Sophomore Lit
A podcast about your 10th grade reading list, hosted by John McCoy.
All Episodes
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September 26, 2024
164 Lysistrata
What’s more cultivated and genteel than classical theater? David Loehr discusses Aristophanes’s Lysistrata (411 B.C.E.)
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September 5, 2024
163 The Twenty-One Balloons
Because twenty would be too few and twenty-two would be ridiculous. Shaenon K. Garrity discusses William Pène du Bois’s The Twenty-One Balloons (1947).
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August 13, 2024
162 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Rain Main meets Air Bud. Dan McCoy discusses stims and happy endings and Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003).
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July 15, 2024
161 A Canticle for Leibowitz
This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with a bunch of monks sitting around copying stuff. Jelani Sims returns to discuss Walter M. Miller Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959).
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June 21, 2024
160 Why I Live at the P.O.
Stick some stamps on the top of our heads. Deborah Stanish discusses Eudora Welty’s “Why I Live at the P.O.” (1941)
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May 30, 2024
159 The Phantom Tollbooth
The most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what’s in between. Moisés Chiullán discusses Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth (1961).
[We’ve re-issued this episode to correct an audio problem.]
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April 22, 2024
158 A Perfect Day for Bananafish
Podcasters: What Do They Know? Do They Know Things?? Let’s Find Out! Jason Snell talks about marine life in J.D. Salinger’s “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” (1948).
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April 5, 2024
157 The Veldt
Lions and tigers and bea— you know what, just lions. Jordan Morris is here to discuss Ray Bradbury’s story “the Veldt” (1950).
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March 15, 2024
156 Heart of Darkness
The Podcast! The Podcast! John Holt discusses the ill-fated cruise that is Joseph Conrad’s novelette Heart of Darkness (1899).
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February 1, 2024
155 Tom Sawyer
Though his mind is not for rent, it still is the subject of this episode. Jacob Haller discusses Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer (1876).
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January 10, 2024
154 Wide Sargasso Sea
Actually, I need this sea in an extra wide. Caroline Fulford discusses postcolonialism and recurring fires in Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea (1966).
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December 24, 2023
153 The Burglar’s Christmas
The Burgermeister Meisterburger has nothing on this burglar! My wife Marina joins me for our annual Christmas episode. This time we discuss Willa Cather’s “The Burglar’s Christmas” (1896).
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December 7, 2023
152 The Prince in Waiting
The waiting is the hardest part. Ross Cleaver and James Randall discuss the apocalypse, palace intrigue, and the charm of 80’s BBC television in this episode about John Christopher’s The Prince in Waiting (1970).
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November 22, 2023
151 Thanksgiving Special: Poor Richard’s Almanack
Fish and visitors stink in three days, but podcasts are evergreen! Dan and Rob return for the annual Thanksgiving nonsense with Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack (1732-1758).
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November 10, 2023
150 Valley of the Dolls
Raggedy Ann, Barbie, Chucky—they’re all here. That’s what this book is about, right? Erin Gambrill discusses Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls (1966).
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October 11, 2023
149 On the Beach
Why just sit around waiting for the end of the world when you can hear a podcast about it? Jelani Sims discusses Nevil Shute’s On the Beach (1957).
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September 7, 2023
148 History of the Peloponnesian War
Kids today love Thucydides, right? Anyone? Daniel Daughhetee returns to discuss this late fifth century BCE chronicle of Athens v. Sparta.
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August 7, 2023
147 James Thurber
It’s a naive literary podcast without any breeding, but I think you’ll be amused by its presumption. Dan Cassino discusses James Thurber’s “The Catbird Seat” (1942) and The 13 Clocks (1950).
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July 18, 2023
146 Through the Looking-Glass
If you’ve believed six impossible things before breakfast, why not listen to this podcast before lunch? Phil Gonzales discusses Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871).
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July 3, 2023
145 The Grapes of Wrath
After eight years of the podcast I finally do the inevitable. Shelly Brisbin discusses John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (1939).
