Shows / Sophomore Lit
Sophomore Lit
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!
Episodes
- Sophomore Lit
197: The Lathe of Heaven
Host John McCoy with Bill O'Donnell. Referenced Works The Lathe of Heaven Show Notes & Links The Lathe of Heaven (1980) The legendary made for public…
- Sophomore Lit
196: Dorothy Parker Stories
Beauty is only skin deep, but podcasts go clean to the bone. Shaenon K. Garrity discusses four short stories by Dorothy Parker. Host John McCoy with Shaenon K…
- Sophomore Lit
195: Tennyson Poems
I cannot rest from podcasting. Jill Hoffman returns to discuss three poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: “Charge of the Light Brigade” (1854)…
- Sophomore Lit
194: Choose Your Own Adventures
What’s life without choices? How about books that are nothing but choices? Ross Cleaver discusses the choose-your-own genre with examples from both the…
- Sophomore Lit
193: Poe and Doyle: Dupin vs. Holmes
Which detective is better, Edgar Allan Poe’s Auguste Dupin or Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes? I mean it’s obviously Holmes but that…
- Sophomore Lit
192: Hamlet
There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our podcasts. First-time co-host Tim Read discusses William Shakespeare’s most famous…
- Sophomore Lit
191: Asterix and Cleopatra
Zut alors! Ross Cleaver returns to discuss the totally historically accurate Asterix and Cleopatra (Astérix et Cléopâtre) by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo…
- Sophomore Lit
190: The Wheel on the School
Storkin’ it up! First-time co-host Jill Hoffman discusses Meindert De Jong’s Newbury-winning book, The Wheel on the School (1954). Host John McCoy…
- Sophomore Lit
189: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Jelani Sims returns to talk about Mildred D. Taylor’s heartbreaking Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1977). Host John McCoy with Jelani Sims. Support this…
- Sophomore Lit
188: Archy and Mehitabel
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…
- Sophomore Lit
187: The Apology
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)…
- Sophomore Lit
186: "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman
First-time co-host Daniel Heddendorf joins in to discuss clocks and jellybeans in Harlan Ellison’s short story, “‘Repent, Harlequin!’…
- Sophomore Lit
185: The Third Policeman
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…
- Sophomore Lit
184: I am the Cheese
Hope you’re not lactose intolerant! Matt Skuta returns to discuss John Cormier’s I am the Cheese (1977). Host John McCoy with Matt Skuta. Show…
- Sophomore Lit
183: Christmas Special: "A Christmas Turkey"
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)…
- Sophomore Lit
182: The Watch House
Who watches the Watch House? Not us, the book is better. Ross Cleaver returns to discuss Robert Westall’s The Watch House (1977). Host John McCoy with…
- Sophomore Lit
181: Thanksgiving Special: Protest Songs
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…
- Sophomore Lit
180: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Podcasts could happen to anyone. David Loehr discusses exits and entrances in Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (first performed 1966…
- Sophomore Lit
179: The Last Unicorn
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…
- Sophomore Lit
178: R.U.R.
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…
- Sophomore Lit
177: The Pushcart War
Brush up on the Large Object Theory of History. Shaenon K. Garrity returns to discuss Jean Merrill’s The Pushcart War (1964). Host John McCoy with…
- Sophomore Lit
176: Walden, or Life in the Woods
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…
- Sophomore Lit
175: Elizabeth Bishop Poems
Somebody loves us all. Rosalynde Vas Dias discusses three poems by Elizabeth Bishop: “Sestina” (1956), “Filling Station” (1956), and…
- Sophomore Lit
174: The Chrysalids
Podcasts are the original voices in your head. David Dredrick discusses John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids (1955). Host John McCoy with David Dedrick. Support…
- Sophomore Lit
173: The Visit
Make money fast with this one weird trick. Glenn Fleishman discusses Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s play The Visit (1956). Host John McCoy with Glenn Fleishman…
- Sophomore Lit
172: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
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…
- Sophomore Lit
171: Frank O'Connor Stories
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…
- Sophomore Lit
170: Emily Dickinson Poems
Forever is composed of podcasts. Caroline Fulford discusses selected poems by Emily Dickinson (c. 1860-65). Host John McCoy with Caroline Fulford and Marina…
- Sophomore Lit
169: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Cigars are always trouble. Marina McCoy discusses Barbara Robinson’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1972). Host John McCoy with Marina McCoy. Support…
- Sophomore Lit
168: The Time of Your Life
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…
- Sophomore Lit
167: Thanksgiving Special: Comfort Reads
Hey, things are tough. The McCoy Bros, Rob, John, and Dan, discuss the books that get them through. Host John McCoy with Rob McCoy and Dan McCoy. Support this…
- Sophomore Lit
166: The Owl Service
Ross Cleaver returns to talk owls, plates, and Welsh mythology in Alan Garner’s The Owl Service (1967). Host John McCoy with Ross Cleaver. Show Notes &…
- Sophomore Lit
165: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
This episode has many omissions, and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate. Jacob Haller tries to make sense of Douglas Adams’s…
- Sophomore Lit
164: Lysistrata
What’s more cultivated and genteel than classical theater? David Loehr discusses Aristophanes’s Lysistrata (411 B.C.E.) Host John McCoy with David…
- Sophomore Lit
163: The Twenty-One Balloons
Because twenty would be too few and twenty-two would be ridiculous. Shaenon K. Garrity discusses William Pène du Bois’s The Twenty-One Balloons (1947)…
- Sophomore Lit
162: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Rain Main meets Air Bud. Dan McCoy discusses stims and happy endings and Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003). Host…
- Sophomore Lit
161: A Canticle for Leibowitz
This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with a bunch of monks sitting around copying stuff. Jelani Sims returns to discuss Walter M. Miller…
- Sophomore Lit
160: Why I Live at the P.O.
