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Explore every episode of the podcast Sophomore Lit

Dive into the complete episode list for Sophomore Lit. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

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1–50 of 173

TitlePub. DateDuration
173: The Visit18 mars 202500:46:04
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 Prufrock25 févr. 202500:37:06
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 Stories03 févr. 202500:58:20
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 Poems10 janv. 202501:00:09
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 déc. 202400:24:57
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 Life06 déc. 202401:01:03
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 Reads27 nov. 202400:24:43
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.

166: The Owl Service19 nov. 202400:44:18
Ross Cleaver returns to talk owls, plates, and Welsh mythology in Alan Garner’s The Owl Service (1967).

John McCoy with Ross Cleaver.

165: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy25 oct. 202400:58:06
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 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979).

John McCoy with Jacob Haller.

164: Lysistrata26 sept. 202400:49:23
What’s more cultivated and genteel than classical theater? David Loehr discusses Aristophanes’s Lysistrata (411 B.C.E.)

John McCoy with David J. Loehr.

163: The Twenty-One Balloons05 sept. 202400:53:51
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).

John McCoy with Shaenon K. Garrity.

162: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time13 août 202400:46:16
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).

John McCoy with Dan McCoy.

161: A Canticle for Leibowitz15 juil. 202400:57:38
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 Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959).

John McCoy with Jelani Sims.

160: Why I Live at the P.O.21 juin 202400:44:07
Stick some stamps on the top of our heads. Deborah Stanish discusses Eudora Welty’s “Why I Live at the P.O.” (1941)

John McCoy with Deborah Stanish.

159: The Phantom Tollbooth30 mai 202400:52:18
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 Tollbooth (1961). [We’ve re-issued this episode to correct an audio problem.]

John McCoy with Moisés Chiullán.

158: A Perfect Day for Bananafish22 avr. 202400:37:31
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 for Bananafish” (1948).

John McCoy with Jason Snell.

157: The Veldt05 avr. 202400:30:29
Lions and tigers and bea— you know what, just lions. Jordan Morris is here to discuss Ray Bradbury’s story “the Veldt” (1950).

John McCoy with Jordan Morris.

156: Heart of Darkness15 mars 202400:58:27
The Podcast! The Podcast! John Holt discusses the ill-fated cruise that is Joseph Conrad’s novelette Heart of Darkness (1899).

John McCoy with John Holt.

155: Tom Sawyer01 févr. 202400:59:50
Though his mind is not for rent, it still is the subject of this episode. Jacob Haller discusses Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer (1876).

John McCoy with Jacob Haller.

154: Wide Sargasso Sea10 janv. 202400:51:40
Actually, I need this sea in an extra wide. Caroline Fulford discusses postcolonialism and recurring fires in Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea (1966).

John McCoy with Caroline Fulford.

153: The Burglar's Christmas24 déc. 202300:22:30
The Burgermeister Meisterburger has nothing on this burglar! My wife Marina joins me for our annual Christmas episode. This time we discuss Willa Cather’s “The Burglar’s Christmas” (1896).

John McCoy with Marina McCoy.

152: The Prince in Waiting 07 déc. 202300:47:45
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 episode about John Christopher’s The Prince in Waiting (1970).

John McCoy with Ross Cleaver and James Randall.

151: Thanksgiving Special: Poor Richard's Almanack22 nov. 202300:24:07
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 Richard’s Almanack (1732-1758).

John McCoy with Dan McCoy and Rob McCoy.

150: Valley of the Dolls10 nov. 202300:56:34
Raggedy Ann, Barbie, Chucky—they’re all here. That’s what this book is about, right? Erin Gambrill discusses Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls (1966).

John McCoy.

149: On the Beach11 oct. 202300:40:52
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).

John McCoy with Jelani Sims.

148: History of the Peloponnesian War07 sept. 202300:38:02
Kids today love Thucydides, right? Anyone? Daniel Daughhetee returns to discuss this late fifth century BCE chronicle of Athens v. Sparta.

John McCoy with Daniel Daughetee.

147: James Thurber07 août 202300:42:43
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 “The Catbird Seat” (1942) and The 13 Clocks (1950).

John McCoy with Dan Cassino.

146: Through the Looking-Glass18 juil. 202300:58:00
If you’ve believed six impossible things before breakfast, why not listen to this podcast before lunch? Phil Gonzales discusses Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871).

John McCoy with Phil Gonzales.