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June 10, 2023
144 Howl’s Moving Castle
Howl likes to move it, move it. Audrey Lazaro and Dan McCoy are on to discuss Diana Wynne Jones’s book Howl’s Moving Castle (1986).
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May 12, 2023
143 Long Day’s Journey Into Night
I don’t care how long this day’s journey has been, so help me I will turn this car around if you kids don’t stop. Kris Markel discusses Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night(written 1941, published 1956).
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April 18, 2023
142 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Jean, Jean, the roses are red and all of the leaves have gone green, so Glenn Fleishman and John are discussing Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961).
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April 3, 2023
141 Carrie’s War
Ross Cleaver discusses Carrie’s War (what is it good for?), Nina Bawdwin’s 1973 children’s book about evacuations, skulls, and grumpy Welshmen.
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March 20, 2023
140 The Snows of Kilimanjaro
Grab a whisky and soda and put your leg up. My dad and I discuss Ernest Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” (1936). Bonus content: a visit to the Hemingway Home in Key West!
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March 2, 2023
139 Beloved
Jelani Sims returns to discuss the literal and metaphorical ghosts of Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel Beloved (1987).
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January 20, 2023
138 Great Expectations
I have good feelings about this one! Zach Powers returns to discuss desparate criminals and mysterious benefactors in Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations (1861).
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December 24, 2022
137 A Christmas Carol
There are many podcasts from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited. John and Marina discuss Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol (1843).
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December 7, 2022
136 Stuart Little
This is one weird mouse book. Phil Gonzales and John discuss E. B. White’s Stuart Little(1945).
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November 24, 2022
135 Thanksgiving Special: The Wreck of the Hesperus
It’s Thanksgiving, so of course Rob, John, and Dan drink and discuss “The Wreck of the Hesperus” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1842).
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November 13, 2022
134 Macbeth
Probably best not to listen to this episode while you’re in a theatre. Shannon Campe and John discuss Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1605-ish).
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October 6, 2022
133 The Picture of Dorian Gray
The podcasts that the world calls immoral are podcasts that show the world its own shame. Tamar Avishai and John discuss Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1831).
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September 25, 2022
132 The Canterbury Tales
Those smale foweles maken melodye got nothin’ on us: Kathy Campbell and John discuss Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (c. 1400).
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August 28, 2022
131 Beowulf
The original Farewell to Arms. Nathan Alderman discusses Beowulf (c. 1000).
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July 29, 2022
130 Epic of Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh, a king, at Uruk. It’s not just a Star Trek meme. Gregory Fried talks ritual sex, heavenly bulls, and sneaky snakes in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
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June 24, 2022
129 The Metamorphosis
Gregor’s mother warned him about days like this. Jason Snell discusses Franz Kafka’s inescapable novella, The Metamorphosis (1915).
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May 17, 2022
128 Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Tale of Wall Street
Audrey Lazaro discusses Mellville’s 1853 story, “Bartleby the Scrivener,” one of the top three bits of scrivener fiction ever.
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April 15, 2022
127 The Egypt Game
No, I won’t make a Bangles joke. Erin Gambrill discusses Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s The Egypt Game (1967).
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March 28, 2022
126 Bambi, a Life in the Woods
Bambi’s not so cute in this gritty new reboot. Glenn Fleishman discusses Felix Salten’s 1923 parable about what goes on in the woods. Also we talk a lot about copyright.
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March 1, 2022
125 At the Mountains of Madness
Climb ev’ry mountain—except these mountains, they’re nuts. Phil Gonzales discusses H.P. Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness,” written in 1931 and published in 1936.
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February 4, 2022
124 Under Milk Wood
To begin at the beginning: David Loehr is back in the slow, black, crowblack, podcast-bobbing sea to discuss Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood (1954).
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January 1, 2022
123 The Bell Jar
New Year’s is a time for optimism, but instead Christy Admiraal discusses Sylvia Plath’s 1963 roman à clef, the Bell Jar. Also, John totally gets the dates wrong for this book’s complicated publishing history.
