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.
Sophomore Lit
A podcast about your 10th grade reading list, hosted by John McCoy.
Episodes
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. John McCoy.
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.
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.
53: The Awakening
Beth Auron discusses why you should never swim less than 20 minutes before reading Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. John McCoy.