!) Can’t recommend it enough.

aiuoline · Nov 2025

Though I am an avid consumer of podcasts – at least three per day typically – I rarely review them. However, I absolutely had to take a few minutes to review this brilliant podcast. The hosts voice is absolutely lovely – both very intelligent, and yet simultaneously emotive and very expressive in a sincere way. so I grew up in the era of famous Amos and loved his cookies, I had no idea about his personal story and didn’t know why I would be interested in it. However, something about it, attracted me, and once I started listening, I was absolutely hooked. Beyond being well produced, it is heartfelt in its essence. I would like to send a huge thank you to everyone who created this podcast and I am hoping that you will create more like this. ❤️

Domenica Zana · Nov 2025

We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.