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December 24, 2021
122 Christmas Special: Gift of the Magi
But I sold my Zune to buy you this podcast! Marina and John discuss hair, watches, and O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi.”
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November 25, 2021
121 Thanksgiving Special: Burma-Shave
It’s turkey time / once again / Dan and Rob / dive right in / we discuss / Buma-Shave!
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November 16, 2021
120 Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)
Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need—a podcast, for example, where Bill O’Donnell discusses Jerome K. Jerome’s very silly Three Men in a Boat (1889).
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October 11, 2021
119 Peter Pan
Grab on to your happy thought and join Shannon Campe in discussing James Barrie’s complicated children’s novel Peter Pan (1911), originally called Peter and Wendy.
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September 9, 2021
118 Spoon River Anthology
Spoon River…wider than a mile. Okay, now that we have that out of our way, join Lisa Schmeiser as we discuss Edgar Lee Master’s poetic collection *Spoon River Anthology *(1915).
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August 19, 2021
117 The Dispossessed
Anarchy in the U. K. (LeGuin)! David Woken talks a lot of politics and a little story as we discuss The Dispossessed (1974).
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July 26, 2021
116 Kerouac and Ginsberg
Gena Radcliffe and John don’t blab any drab gab—they chatter hep patter about Jack Kerouac’s “October in the Railroad Earth” (1957) and Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” (1954-55).
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July 3, 2021
115 Flowers for Algernon
I no I wil be smart won day. Until thin I will diskus Daniel Keyes’s epistolary novel Flowers for Algernon (1966) with Jason Snell.
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June 23, 2021
114 Dracula
Please invite in Jelani Lee and Matt Skuta to discuss Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897). We can’t start until you do.
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May 21, 2021
113 Hans Christian Andersen
Let’s all hunker around this match and discuss some of the tales by Hans Christian Andersen. David Loehr returns.
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April 30, 2021
112 George Orwell Essays
It’s phraseology and pachyderms, as Daniel Daughetee discusses Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” (1946) and “Shooting an Elephant” (1936).
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March 31, 2021
111 Our Town
Enjoy every, every minute of Phil and John discussing Thornton Wilder’s Our Town (1938).
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March 8, 2021
110 Persuasion
Maybe you should consider listening to this episode, in which Sammi C. discusses Jane Austen’s Persuasion (1817). Actually, we must insist.
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December 25, 2020
109 Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
Marina McCoy returns to discuss faith, fairies, and newspapers in Francis Pharcellus Church’s “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus” (1897).
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December 23, 2020
108 The Crucible
Why am I persecuted here? Travis Bedard discusses Arthur Miller’s 1953 The Crucible.
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November 26, 2020
107 Trees
I think that I will never see brothers so drunk as we three. Drunken Thanksgiving continues this year with Rob, Dan, and John discussing Joyce Kilmer’s Trees (1914).
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October 31, 2020
106 Atlas Shrugged
Who cares who John Galt is? Bridget Kennedy discusses the geniuses and moochers of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged (1957).
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September 24, 2020
105 Native Son
Jelani Sims returns to discuss Richard Wright’s 1940 wake-up call, Native Son.
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August 25, 2020
104 Walt Whitman: Lincoln Poems
O Captain, My Captain, the podcast has begun! Daniel Daughetee discusses two Whitman poems about Lincoln.
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July 4, 2020
103 White Noise
I considered posting an hour of static, but instead here’s Erin Gambrill and me discussing Don Delillo’s postmodern novel White Noise (1985).
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June 11, 2020
102 Rebecca
Last night I dreamed I did a podcast again. It seemed to me that Gena Radcliffe discussed Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (1935).
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April 17, 2020
101 Little Women
Christmas isn’t Christmas without presents, and literary podcasts aren’t literary podcasts without an exhaustive conversation about Louisa May Alcott’s essential coming of age book. Shannon Campe discusses.
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February 29, 2020
100 Required reading
Happy 100th episode everybody! For this special Sophomore Lit, I asked random people what they remembered most about their high school literature classes.
