Best Goldberry Studios Podcasts (2025)

1
Luci Shaw's "Holding On" 2:13

15h ago2:13

2:13

Today’s poem is a tribute to the kind and lovely Luci Shaw, who died earlier this week. The poem–a contemplation of mortality–is a representative sample of her contemplative verse, and takes on new meaning after her passing. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes…

1
John Keats' "In drear nighted December" 6:23

1d ago6:23

6:23

Today’s poem speaks of speaking the unspeakable, and feeling the un-feelable. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Much Ado About Nothing: Act III 49:35

3d ago49:35

49:35

Welcome back to another conversation about Shakespeare’s delightful comedy. This week we discuss the differences between “noting” and investigating, Dogberry the wise fool who sees but nonetheless can’t communicate clearly in contract with the characters who can communicate but don’t have vision, the question of who the play’s hero is, and much, mu…

1
Jane Kenyon's "Let Evening Come" 2:41

3d ago2:41

2:41

Whether your burgeoning inter-holiday malaise needs pruning or a little low-key encouragement, today’s poem (on a Monday, no less!) might be just the thing. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Dorianne Laux's "A Short History of the Apple" 5:25

7d ago5:25

5:25

Today’s poem goes out as a palate-cleanser for everyone who may have lost their relish for eating after the Thanksgiving holiday. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Ben Jonson's "Inviting a Friend to Supper" 4:27

8d ago4:27

4:27

Today’s poem is just the thing if you need to make any last-minute invitations to Thanksgiving dinner. Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Much Ado About Nothing: Act II 1:08:43

11d ago1:08:43

1:08:43

Welcome back to another conversation about Shakespeare’s wonderful comedy. The best bit: this week we’re joined by the one-and-only Tim McIntosh! Topics of conversation include the famous “gulling” scene, the difference between Benedick and Claudio, Don Pedro the schemer, and some more on “noting.” As always, happy listening! This is a public episo…

1
William Matthews' "Onions" 8:47

11d ago8:47

8:47

Today’s poem is the perfect prelude to Thanksgiving–not only by whetting the appetite, but by uncovering the hidden glories of one of the most enduring and ubiquitous of nature’s gifts. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subsc…

1
George Herbert's "Anagram" 3:55

13d ago3:55

3:55

Today’s poem, though brief, is arguably “bigger on the inside,” just like its subject. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Archibald MacLeish's "Ars Poetica" 9:07

16d ago9:07

9:07

It’s one thing to write a poem claiming poetry should show rather than tell; it is another thing entirely for that poem to follow its own advice. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Much Ado About Nothing: Act I 1:01:45

16d ago1:01:45

1:01:45

Welcome to a new series on one of Shakespeare’s most delightful and brilliant plays! In this episode, which is about act one, we discuss why it’s so beloved, the way Shakespeare’s unfurls the story while also offering complex layers of humor, whether you can tell when characters are being honest, Don Pedro’s scheming, and much more! Happy listening…

1
Robert Burns' "Epistle to a Young Friend" 6:26

18d ago6:26

6:26

In today’s poem (sometimes printed alternatively as “Letter to a Young Friend”), Scotland’s national poet gives life advice with his characteristic blend of sincerity and levity. Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Emily Dickinson's "I dwell in Possibility" 2:55

21d ago2:55

2:55

Today’s poem is a little more (purposefully) enigmatic than most of Dickinson’s verse. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
A Farewell to Arms: Q&A Episode 1:03:04

21d ago1:03:04

1:03:04

It’s Q&A time. You’ve got questions; we have answers. So join in as we conclude our conversation on Hemingway’s classic novel. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribeBy David Kern, Heidi White, and Sean Johnson

1
Robert Hass' "After the Gentle Poet Kobayashi Issa" 4:17

23d ago4:17

4:17

Today’s poem may be triggering for anyone who has had to endure a vacation they didn’t plan or really even want to go. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
John Keats' "To Autumn" 3:41

25d ago3:41

3:41

Today’s poem comes from a young man (he died at 25) whose Spring and Autumn were the same. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Robert Louis Stevenson's "Sing me a Song of a Lad that is Gone" 3:38

28d ago3:38

3:38

Today’s poem sings of one of the most painful and irremediable forms of nostalgia. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
George Starbuck's "Sonnet with a Different Letter at the End of Every Line" 5:04

30d ago5:04

5:04

Today’s poem is a “row of perfect rhymes” and an absolute delight. Happy reading. You can find the text of the poem here. George Starbuck was born in Columbus, Ohio on June 15, 1931. He grew up in Illinois and California. He attended the University of California at Berkeley for two years, and the University of Chicago for three. He then studied wit…

1
A Farewell to Arms: Book 5 1:09:45

1M ago1:09:45

1:09:45

Is A Farewell to Arms pure tragedy? Is there any hope in the denouement? What should we do with Hemingway’s alternate endings? These and many other questions are the focus of this week’s episode. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack…

1
Robert Frost's "My November Guest" 6:59

1M ago6:59

6:59

November mood. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' "Lemon Pie" 4:29

