John McCoy

Sophomore Lit

Arts EN ↓ 191 episodes

John McCoy and a guest host read books you might have been assigned in high school, or college, or other stuff you might have read when you were a kid. The theming is loose!

Author

John McCoy

Category

Arts

Podcast website

www.theincomparable.com

Latest episode

Jun 8, 2026

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Episodes

191: Asterix and Cleopatra 08.06.2026

Zut alors! Ross Cleaver returns to discuss the totally historically accurate Asterix and Cleopatra (Astérix et Cléopâtre) by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo (serialized starting in 1963). John McCoy with Ross Cleaver.

190: The Wheel on the School 20.05.2026

Storkin’ it up! First-time co-host Jill Hoffman discusses Meindert De Jong’s Newbury-winning book, The Wheel on the School (1954). John McCoy with Jill Hoffman.

189: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry 01.05.2026

Jelani Sims returns to talk about Mildred D. Taylor’s heartbreaking Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1977). John McCoy with Jelani Sims.

188: Archy and Mehitabel 15.04.2026

boss these podcasts are getting out of hand the other day i heard dan mccoy and his much older brother discussing archy and mehitabel by which i mean the column by don marquis that started in 1916 and then was collected into a book if you could call it that in 1927 John McCoy with Dan McCoy.

187: The Apology 26.03.2026

Love of wisdom means never having to say you’re sorry. Professor Marina McCoy joins her husband to discuss Plato’s The Apology (c. 399-90 BCE). John McCoy with Marina McCoy.

186: "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman 26.02.2026

First-time co-host Daniel Heddendorf joins in to discuss clocks and jellybeans in Harlan Ellison’s short story, “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” (1965). John McCoy with Daniel Heddendorf.

185: The Third Policeman 13.02.2026

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like. Shaenon K. Garrity returns to discuss Flan O’Brien’s enigmatic The Third Policeman (written 1940, published 1967). John McCoy.

184: I am the Cheese 08.01.2026

Hope you’re not lactose intolerant! Matt Skuta returns to discuss John Cormier’s I am the Cheese (1977). John McCoy with Matt Skuta.

183: Christmas Special: "A Christmas Turkey" 24.12.2025

What, the one as big as me? Marina McCoy makes her holiday return to discuss Mário de Andrade’s sweet-and-salty “A Christmas Turkey” (1956). John McCoy with Marina McCoy.

182: The Watch House 09.12.2025

Who watches the Watch House? Not us, the book is better. Ross Cleaver returns to discuss Robert Westall’s The Watch House (1977). John McCoy with Ross Cleaver.

181: Thanksgiving Special: Protest Songs 26.11.2025

The answer, my friend…is not a lyric in the any of the songs the McCoy Brothers discuss. For this annual drunk Thanksgiving Special, Rob, Dan, and John talk about Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, One Tin Soldier, and Alice’s Restaurant. John McCoy with Rob McCoy and Dan McCoy.

180: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead 10.11.2025

Podcasts could happen to anyone. David Loehr discusses exits and entrances in Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (first performed 1966, published 1967). John McCoy with David J. Loehr.

179: The Last Unicorn 08.10.2025

Don’t it allways seem to go, you don’t know what unicorns you got til they’re gone. Kathy Campbell discusses Peter S. Beagle’s 1968 The Last Unicorn. John McCoy with Kathy Campbell.

178: R.U.R. 24.09.2025

BEEP boop what is… love? Well, we don’t figure this out, but John Siracusa does return to Sophomore Lit to discuss Karel Čapek’s play R.U.R. (1920), the origin of the word “robot.” John McCoy with John Siracusa.

177: The Pushcart War 27.08.2025

Brush up on the Large Object Theory of History. Shaenon K. Garrity returns to discuss Jean Merrill’s The Pushcart War (1964). John McCoy with Shaenon K. Garrity.

176: Walden, or Life in the Woods 18.07.2025

If you’re suffering from Quiet Desparation, why not listen to the not-so-quiet voices of Dan Daughhetee and me discussing Henrey David Thoreau’s Walden, or Life in the Woods (1854)? John McCoy with Daniel Daughetee.

175: Elizabeth Bishop Poems 13.06.2025

Somebody loves us all. Rosalynde Vas Dias discusses three poems by Elizabeth Bishop: “Sestina” (1956), “Filling Station” (1956), and “Crusoe in England” (1971). John McCoy with Rosalynde Vas Dias and Marina McCoy.

174: The Chrysalids 23.04.2025

Podcasts are the original voices in your head. David Dredrick discusses John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids (1955). John McCoy with David Dedrick.

173: The Visit 18.03.2025

Make money fast with this one weird trick. Glenn Fleishman discusses Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s play The Visit (1956). John McCoy with Glenn Fleishman.

172: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock 25.02.2025

And indeed there will be time to discuss this, the most mid-life white-guy crisis poem of all. Lisa Schmeiser discusses T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (1915). John McCoy with Lisa Schmeiser.

171: Frank O'Connor Stories 03.02.2025

I’ve heard it said by men of wide experience that podcasts used to be better in the old days. Kieran Healy discusses three short stories by Frank O’Connor: “First Confession,” “The Majesty of the Law,” and “Guests of the Nation.” John McCoy with Kieran Healy.

170: Emily Dickinson Poems 10.01.2025

Forever is composed of podcasts. Caroline Fulford discusses selected poems by Emily Dickinson (c. 1860-65). John McCoy with Caroline Fulford and Marina McCoy.

169: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever 24.12.2024

Cigars are always trouble. Marina McCoy discusses Barbara Robinson’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1972). John McCoy with Marina McCoy.

168: The Time of Your Life 06.12.2024

Sometimes you want to go where everybody is a thread in the fabric of the human condition. Also they know your name. Phil Gonzales discusses William Saroyan’s The Time of Your Life (1939). John McCoy with Phil Gonzales.

167: Thanksgiving Special: Comfort Reads 27.11.2024

Hey, things are tough. The McCoy Bros, Rob, John, and Dan, discuss the books that get them through. John McCoy with Rob McCoy and Dan McCoy.

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