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February 21, 2020
99 “Tam O’ Shanter” and “To a Mouse”
Och, please dinnae make fun of non-Scottish people Darren Husted and John as they discuss and try to read aloud excerpts of Robert Burns’s “Tam O’ Shanter” (1791) and “To a Mouse” (1785).
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January 21, 2020
98 The Martian Chronicles
You’re the Martian now, Dog! Jason Snell discusses frontiers and sad houses in Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles (1950).
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December 24, 2019
97 A Christmas Memory
It’s fruitcake weather! John and Marina discuss memory, dog bones, and kites in Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory” (1956).
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December 18, 2019
96 The Way of All Flesh
It’s a big long book about Victorian religion and railroad investments! Daniel Reifferscheid discusses Samuel Butler’s The Way of All Flesh (1903).
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November 28, 2019
95 Casey at the Bat
There is no joy in Mudville. My brother Dan discusses “Casey at the Bat” (1888). Happy Thanksgiving!
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November 16, 2019
94 The Bear
And still bellowing he came. Jacob Haller discusses William Faulkner’s “The Bear” (1942).
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October 27, 2019
93 Mrs. Dalloway
Does anybody really know what time it is? Zach Powers discusses Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel, Mrs. Dalloway.
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September 18, 2019
92 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
I promise we won’t make any jokes about losing our heads. Sarah Ifft Decker discusses Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
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August 31, 2019
91 The Sword in the Stone
We didn’t mention that the titular Sword is not the same thing as Excalibur because you already knew that. Rosalynde Vas Dias discusses T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone (1938).
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August 9, 2019
90 The Wind in the Willows
There is nothing half so much worth doing as messing about in boats, except maybe messing about in podcasts. Erin Gambrill discusses The Wind in the Willows.
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July 5, 2019
89 Flatland
John Siracusa returns to discuss Edwin Abbott’s Flatland (1884). Will it give us a new perspective or will it leave us flat? (Spoiler, John hated it.)
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June 12, 2019
88 Fifth Business
After four failed IPOs, we’re sure this one will work! Dan McCoy discusses Robertson Davies’s Fifth Business (1970).
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May 14, 2019
87 The Importance of Being Earnest
The truth is rarely pure and never simple. However, podcasts are both. Ollie Brady discusses Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).
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April 24, 2019
86 The Yellow Wallpaper
Caroline Fulford returns to discuss a nice story about home decorating, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper.”
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March 27, 2019
85 The Long Winter
John’s wife, Marina, returns to discuss strange birds, hidden wheat, and barrel turkeys in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s The Long Winter.
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March 8, 2019
84 Guy De Maupassant
Anaïs Concepcion returns to discuss necklaces, hypocrisy, and roasted chickens in jelly in Guy De Maupassant’s “The Necklace” and “Boule de Suif.”
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February 20, 2019
83 The Day of the Locust
Some people just want to watch the world burn. Josh Hollis and Brian Skinner discuss Nathaniel West’s 1939 novel, The Day of the Locust.
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February 5, 2019
82 Guys and Dolls
We’ve never done a musical before / now all at once it’s Guys and Dolls forevermore. David Loehr discusses the original high school musical.
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January 15, 2019
81 The Call of the Wild
Will we answer the Call of the Wild or will we say “new phone, who dis?” Laura Hayes discusses mushing, wolves, and the surprising amount of Socialism in Jack London’s 1903 novel.
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December 24, 2018
80 A Child’s Christmas in Wales
There were always podcasts at Christmas. Pour some whiskey in your eggnog and join Rosalynde Vas Dias in discussing Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales.
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December 17, 2018
79 The Red Badge of Courage
Hither and thither, the entire Snell Family is here to discuss Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage (1895).
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December 5, 2018
78 A People’s History of the United States
Rise up and seize the methods of producing history textbooks! Daniel Daughhetee discusses the alternative textbook A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn (1980).