Stick some stamps on the top of our heads. Deborah Stanish discusses Eudora Welty’s “Why I Live at the P.O.” (1941) Host John McCoy with…
- Sophomore Lit
159: The Phantom Tollbooth
The most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what’s in between. Moisés Chiullán discusses Norton Juster’s The Phantom…
- Sophomore Lit
158: A Perfect Day for Bananafish
Podcasters: What Do They Know? Do They Know Things?? Let’s Find Out! Jason Snell talks about marine life in J.D. Salinger’s “A Perfect Day…
- Sophomore Lit
157: The Veldt
Lions and tigers and bea— you know what, just lions. Jordan Morris is here to discuss Ray Bradbury’s story “the Veldt” (1950). Host…
- Sophomore Lit
156: Heart of Darkness
The Podcast! The Podcast! John Holt discusses the ill-fated cruise that is Joseph Conrad’s novelette Heart of Darkness (1899). Host John McCoy with John…
- Sophomore Lit
155: Tom Sawyer
Though his mind is not for rent, it still is the subject of this episode. Jacob Haller discusses Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer (1876). Host John McCoy with…
- Sophomore Lit
154: Wide Sargasso Sea
Actually, I need this sea in an extra wide. Caroline Fulford discusses postcolonialism and recurring fires in Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea (1966). Host…
- Sophomore Lit
153: The Burglar's Christmas
The Burgermeister Meisterburger has nothing on this burglar! My wife Marina joins me for our annual Christmas episode. This time we discuss Willa…
- Sophomore Lit
152: The Prince in Waiting
The waiting is the hardest part. Ross Cleaver and James Randall discuss the apocalypse, palace intrigue, and the charm of 80’s BBC television in this…
- Sophomore Lit
151: Thanksgiving Special: Poor Richard's Almanack
Fish and visitors stink in three days, but podcasts are evergreen! Dan and Rob return for the annual Thanksgiving nonsense with Benjamin Franklin’s Poor…
- Sophomore Lit
150: Valley of the Dolls
Raggedy Ann, Barbie, Chucky—they’re all here. That’s what this book is about, right? Erin Gambrill discusses Jacqueline Susann’s Valley…
- Sophomore Lit
149: On the Beach
Why just sit around waiting for the end of the world when you can hear a podcast about it? Jelani Sims discusses Nevil Shute’s On the Beach (1957). Host…
- Sophomore Lit
148: History of the Peloponnesian War
Kids today love Thucydides, right? Anyone? Daniel Daughhetee returns to discuss this late fifth century BCE chronicle of Athens v. Sparta. Host John McCoy with…
- Sophomore Lit
147: James Thurber
It’s a naive literary podcast without any breeding, but I think you’ll be amused by its presumption. Dan Cassino discusses James Thurber’s…
- Sophomore Lit
146: Through the Looking-Glass
If you’ve believed six impossible things before breakfast, why not listen to this podcast before lunch? Phil Gonzales discusses Lewis Carroll’s…
- Sophomore Lit
145: The Grapes of Wrath
After eight years of the podcast I finally do the inevitable. Shelly Brisbin discusses John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (1939). Host John McCoy with…
- Sophomore Lit
144: Howl's Moving Castle
Howl likes to move it, move it. Audrey Lazaro and Dan McCoy are on to discuss Diana Wynne Jones’s book Howl’s Moving Castle (1986). Host John McCoy…
- Sophomore Lit
143: Long Day's Journey Into Night
I don’t care how long this day’s journey has been, so help me I will turn this car around if you kids don’t stop. Kris Markel discusses…
- Sophomore Lit
142: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Jean, Jean, the roses are red and all of the leaves have gone green, so Glenn Fleishman and John are discussing Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean…
- Sophomore Lit
141: Carrie's War
Ross Cleaver discusses Carrie’s War (what is it good for?), Nina Bawdwin’s 1973 children’s book about evacuations, skulls, and grumpy…
- Sophomore Lit
140: The Snows of Kilimanjaro
Grab a whisky and soda and put your leg up. My dad and I discuss Ernest Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” (1936). Bonus content: a visit…
- Sophomore Lit
139: Beloved
Jelani Sims returns to discuss the literal and metaphorical ghosts of Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel Beloved (1987). Host John McCoy with…
- Sophomore Lit
138: Great Expectations
I have good feelings about this one! Zach Powers returns to discuss desparate criminals and mysterious benefactors in Charles Dickens’s Great…