Episodes

  • Ep 202: Listener Crit #3
    Jul 3 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:Pretty Woman (1990)Pretty Woman cut scenesInsomnia by Elizabeth BishopLove Poem by John ForbesA Gift by Don Paterson90 North by Randall JarrellIn Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markievicz by W. B. YeatsHeorot by Ryan WIlson James McAuleyEp 198: Shark WeekDan SavageFootloose (1984)Secret show notesBodies by Drowning PoolNew Year’s: A Short Pantoum by Greg WilliamsonCold Turkey by Joshua MehiganDropping a Han Dynasty Urn by Ai WeiweiHills Like White Elephants by Ernest HemingwayAmy HempelTired by Fenton JohnstonSonnet 130PriamelPresto Manifesto! by A. E. StallingsIn Memoriam A. H. H. by Alfred, Lord TennysonNietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist by Walter KaufmannSonnet 19: When I consider how my light is spent by John MiltonOgden NashThe Brand New Catastrophe by Mike Scalise EncomiumFlorida by Lauren GroffTravelling through the Dark by William StaffordAfter Filing for Divorce by Chelsea Rathburn The Soft Black Stars by Matthew Buckley SmithAubade by Philip LarkinOmnibus Review of Terrance Hayes, Charles Martin, Natasha Trethewey by Matthew Buckley SmithFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In Future PostsBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Ep 201: I Am My Shelf of Books, ft. Brad Leithauser, Pt. 1
    Jun 29 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The Old Current by Brad Leithauser– Rhyme’s Rooms by Brad Leithauser– Forty-Five Years On by Brad Leithauser– Anthony Hecht– A. E. Housman– Charlotte Mew– Marianne Moore– Katsushika Hokusai– John Crowe Ransom– Robert Frost– John Milton– Iron John: A Book about Men by Robert Bly– Elizabeth Bishop– Chidiock Tichborne– Richard KenneyFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In Future PostsBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 11 mins
  • Ep 200: The Neck Tattoo
    Jun 21 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Courtesy of Shane: “For John Berryman” does in fact appear in Lowell’s Collected, on page 737.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– The Secret History by Donna Tartt– The Poet Eaters by Alice Allan & James Jiang– Better: On the Delusions of Writing Advice by Alice Allan– For John Berryman by Robert Lowell– Though I am young, and cannot tell by Ben Jonson– A Taxonomy of Conversational FormsFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In Future PostsBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 13 mins
  • Ep 199: Only Bad Poems, ft. moonandmouth
    Jun 14 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– moonandmouth, on Instagram, on X– Only Bad Poems Go Viral– Cataclysm Moves Me I Regret to Say Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In FutureBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 23 mins
  • Ep 198: Shark Week, Pt. 1
    Jun 5 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:A for Alone by Curtis SittenfeldWednesday’s Child by Yiyun LiOur episode on White Noise by Emma Cline and The Assistant (2019)Aziz AnsariCat Person by Kristen RoupenianJunot DíazThe mounting, undeniable Me Too backlash by Constance GradySexual assault allegations seem to be a badge of honor in Trump’s America. Was #MeToo an epic failure? by Carter ShermanOn Heteropessimism by Asa SeresinThe First Stone by Helen GarnerThe Women’s Room by Marylin FrenchThe Ghost in the Martini by Anthony HechtWas Casual Sex Always This Bad? by Emily LeibertMen Going Their Own WayThe 4B movementSecret show notesThe Infinite Pussy Glitch: The Data Behind Dating as an Eligible Man in NYC by Lana LiBacklash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan FaludiAdriana SmithChampagne SharksDan SavageThe Wife of Bath's TaleDisobedience (2017)Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In FutureBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Ep 197: Insulting Everybody’s Dad, Pt. 1
    May 30 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:Bob DylanBoyz II MenA Complete Unknown (2024)Timothée ChalametMalcolm Gladwell interviews Paul SimonDavid SimsJohn AshberyVisions of Johanna by Bob DylanJoan BaezA League of Their Own (1992)Pete Seeger The 2025 Super Bowl halftime showDubliners by James JoyceLegs by ZZ Top Megan Moroney profiled in The New Yorker A Bar Song (Tipsy) by ShaboozeyMatthew and Cameron discuss books about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the Secret ShowChalamet's SAG Awards acceptance speechAn Officer and a Gentleman (1982) Secret show notesJazz Chisholm Jr.So We’ll Go No More a Roving by Lord ByronRichard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson and the Simon & Garfunkel versionTo the Virgins, to Make Much of Time by Robert HerrickJennifer Senior The King (2019)Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In FutureBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 1 min