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November 22, 2018
77 Over the River and Through the Woods
The horse knows the way—but to WHOSE house? The answer may surprise you. The McCoy Boys are all here for the annual drunk Thanksgiving episode to discuss Lydia Maria Child’s “The New-England Boy’s Song about Thanksgiving Day” (1844).
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November 5, 2018
76 An Enemy of the People
Election Day Special: What does a 19th Century play have to do with fake news and ecological disaster? Probably nothing, but Shannon Campe and Zach Powers are here nonetheless to discuss Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People (1882).
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October 26, 2018
75 The War of the Worlds
No one would have believed in the first years of the twenty-first century that this podcast was being listened to keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own. Jason Snell discusses H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds (1897).
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October 16, 2018
74 A Prayer for Owen Meany
Carla Curtsinger talks armadillos, armlessness, and all caps in John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany.
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October 3, 2018
73 Holes
If only, if only the woodpecker cries, this podcast would adhere to a regular schedule. Matt Skuta returns to discuss Louis Sachar’s beloved middle-reader, Holes.
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September 21, 2018
72 The Westing Game
Fun for the whole family! Ages 10 and up! Dan McCoy discusses Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game (1978).
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September 4, 2018
71 William Carlos Williams
This is Just to Podcast
David Loehr and I will not be making the obvious joke that is just sitting there
and which you were probably expecting for a podcast about WCW
Forgive me I am not a hack
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August 13, 2018
70 Waiting for Godot
Nobody comes, nobody goes, but every few weeks we have a podcast, like this one where Brian Hamilton tries to make sense of Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.
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July 20, 2018
69 Ulysses
Marina McCoy talks about Ulysses yes and Joyce and Ireland yes and jessamine and geraniums and cactuses yes and shall I wear a red yes
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July 7, 2018
68 Ender’s Game
Can’t we play Catan instead? Liz Riegel joins to discuss that most emo young adult novel, Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game.
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June 23, 2018
67 The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Hope you like the Smiths. Hayden Gibson discusses the modern classic of introvert life, The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
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June 7, 2018
66 Little House in the Big Woods
Wolves, fiddles, maple candy, and manifest destiny. Lisa Schmeiser discusses Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
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May 24, 2018
65 A Streetcar Named Desire
Don’t you just love those long rainy afternoons in New Orleans when an hour isn’t just an hour, but an hour spent discussing Tennessee Williams’s best-known play? Gena Radcliffe guest hosts.
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May 4, 2018
64 Winesburg, Ohio
Small towns aren’t all fun and games and Journey songs. Erin Gambrill discusses Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio (1919).
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April 19, 2018
63 A Farewell to Arms
If the world is in no special hurry to kill you, why not join Jason Snell to discuss war, love and vermouth? It’s Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms.
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March 31, 2018
62 Frankenstein
Glenn Fleishman returns to the show to discuss today’s modern Prometheuses. It’s the long-awaited episode on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818-31).
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March 1, 2018
61 Alas, Babylon
Time enough at last…to read novels about nuclear Armageddon! Jelani Sims guests to discuss Pat Frank’s Alas, Babylon.
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February 12, 2018
60 The Outsiders
Nothing gold can stay, but that won’t stop Matt Skuta and John from talking about the greasy hair and switchblades in S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders.
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January 25, 2018
59 John Donne and Andrew Marvell
Had we but world enough and time, we could talk about more poems than just these two: John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and Andrew Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress.” Liz Riegel joins the discussion on meter, metaphor, and metaphysics.
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January 9, 2018
58 Watchmen
What do you see when you look at this inkblot: a masterpiece of sequential art, or a confusing mess? Christy Admiraal discusses the unavoidable Moore / Gibbons comic Watchmen.
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December 16, 2017
57 A Tale of Two Cities
It may not be the best of times, it may not be the worst of times, but it’s time for a new episode so let’s discuss Charles Dickens’s novel of beheading and knitting. Rosalynde Vas Dias joins.
