Sophomore Lit - podcast cover

Sophomore Lit

A podcast about your 10th grade reading list, hosted by John McCoy.

Episodes

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. John McCoy with David J. Loehr.

Feb 05, 20191 hr 10 minEp 82Transcript available on Metacast

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. John McCoy.

Jan 15, 201950 minEp 81Transcript available on Metacast

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. John McCoy with Rosalynde Vas Dias.

Dec 24, 201844 minEp 80Transcript available on Metacast

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). John McCoy with Jason Snell, Lauren Snell and Jamie Snell.

Dec 17, 201842 minEp 79Transcript available on Metacast

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). John McCoy with Daniel Daughetee.

Dec 05, 20184 hr 33 minEp 78Transcript available on Metacast

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). John McCoy with Dan McCoy and Rob McCoy.

Nov 22, 201820 minEp 77Transcript available on Metacast

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). John McCoy with Shannon Campe and Zach Powers.

Nov 05, 201850 minEp 76Transcript available on Metacast

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). John McCoy with Jason Snell.

Oct 26, 201854 minEp 75Transcript available on Metacast

74: A Prayer for Owen Meany

Carla Curtsinger talks armadillos, armlessness, and all caps in John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany. John McCoy with Carla Curtsinger.

Oct 16, 201857 minEp 74Transcript available on Metacast

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. John McCoy with Matt Skuta.

Oct 03, 201850 minEp 73Transcript available on Metacast

72: The Westing Game

Fun for the whole family! Ages 10 and up! Dan McCoy discusses Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game (1978). John McCoy with Dan McCoy and Nathan Alderman.

Sep 21, 201845 minEp 72Transcript available on Metacast

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 John McCoy with David J. Loehr, Kathy Campbell, Moisés Chiullán, Steve Lutz and Jessica Epstein.

Sep 04, 20182 hr 12 minEp 71Transcript available on Metacast

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. John McCoy with Brian Hamilton.

Aug 13, 201849 minEp 70Transcript available on Metacast

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 John McCoy with Marina McCoy.

Jul 20, 20181 hr 14 minEp 69Transcript available on Metacast

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. John McCoy with Liz Riegel and Jason Snell.

Jul 07, 20181 hr 6 minEp 68Transcript available on Metacast

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. John McCoy with Hayden Gibson and Brian Hamilton.

Jun 23, 20181 hr 5 minEp 67Transcript available on Metacast

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. John McCoy with Lisa Schmeiser and Kelly Guimont.

Jun 07, 20181 hr 7 minEp 66Transcript available on Metacast

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. John McCoy with Gena Radcliffe and Shannon Campe.

May 24, 201858 minEp 65Transcript available on Metacast

64: Winesburg, Ohio

Small towns aren’t all fun and games and Journey songs. Erin Gambrill discusses Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio (1919). John McCoy with Erin Gambrill and David J. Loehr.

May 04, 201851 minEp 64Transcript available on Metacast

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. John McCoy with Jason Snell.

Apr 19, 20181 hrEp 63Transcript available on Metacast

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). John McCoy and Glenn Fleishman with Moisés Chiullán.

Mar 31, 20181 hr 15 minEp 62Transcript available on Metacast

61: Alas, Babylon

Time enough at last…to read novels about nuclear Armageddon! Jelani Sims guests to discuss Pat Frank’s Alas, Babylon. Jelani Sims.

Mar 01, 201856 minEp 61Transcript available on Metacast

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. John McCoy with Matt Skuta.

Feb 12, 201848 minEp 60Transcript available on Metacast

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. John McCoy.

Jan 25, 201841 minEp 59Transcript available on Metacast

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. John McCoy with Christy Admiraal.

Jan 09, 201846 minEp 58Transcript available on Metacast

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. John McCoy with Rosalynde Vas Dias.

Dec 16, 201758 minEp 57Transcript available on Metacast

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.” John McCoy with Dan McCoy and Rob McCoy.

Nov 23, 201722 minEp 55Transcript available on Metacast

54: The Haunting of Hill House

Gena Radcliffe discusses sanity and shuffles in Shirley Jackson’s spookifying The Haunting of Hill House. Happy Halloween! John McCoy.

Oct 30, 20171 hr 6 minEp 54Transcript available on Metacast

53: The Awakening

Beth Auron discusses why you should never swim less than 20 minutes before reading Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. John McCoy.

Oct 20, 201756 minEp 53Transcript available on Metacast
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