There's a Poem in That

Send us Fan Mail In this bonus behind-the-scenes episode of TAPIT, Alexa (Episode 15) gets her poem "Blessing" revealed to her in a largely unedited session, shared with her permission. In it, you'll get a chance to see what it's like for guests to have their  last interviews with Todd. Every conversation is different, and every guest is a blessing, but there are always surpris...

Send us Fan Mail When Alexa loses her mother to a sudden heart attack on Mother’s Day—just one year after her father dies of cancer—grief doesn’t arrive as a single blow, but as a cascade. At 23, she becomes a de facto parent to her teenage brother alongside her younger sister, the three of them bound together by loss, responsibility, and a fragile, hard-won love. Alexa’s story moves through the c...

Send us Fan Mail He broke a man's jaw to go undefeated on national TV—and felt nothing. Think Mike Lee’s pro boxing career looks like a dream? Inside the ring, yes, he was impressive. But outside of it, the pros and cons weren't passing weigh-ins. "You'd think that someone who punched other people in the face for a living would want to do a podcast about poems, but ... here we...

Send us Fan Mail A love expert's love life inspires a poem that just might become a lifelong companion. In this intimate exchange conducted over the course of ten months, Brooke brings us along on the roller coaster of her dating life, all the while attempting to locate the heart of the problem. Todd finds the soul of it.  Support the show Join the conversation and get bonus content at poemin...

Send us Fan Mail Part 1 of a 3-part "upside-down" episode!  This upside-down 3-part edition of TAPIT opens on a poem, and ends on a dream. When Todd knocks on a stranger’s door to deliver a poem he wrote about the occupant three years ago when he lived across the street from her, a surprising friendship unfolds.  Support the show Join the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat....

Send us Fan Mail Part 3 of a 3-part "upside-down" episode!  This upside-down 3-part edition of TAPIT opens on a poem, and ends on a dream. When Todd knocks on a stranger’s door to deliver a poem he wrote about the occupant three years ago when he lived across the street from her, a surprising relationship unfolds.  Support the show Join the conversation and get bonus content at poemintha...

Send us Fan Mail Part 2 of a 3-part "upside-down" episode!  This upside-down 3-part edition of TAPIT opens on a poem, and ends on a dream. When Todd knocks on a stranger’s door to deliver a poem he wrote about the occupant three years ago when he lived across the street from her, a surprising relationship unfolds.  Support the show Join the conversation and get bonus content at poemintha...

Send us Fan Mail When a concert bassoonist is canceled for her refusal to get vaccinated, a whole new universe opens, her father’s star burning brightest. Disclaimer:  The views expressed in this episode about vaccines, medical care, and esotericism do not represent those on the TAPIT team. Support the show Join the conversation and get bonus content at poeminthat.com ... or become a listener supp...

Send us Fan Mail A stroke victim must override paralysis to meet Todd halfway between hemispheres in this intimate exploration of nonverbal disability. But "any dance worth doing is struggle…" Chapters in this Episode: Our initiatives The history of dance Breaking down borders Jackie joins in The power of poetry The poem: "In Praise of Your Aphasia" Support the show Join the co...

Send us Fan Mail Phillip's new US citizenship status is the celebratory focus of this episode of TAPIT. It's a celebration 30 years in the making, and it ends in a custom poem worthy of an inauguration. Join us on the journey of a lifetime, as Phillip overcomes rage, discovers love, changes careers, adopts a new name, and learns to see the beauty in his own immigration story.  Host Todd...

Send us Fan Mail Some of America’s most celebrated poets are standing by to write poems for you on commission. Together, they form The International Bureau of Custom Poetry. More about the Bureau here . In this special introductory episode, Bureau agent Dorianne Laux recounts her path from gas station attendant to Pulitzer Prize finalist, including a cameo of her mother at the sewing machine in Do...

Send us Fan Mail Some of America’s most celebrated poets are standing by to write poems for you on commission. Together, they form The International Bureau of Custom Poetry. More about the Bureau here . In this micro-episode, Bureau agent Sasha LaPointe shares her writing process, the breadth of her essays, and her focus on personal and shared experiences, all aimed at trying to 'make sense o...

Send us Fan Mail Inspired by a poem of Todd’s in Poetry Magazine , “The Hush of the Very Good” in 2007, Connie became Todd’s very first private commission. The project ended with an unforgettable encounter in the snow-filled forests of northern Wisconsin. In this special holiday episode of TAPIT, Todd reaches back out to Connie after all these years, to revisit the magic they made together.  Chapt...

Send us Fan Mail Host Todd Boss converses with Holly about the tragic loss of her son Killian. Her changing relationship and communion with God and His will for her life inspire a graceful, grateful hymn. Chapters in this episode: Holly catalogs her losses A bit of background Killian's silence Finding peace in a new place A shifting sense of identity and God Telling the truth about grief The...

Send us Fan Mail Host Todd Boss enlists the help of Indigenous poet Sasha LaPointe to  motivate Bonnie on her journey of healing and exploration, through the inspiring Skagit Valley landscape.   Chapters in this episode: One more great feat Pain, glory, and a conservative church Two worlds: Transformation is real Skagit Valley and its heritage However: Two worlds Bonnie meets Sasha Sasha LaPointe...

Send us Fan Mail The image of an adult on a tricycle — precarious and uncertain — became the driving force behind the poem Ken needed for his wife Sue's memorial service.  Chapters in this episode: Introduction at the cabin A couple of loons on tricycles Ken and Sue take on the world together Swiss miss, cuckoo clocks, and finding a home in one another Sue’s diagnosis, surgery, complications,...

Send us Fan Mail Jon's wife Christy got pancreatic cancer ten years ago, but Jon still carries the fear of losing her. It's a long hallway from diagnostics to recovery, but Jon's found the right doctor: Todd helps him stop over-intellectualizing, cutting through the voices in his head, until only sweet remission (from the Latin "to relax,") colors the horizon. Revealed to...

Send us Fan Mail Todd helps Joan, a vocalist, make connections between the loss of her singing voice, three miscarriages, and her survival of a historic Amtrak train wreck. Along the way, we meet her daughters, learn how Indian ashrams and silent meditation retreats have been as important to Joan as her music, and discover the redeeming power of laughter. Todd's (three!) poems for Joan suppor...

Send us Fan Mail New in March 2023! There's a Poem in That is a podcast in which award-winning poet Todd Boss helps strangers discover the poetry in their most intimate stories.  Each episode ends with the reveal of a custom poem written expressly for a guest stranger. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll  want a poem of your very own. Support the show Join the conversation and get...