145: The Grapes of Wrath03 juil. 202300:59:58
After eight years of the podcast I finally do the inevitable. Shelly Brisbin discusses John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (1939).

John McCoy with Shelly Brisbin.

144: Howl's Moving Castle10 juin 202300:45:54
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).

John McCoy with Dan McCoy and Audrey Lazaro.

143: Long Day's Journey Into Night12 mai 202300:49:40
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 Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night(written 1941, published 1956).

John McCoy with Kris Markel.

142: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie18 avr. 202300:58:58
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 Brodie (1961).

John McCoy with Glenn Fleishman.

141: Carrie's War03 avr. 202300:37:54
Ross Cleaver discusses Carrie’s War (what is it good for?), Nina Bawdwin’s 1973 children’s book about evacuations, skulls, and grumpy Welshmen.

John McCoy with Ross Cleaver.

140: The Snows of Kilimanjaro20 mars 202300:41:03
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 to the Hemingway Home in Key West!

John McCoy.

139: Beloved02 mars 202300:53:10
Jelani Sims returns to discuss the literal and metaphorical ghosts of Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel Beloved (1987).

John McCoy with Jelani Sims.

138: Great Expectations20 janv. 202301:02:12
I have good feelings about this one! Zach Powers returns to discuss desparate criminals and mysterious benefactors in Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations (1861).

John McCoy with Zach Powers.

137: A Christmas Carol24 déc. 202200:31:19
There are many podcasts from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited. John and Marina discuss Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol (1843).

John McCoy with Marina McCoy.

136: Stuart Little07 déc. 202200:57:27
This is one weird mouse book. Phil Gonzales and John discuss E. B. White’s Stuart Little(1945).

John McCoy with Phil Gonzales.

135: Thanksgiving Special: The Wreck of the Hesperus24 nov. 202200:18:11
It’s Thanksgiving, so of course Rob, John, and Dan drink and discuss “The Wreck of the Hesperus” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1842).

John McCoy with Rob McCoy and Dan McCoy.

134: Macbeth13 nov. 202200:48:46
Probably best not to listen to this episode while you’re in a theatre. Shannon Campe and John discuss Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1605-ish).

John McCoy with Shannon Campe.

133: The Picture of Dorian Gray06 oct. 202200:53:13
The podcasts that the world calls immoral are podcasts that show the world its own shame. Tamar Avishai and John discuss Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1831).

John McCoy with Tamar Avishai.

132: The Canterbury Tales25 sept. 202200:51:13
Those smale foweles maken melodye got nothin’ on us: Kathy Campbell and John discuss Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (c. 1400).

John McCoy with Kathy Campbell.

131: Beowulf28 août 202200:50:00
The original Farewell to Arms. Nathan Alderman discusses Beowulf (c. 1000).

John McCoy with Nathan Alderman.

130: Epic of Gilgamesh29 juil. 202201:12:01
Gilgamesh, a king, at Uruk. It’s not just a Star Trek meme. Gregory Fried talks ritual sex, heavenly bulls, and sneaky snakes in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

John McCoy with Gregory Fried.

129: The Metamorphosis24 juin 202200:39:31
Gregor’s mother warned him about days like this. Jason Snell discusses Franz Kafka’s inescapable novella, The Metamorphosis (1915).

John McCoy with Jason Snell.

128: Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Tale of Wall Street17 mai 202201:00:39
Audrey Lazaro discusses Mellville’s 1853 story, “Bartleby the Scrivener,” one of the top three bits of scrivener fiction ever.

John McCoy with Audrey Lazaro.

127: The Egypt Game15 avr. 202200:55:57
No, I won’t make a Bangles joke. Erin Gambrill discusses Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s The Egypt Game (1967).

John McCoy with Erin Gambrill.

126: Bambi, a Life in the Woods28 mars 202200:44:43
Bambi’s not so cute in this gritty new reboot. Glenn Fleishman discusses Felix Salten’s 1923 parable about what goes on in the woods. Also we talk a lot about copyright.

John McCoy with Glenn Fleishman.

125: At the Mountains of Madness01 mars 202201:14:34
Climb ev’ry mountain—except these mountains, they’re nuts. Phil Gonzales discusses H.P. Lovecraft’s “At the Mountains of Madness,” written in 1931 and published in 1936.

John McCoy with Phil Gonzales.

124: Under Milk Wood04 févr. 202200:52:33
To begin at the beginning: David Loehr is back in the slow, black, crowblack, podcast-bobbing sea to discuss Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood (1954).

John McCoy with David J. Loehr.

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