Episodes

  • Ep 266: The Night Before

    Ep 266: The Night Before
    Oct 5 2026
    NB: Yes, yes, yes, of course I meant to mention Putin. Putin also, yes.SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. Make a one-time donation (not tax-deductible)For more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW!Leave the show a rating here!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 32 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comSome of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Pre-order the new book of short stories by my wife, Joanna Pearson!– Order Brian’s book The Optimists! It’s so good! Now give Brian’s book a 5-star review!– My chapbook The Soft Black Stars is out now!– Tar River Poetry is open for submissions!– Literary Matters is also open for submissions!– Elijah’s review of my chapbook– Sunil Iyengar– Ned Balbo– Jonathan Fine– Claudia Gary– The DC Arts Center Poetry Series– The Score by Oliver Cotton– The Unconscious by Sigmund FreudFrequently 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 Pearson– MattWall– Steve Knepper – Helena Feder– David Yezzi– Victoria Moul– Katie Dozier & Tim Green– George David Clark– Tristram Fane Saunders– Philip Metres– Helena Feder– Nida Sophasarun– Alex McKeownOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah Perseus BlumovAdvice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan FarmerAlice: In Future PostsBrian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] comCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 hr and 19 mins
  • Ep 262: Listener Crit #14, ft. Helena Feder

    Ep 262: Listener Crit #14, ft. Helena Feder
    Sep 6 2026
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. Make a one-time donation (not tax-deductible)For more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW!Leave the show a rating here!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 32 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comSome of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Come see me at the D.C. Arts Center Poetry Series on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 3 p.m. EST. w/ Ned Balbo & Jonathan Fine– Order Brian’s book The Optimists! It’s so good! Now give Brian’s book a 5-star review!– My chapbook The Soft Black Stars is out now!– The Necklace of Harmonia, Sonnets of Thebes by Elijah Perseus Blumov, out now from Lettre Sauvage– Tar River Poetry– Helena Feder– Cat Woman in Dog Country by Helena Feder– Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats– Bright Star by John Keats– This Living Hand by John Keats– If the Poet by Stephen Dunn– Helena’s interview with Stephen Dunn– Carl Dennis– Mizmor– Bull City Press– Ross WhiteFrequently 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 Pearson– MattWall– Steve Knepper – Helena Feder– David Yezzi– Victoria Moul– Katie Dozier & Tim Green– George David Clark– Tristram Fane Saunders– Philip Metres– Helena Feder– Nida Sophasarun– Alex McKeownOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah Perseus BlumovAdvice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan FarmerAlice: In Future PostsBrian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] comCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    59 mins
  • Ep 265: Cosmic Horror Book Club, ft. The Flummoxed, Pt. 1

    Ep 265: Cosmic Horror Book Club, ft. The Flummoxed, Pt. 1
    Sep 28 2026
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. Make a one-time donation (not tax-deductible)For more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW!Leave the show a rating here!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 32 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comSome of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Order Brian’s book The Optimists! It’s so good! Now give Brian’s book a 5-star review!– My chapbook The Soft Black Stars is out now!– Tar River Poetry is open for submissions!– Literary Matters is also open for submissions!– The Flummoxed by Ethan McGuire– Apocalypse Dance by Ethan McGuire– H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life by Michel Houllebecq– La Gradiva (2026)– The Thing (1982)– Stephen King– Thomas Ligotti– Edgar Allan Poe– At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft– Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell– In Amundsen’s Tent by John Martin LeahyFrequently 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 Pearson– MattWall– Steve Knepper – Helena Feder– David Yezzi– Victoria Moul– Katie Dozier & Tim Green– George David Clark– Tristram Fane Saunders– Philip Metres– Helena Feder– Nida Sophasarun– Alex McKeownOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah Perseus BlumovAdvice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan FarmerAlice: In Future PostsBrian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] comCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • Ep 263: 100 kg, ft. Niall Campbell, pt. 1

    Ep 263: 100 kg, ft. Niall Campbell, pt. 1
    Sep 15 2026
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. Make a one-time donation (not tax-deductible)For more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW!Leave the show a rating here!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 32 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comSome of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Come see me at the D.C. Arts Center Poetry Series on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 3 p.m. EST. w/ Ned Balbo & Jonathan Fine– Order Brian’s book The Optimists! It’s so good! Now give Brian’s book a 5-star review!– My chapbook The Soft Black Stars is out now!– Hilary Menos’s review of The Soft Black Stars in The Orange County Review of Books– Stephen Dunn broadside from Lettre Sauvage– The Island in the Sound by Niall Campbell– Poetry London– The Odyssey (2026)– The Return (2024)– Emily Wilson’s review of The Odyssey in the LRB– Emily Wilson’s review of The Odyssey in The AtlanticFrequently 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 Pearson– MattWall– Steve Knepper – Helena Feder– David Yezzi– Victoria Moul– Katie Dozier & Tim Green– George David Clark– Tristram Fane Saunders– Philip Metres– Helena Feder– Nida Sophasarun– Alex McKeownOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah Perseus BlumovAdvice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan FarmerAlice: In Future PostsBrian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] comCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Ep 264: Potatoes, Small and Smaller