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December 1, 2017
56 From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Time to appreciate the finer things in life, by sleeping on them. Tamar Avishai discusses E. L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
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November 23, 2017
55 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
ARRR, it be Thanksgiving so it’s time for gettin’ drunk and talkin’ poems with family. Dan and Rob McCoy join in to discuss Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”
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October 30, 2017
54 The Haunting of Hill House
Gena Radcliffe discusses sanity and shuffles in Shirley Jackson’s spookifying The Haunting of Hill House. Happy Halloween!
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October 20, 2017
53 The Awakening
Beth Auron discusses why you should never swim less than 20 minutes before reading Kate Chopin’s The Awakening.
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October 5, 2017
52 Lamb to the Slaughter
If only he’d been a vegetarian. Shannon Campe returns to discuss one of Roald Dahl’s shockers for adults, “Lamb to the Slaughter.”
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September 9, 2017
51 A Wrinkle in Time
What happens when you don’t take your clock out of the dryer soon enough? You get A Wrinkle in Time. Matt Skuta returns to discuss tesseracts and bouncing balls.
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August 25, 2017
50 Dubliners
Sophmore Lit hits 50 episodes with the return of John Siracusa as we sort the living from The Dead in James Joyce’s Dubliners (1914).
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August 4, 2017
49 McTeague
Despite all my rage, I am still just a canary in a cage. Jason Snell returns to discuss San Francisco, steam beer, and gold teeth in Frank Norris’s McTeague. Reading: David Loehr. Theme music: Malcolm Nygard.
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July 21, 2017
48 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
What’s waiting ‘round the bend, my Huckleberry friend? Jelani Sims helps make sense of the glorious mess that is Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
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July 7, 2017
47 The Handmaid’s Tale
Before the Hulu series that everyone told you you had to watch was the Margaret Atwood novel that everyone told you you had to read. Caroline Fulford returns to discuss dystopias and how to tell your waves of feminism apart.
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June 27, 2017
46 Annie John
Sometimes, a girl just wants to play marbles. Kwame Phillips discusses the Caribbean, doctor fish, and Jamaica Kincaid’s Annie John.
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June 8, 2017
45 Hawthorne tales
Unsightly blemishes! Toxic maidens! David Loehr returns to discuss two short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter.”
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May 1, 2017
44 Invisible Man
And you thought your electric bill was nuts. Jane Dempsey returns to discuss Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.
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April 10, 2017
43 The Glass Menagerie
It’s nothing a little glue won’t fix. David Loehr is here to discuss Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie.
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March 30, 2017
42 The Stranger
Do you cry at funerals? If not, maybe you’re the protagonist of Albert Camus’s The Stranger. Matt Skuta returns to puzzle this absurd novel out.
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March 1, 2017
41 Forever…
Guys let’s all be mature about this. Shannon Campe returns to discuss Judy Blume’s forbidden book for teens, “Forever…”
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February 3, 2017
40 Absalom, Absalom!
Ashley Challinor and John spend a long still hot weary dead September afternoon discussing not merely a Absalom, Absalom! by Faulkner, nor yet the ideal of the great Southern novel, but in fact the very podcast of an ideal of a thought of a concept of a the becoming of a book.
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January 26, 2017
39 Slaughterhouse Five
We return to both Kurt Vonnegut and to Jason Snell, as we discuss the most famous book about time and birdsong ever written, Slaughterhouse Five.
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December 19, 2016
38 Edna St. Vincent Millay
Are you unsure of how candles work? Then join Megan Tripp and John as we discuss the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay.
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December 8, 2016
37 The Giver
When it comes to these podcasts, we give and give and you take and take! But that’s okay, because this time Matt Skuta and I are discussing Lois Lowry’s The Giver.
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December 2, 2016
36 The Seagull
In mourning for your life? Then why not join Ethan Warren and John as they discuss Anton Chekov’s The Seagull.
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November 23, 2016
35 The Courtship of Miles Standish
Look, it’s Thanksgiving and Dan and I are drunk. Let’s discuss Longfellow’s The Courtship of Miles Standish.
