Sophomore Lit

It’s a big long book about Victorian religion and railroad investments! Daniel Reifferscheid discusses Samuel Butler’s The Way of All Flesh (1903). John McCoy with Daniel Reifferscheid.

There is no joy in Mudville. My brother Dan discusses “Casey at the Bat” (1888). Happy Thanksgiving! John McCoy with Dan McCoy.

And still bellowing he came. Jacob Haller discusses William Faulkner’s “The Bear” (1942). Jacob Haller.

Does anybody really know what time it is? Zach Powers discusses Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel, Mrs. Dalloway. John McCoy with Zach Powers and Jean MacDonald.

I promise we won’t make any jokes about losing our heads. Sarah Ifft Decker discusses Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. John McCoy with Sarah Ifft Decker.

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). John McCoy with Rosalynde Vas Dias.

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. John McCoy with Erin Gambrill and Kelly Guimont.

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.) John McCoy with John Siracusa.

After four failed IPOs, we’re sure this one will work! Dan McCoy discusses Robertson Davies’s Fifth Business (1970). Dan McCoy.

The truth is rarely pure and never simple. However, podcasts are both. Ollie Brady discusses Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). John McCoy with Ollie Brady.

Caroline Fulford returns to discuss a nice story about home decorating, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper.” John McCoy with Caroline Fulford.

John’s wife, Marina, returns to discuss strange birds, hidden wheat, and barrel turkeys in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s The Long Winter. John McCoy with Marina McCoy.

Anaïs Concepcion returns to discuss necklaces, hypocrisy, and roasted chickens in jelly in Guy De Maupassant’s “The Necklace” and “Boule de Suif.” John McCoy with Anaïs Concepcion.

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. John McCoy with Josh Hollis and Brian Skinner.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.