    Ep 264: Potatoes, Small and Smaller
    Sep 20 2026
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. Make a one-time donation (not tax-deductible)For more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW!Leave the show a rating here!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 32 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comSome of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Come see me at the D.C. Arts Center Poetry Series on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 3 p.m. EST. w/ Ned Balbo & Jonathan Fine– I’m going to see The Score Saturday the 26th, in case you want to see it too!– Order Brian’s book The Optimists! It’s so good! Now give Brian’s book a 5-star review!– My chapbook The Soft Black Stars is out now!– Hilary Menos’s review of The Soft Black Stars in The Orange County Review of Books– Tar River Poetry is open for submissions!– Literary Matters is also open for submissions!– The Byron Bay Option: On (Not) Giving Up Poetry by Alice Allan– New Verse Review’s Summer Sampler #2– Boris Dralyuk’s note on Zina’s poem– So This Is Love by Zina Gomez-Liss– Thomas Jardine’s review of So This is Love– Zina’s response to Jardine’s review– The Fall of Rome by W. H. Auden– Horace i.37– Sundowner by Hilary MenosFrequently 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 Pearson– MattWall– Steve Knepper – Helena Feder– David Yezzi– Victoria Moul– Katie Dozier & Tim Green– George David Clark– Tristram Fane Saunders– Philip Metres– Helena Feder– Nida Sophasarun– Alex McKeownOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah Perseus BlumovAdvice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan FarmerAlice: In Future PostsBrian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] comCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • Ep 256: The Giant Crab

    Ep 256: The Giant Crab
    Jul 19 2026
    Solo ep on The Optimists by Brian Platzer
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • Ep 261: Second-Wave New Formalism, ft. Quincy Lehr, Pt. 1

    Ep 261: Second-Wave New Formalism, ft. Quincy Lehr, Pt. 1
    Aug 30 2026
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. Make a one-time donation (not tax-deductible)For more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW!Leave the show a rating here!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 32 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comSome of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Order Brian’s book The Optimists! It’s so good! Now give Brian’s book a 5-star review!– My chapbook The Soft Black Stars is out now!– The Necklace of Harmonia, Sonnets of Thebes by Elijah Perseus Blumov, out now from Lettre Sauvage– Lyndon Johnson by Jonathan Farmer– Near Hits & Lost Classics by Quincy Lehr– The Raintown Review– Carmine Street Metrics– The West Chester Poetry Conference– Poetry by the SeaFrequently 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 Pearson– MattWall– Steve Knepper – Helena Feder– David Yezzi– Victoria Moul– Katie Dozier & Tim Green– George David Clark– Tristram Fane Saunders– Philip Metres– Helena Feder– Nida Sophasarun– Alex McKeownOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah Perseus BlumovAdvice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan FarmerAlice: In Future PostsBrian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] comCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • Ep 260: Peace & Love, ft. Robert Charboneau, Pt. 1

    Ep 260: Peace & Love, ft. Robert Charboneau, Pt. 1
    Aug 22 2026
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. Make a one-time donation (not tax-deductible)For more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW!Leave the show a rating here!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 32 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comSome of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Order Brian’s book The Optimists! It’s so good! Now give Brian’s book a 5-star review!– My chapbook The Soft Black Stars is out now!– The Necklace of Harmonia, Sonnets of Thebes by Elijah Perseus Blumov, out now from Lettre Sauvage– Another man’s treasure by Steve Knepper– Riddle by Joshua Mehigan– Monologue & On the Necessity of Religious Belief by Minor Tiresias (Cameron)– Poetics with Robert Charboneau– If You Love That Lady by Maya C. Popa– Maya Popa Is a Hopeless Romantic by Robert Charboneau– Yvor Winters– Ep. 52: Singsongy Chimey Doggerel, ft. Joshua Mehigan– Ep 120: Picking up the Phone, ft. Dr. Taylor Byas– Ep. 156: Greater Metropolitan Shaltador, ft. Victoria Moul– Ep. 235: Romanticon Now ft. Paul Franz & Elijah Blumov, Part 1 & Part 2– Ep. 242: Not the Greatest Time to Be a Poet, ft. Horace & Friends (Victoria Moul), Part 1 & Part 2– On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer by John Keats– The Romantics by Maya PopaFrequently 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 Pearson– MattWall– Steve Knepper – Helena Feder– David Yezzi– Victoria Moul– Katie Dozier & Tim Green– George David Clark– Tristram Fane Saunders– Philip Metres– Helena Feder– Nida Sophasarun– Alex McKeownOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah Perseus BlumovAdvice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan FarmerAlice: In Future PostsBrian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] comCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 hr and 10 mins