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October 30, 2016
34 Crime and Punishment
Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. We’re talking about 600 pages of time. Zach Powers joins the discussion of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment.
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October 20, 2016
33 Stories of Ambrose Bierce
It’s a good thing the rope broke so now we have time to talk about Ambrose Bierce’s “A Horseman in the Sky” and “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” Spencer Seams of coming podcast Tune In Tonight is here to discuss stories that end happily with no surprises!
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September 14, 2016
32 Bless Me, Ultima
Have you heard the Good News about the Golden Carp? Joel Torres is here to help us survive the perilous childhood of Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima.
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August 21, 2016
31 The Rivals
Quick, what was George Washington’s favorite play? If you guessed Richard Sheridan’s The Rivals, congratulations, you know how to use Google! Darren Husted joins in to discuss.
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August 4, 2016
30 To the Lighthouse
Will a family of repressed middle-class Brits ever, in fact, make it To The Lighthouse? Join Trevor Gibson and John as we attempt not to be afraid of Virginia Woolf.
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July 4, 2016
29 Edgar Allan Poe
Need something to do while you’re holed up in the palace avoiding the plague? Why not discuss a couple of Edgar Allan Poe stories with Daniel Daughhetee?
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June 15, 2016
28 Their Eyes Were Watching God
Jane Dempsey discusses the birds and the bees—well, the bees at least—in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God.
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June 2, 2016
27 The Little Prince
What is essential is invisible to the eye—but we can still podcast about it. Anaïs Concepcion discusses The Little Prince.
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May 13, 2016
26 Brave New World
Time for a Soma Holiday! This time Jason Snell discusses Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.
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April 24, 2016
25 Stories II: Jackson and O’Connor
Our high school years were full of teen angst. Let’s really give ourselves something to be upset about! Shannon Campe and Caroline Fulford discuss the brutal stories “The Lottery” (Shirley Jackson) and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (Flannery O’Connor).
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April 5, 2016
24 Moby-Dick
Is it a damp, drizzly November in your soul? Then why not spend two hours with Glenn Fleishman discussing Herman Melville’s leviathantic Moby-Dick?
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March 24, 2016
23 Death of a Salesman
The only thing you’ve got in this world is what you can sell. And we’re selling this fine podcast! Check out the quality workmanship that Nicolas Hoffman brings to this discussion of Arthur Miller’s inevitable Death of a Salesman.
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March 15, 2016
22 Jane Eyre
Reader, we take on Jane Eyre: Caroline Fulford discusses bad childhoods, brooding noblemen, and something cray cray in the attic.
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March 6, 2016
21 Watership Down
Bunnies. ‘Nuff said. Malcolm Nygard joins to discuss Richard Adams’s epic tale of lagogmorphs, Watership Down.
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February 22, 2016
20 Animal Farm
Elliott Kalan joins in for a quiet weekend in the country with George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Four legs: good! Four eyes: nerd!
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January 20, 2016
19 Romeo and Juliet
Two co-hosts, alike in dignity, Sharlene Wellington and Stuart Wellington join in for a star-crossed discussion of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Can we possibly say anything new about the most famous play ever? Probably not, but we sure giggle a lot.
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January 13, 2016
18 Stranger in a Strange Land
You asked for it. Oh, why did you ask for it? Jason Snell returns to discuss Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, in a double-sized podcast that will take as long to listen to as the book does to read.
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December 21, 2015
17 Pride and Prejudice
Let’s not jump to conclusions. This time Sammi C joins in to discuss Jane Austen’s inescapable classic, Pride and Prejudice. Put on your empire dresses, grab your dance cards, and let’s do this!
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December 7, 2015
16 The Scarlet Letter
This time historian Daniel Daughetee of The Lesser Bonapartes joins in to discuss Nathaniel Hawthorne’s inescapable novel The Scarlet Letter. What? You somehow made it through high school without reading it? You should have to wear a symbol of your shame for all to see! Also, last week I neglected to mention that Malcolm Nygard, composer of the new theme song, has his own podcast: Apoc Radio.