  • Ep 196: It’s Always Today, ft. Philip Metres, Pt. 1
    May 25 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Fugitive/Refuge by Philip Metres– Dispatches from the Land of Erasure by Philip Metres– Cameron’s new Substack, Minor Tiresias– What the Hell Is the Presidency for? by Jonathan Farmer– Svetlana Alexievich– The Penguin Anthology of Twentieth Century American Poetry, Ed. Rita Dove– Lena Khalaf Tuffaha– Fady Joudah– Steven Salaita– Norman Finkelstein– Lawrence Joseph– Heaven Looks Like Us (anthology of Palestinian Poetry)– Nationalism and Social Division in Black Arts Poetry of the 1960s by Philip Brian Harper– Phil’s seelction of Contemporary Palestinian Poetry:“End of a Talk with a Jailer” by Samih al-Qasimhttps://behindthelinespoetry.blogspot.com/2007/07/samih-al-qasims-end-of-talk-with.html“We Travel Like Other People” by Mahmoud Darwishhttps://rihlajourney.wordpress.com/2009/01/03/mahmoud-darwish-b-palestine-1941-we-travel-like-other-people/“State of Siege” by Mahmoud Darwishhttp://www.alkalimah.net/Articles/Read/8027“Against” by Rashid Hussein:https://adimagazine.com/articles/three-poems-by-rashid-hussain/“We” by Ghayath Almadounhttps://themarkaz.org/we-and-4978-and-one-nights-by-ghayath-almadhoun/“Write My Name” by Zeina Azzamhttps://www.arabamerica.com/palestinian-cry-from-gaza-write-my-name-goes-viral-in-poem-by-palestinian-american/“Fuck Your Lecture on Craft, My People Are Dying” by Noor Hindihttps://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/154658/fuck-your-lecture-on-craft-my-people-are-dying[…] by Fady Joudah“Jerusalem” by Naomi Shihab Nyehttps://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54296/jerusalem-56d2347ab7a20“All Things Not Considered” by Naomi Shihab Nyehttps://mayazmi.wordpress.com/2013/09/21/all-things-not-considered-naomi-shihab-nye-women-in-poetry/“Variations on a Last Chance” by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha https://themarkaz.org/lena-khalaf-tuffaha-two-poems/Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In FutureBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Ep 195: The White Guy Publishing Vortex, ft. Ethan McGuire, Pt. 1
    May 18 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, check out the SECRET SHOW and join the group chatLeave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Ethan McGuire– Apocalypse Dance by Ethan McGuire– The New Verse Review– C. S. Lewis, Bronze Age Pervert, & Unserious Christianity by Ethan McGuire– Call Me the 21st-Century Ern Malley (How I Fooled the Poetry World) by Jasper Ceylon– A writer’s power can be rooted in real power or in fake power. Real power is better. by Naomi Kanakia– Links courtesy of Ethan:“The Vanishing White Male Writer” by Jacob Savage from the Matthew Schmitz magazine, Compact https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-vanishing-white-male-writer/Other articles2 "Liberal" ArticlesCNN, “Joyce Carol Oates claims White male writers are being shut out. The data disagrees,” Leah Asmelash https://www.cnn.com/style/article/joyce-carol-oates-white-men-publishing-cec/index.htmlFor the items it links to and/or referencesThe New York Times, “The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone,” David J. Morris https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/07/opinion/men-fiction-novels.html2 "Conservative" ArticlesUnherd, “Publishing will never be fair,” Kat Rosenfield, https://unherd.com/2022/07/publishing-will-never-be-fair/National Conservatism, “Dissident Artists and Publishing are Creating a New Culture,” Jonathan Keeperman https://youtu.be/2dHtMM-8myU?si=ewHgUj0wd6SAPlrtThe only time I've ever written on the subject of the "sensitive young men of the literary alt-right": https://pomocon.substack.com/p/cs-lewis-bronze-age-pervert-and-christianFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: Poetry SaysBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: CameronWTC [at] hotmail [dot] comMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 16 mins