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November 22, 2015
15 The Chocolate War
Do you dare disturb the universe? If not, do you dare to read the über-depressing novel The Chocolate War by Robert Corimer? Join Shannon Campe as we discuss the surprising number of autoerotic scenes in this seminal work of teen literature. Also! A new theme song! A surprise guest reader! And dodgy audio that lets you know I recorded this in my basement.
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October 30, 2015
14 A Raisin in the Sun
Ocomogosiay! This time John atones for the shame of not having read Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun back at his lily-white high school. Fortunately, first-time podcaster Dominique Garnette joins in to discuss life in the South Side.
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October 1, 2015
13 Short Stories I: The Lady, or the Tiger?, The Monkey’s Paw, The Most Dangerous Game
Careful which door you choose. Or what you wish for. Or which island you wind up stranded on in the middle of the night with a couple of crazy foreigners. John Siracusa returns to discuss a trio of twisty stories, “The Lady, or the Tiger?,” “The Monkey’s Paw,” and “The Most Dangerous Game.” With readings so short, you have no excuse to come to class unprepared!
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September 8, 2015
12 Poetry: Frost and Sandburg
Don your berets! This time Erik Stadnik joins in to look at some of the poems we read in high school, by flinty New Englander Robert Frost and exuberant Midwesterner Carl Sandburg. Get in touch with your sensitive side (for once)!
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September 4, 2015
11 Cat’s Cradle
Don’t be a stuppa. Forget your granfalloon and let this podcast be your wampter. Jason Snell joins in to discuss Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle. Busy, busy, busy!
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August 28, 2015
10 The Old Man and the Sea
What must a man endure? Must a man endure a podcast about Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea? Sure, why not. Erika Ensign joins in to discuss marlins, sharks, and the Great DiMaggio.
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August 18, 2015
9 The Skin of Our Teeth
Dinosaurs and mammoths and the end of the world, oh my! This time Phil Gonzales joins in to discuss the time we made it through by The Skin of Our Teeth. Is Thornton Wilder’s play still relevant? Is it understandable? Why aren’t you watching it right now?
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July 16, 2015
8 Wuthering Heights
I’m so co-o-o-old, let me in-a your window so we can talk about Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. This time I’m joined by Shannon Campe to discuss those crazy kids Heath and Cathy.
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May 23, 2015
7 Of Mice and Men
Wee, sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous beastie, O, what a podcast for thy iPhone! David Kalan joins in for a discussion of John Steinbeck’s meditation on bindlestiffs and sausages, Of Mice and Men.
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May 17, 2015
6 A Separate Peace
A lot of the books we read in high school were downers, but only one book was literally about falling down, out of a tree. Al Lewis attended the real school where A Separate Peace took place and lived to tell about it, which (spoiler alert) is more than we can say for all the novel’s characters.
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May 11, 2015
5 To Kill a Mockingbird
Don’t go poking around the old Radley house. But if you do, bring along bona fide southern belle Beth Lewis Auron as we discuss Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
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April 20, 2015
4 Fahrenheit 451
As Nelly might say, It’s getting hot in here, so put away all your books. Liza Daly joins me in discussing a world without books (which for our younger listeners are dead trees with printing on them), Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.
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February 15, 2015
3 The Great Gatsby
Do you believe in the Green Light? Guest host Carla Curtsinger does. Join us as we discuss yellow cars, neglected babies, and giant eyes on billboards. It’s F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
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February 2, 2015
2 The Catcher in the Rye
Phonies watch out. This discussion of J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in The Rye is extra long. Who’d have guessed that John Siracusa would have so much to say? Check into a seedy hotel and have a listen, won’t you?
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January 22, 2015
1 Lord of the Flies
In our first episode we explore how similar-sounding a host’s and guest’s voices can be as John is joined by his brother, Dan, of the Flop House Podcast. We talk about everyone’s favorite story of Man vs. Nature vs. Man’s Dark Heart vs. Pig, Lord of the Flies by William Golding.