1M ago4:29

4:29

Today’s poem is about something very very spooky–a tough crust. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Seamus Heaney's "Follower" 2:27

1M ago2:27

2:27

Today’s poem reminds us that we are destined to become the parents of our parents. (I also dedicate it to a child who makes me feel better about that arrangement.) Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe…

1
A Farewell to Arms: Book 4 1:03:41

1M ago1:03:41

1:03:41

Sean calls this the happy section of the book, so in this episode we discuss the book’s conception of happiness, engage in a close reading of the scene between Frederic and an old billiards player, and contemplate the question of cynicism in this book. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers o…

1
Gerard Manley Hopkins' "Spring and Fall" 9:18

1M ago9:18

9:18

Why do we hate change? Today’s poem hazards a guess. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
A Farewell to Arms: Book 3 1:01:34

1M ago1:01:34

1:01:34

After an unfortunate delay, we’re back with further conversation about Hemingway’s twentieth century classic. This week we discuss the harrowing nature of this section, the bad moral luck of the characters, the rich spiritual contemplations at the heart of the novel, and much more. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss…

1
Ogden Nash's "A Lady Who Thinks She Is Thirty" 2:25

1M ago2:25

2:25

Today’s poem may be one of the most poem-y poems Nash ever wrote. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Wendell Berry's "Sabbath Poem III, 1994" 5:19

1M ago5:19

5:19

In today’s poem Berry draws King Lear into his sabbath reflections. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
R. S. Thomas' "The Fisherman" 3:38

2M ago3:38

3:38

Today’s poem typifies the earthy clarity that Welsh poet R. S. Thomas perfected in his verse. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Root of the Boot" 4:14

2M ago4:14

4:14

Today’s poem traveled across many years and iterations to finally end up on the tongue of Samwise Gamgee in The Fellowship of the Ring. Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade" 6:00

2M ago6:00

6:00

Today’s poem is both metrical marvel and moving memorial. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Robert Frost's "Birches" 5:34

2M ago5:34

5:34

Today’s poem is a classical example of Frost’s virtuosity in crafting solid figures–here trees, climbing, etc.–that stubbornly defy allegorizing, but that simultaneously seem effortlessly to point beyond themselves. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit d…

1
A Farewell to Arms: Book 2 (Chapters 13-24) 51:42

2M ago51:42

51:42

Welcome back to our ongoing series on Hemingway’s classical novel. This week we discuss the turn the book takes in book two, the nature of Hemingway’s contemplation of love, and a couple of key scenes that reveal his genius as a storyteller. As always, happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers o…

1
Charles and Mary Lamb's "Feigned Courage" 3:30

2M ago3:30

3:30

Today’s poem couples a vanished past with a timeless present. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
9.8: Questionpa9za! 1:12:59

2M ago1:12:59

1:12:59

We’re ending season 9 of Withywindle the same way we always do, with a questionpalooza! So hit that play button and tune in as we answer such questions as . . . • How do we prepare the guests for Withywindle shenanigans? • What would the Withywindle Soda Shop be called, and what flavors would we serve? • What are our favorite reads of the year? • H…

1
Ted Kooser's "How to Foretell a Change in the Weather" 3:42

2M ago3:42

3:42

My old knee injury usually alerts me to changes in the weather, but in today’s poem Kooser offers a litany of other indicators. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
A Farewell to Arms: Book One (Chapters 1-12) 1:05:51

2M ago1:05:51

1:05:51

By David Kern, Heidi White, and Sean Johnson

1
Linda Pastan's "The Dogwoods" 5:18

2M ago5:18

5:18

Today’s poem is a tribute to the seasonal liftings-of-the-veil that reveal to us the beauty undergirding the world. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Lewis Carroll's "You Are Old, Father William" 5:07

2M ago5:07

5:07

In today’s poem: the dignity of old age, and Charles Dodgson as the Victorian Weird Al. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
John Donne's "The Relic" 5:41

2M ago5:41

5:41

John Donne muses on the ineffability of a chaste love and devises a brilliant (or, at any rate, novel) scheme for reuniting with his loved one in the next life. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Q&A: The Princess and the Goblin + Ask-Us-Anything 1:07:28

2M ago1:07:28

1:07:28

This week is one part Q&A about The Princess and the Goblin, one part ask-us-anything. That means we’re discussing George McDonald’s plot devices, Irene’s grandmother, and goblins but also cooking, Shakespeare, new book releases, and the Muppets. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get …

1
J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Last of the Old Gods" 6:28

2M ago6:28

6:28

Tolkien was no believer in the power of geo-political solutions to better the state of man, convinced that his duty was to fight “the long defeat” while awaiting God’s miraculous and unlooked-for deliverance–eucatastrophe. Though he would not publish the Lord of the Rings for another twenty years, this 1931 poem shows much of that thinking was alre…

1
Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Fable" 2:59

2M ago2:59

2:59

Emerson spent a lot of time observing the natural world. In today’s poem, he couples that pastime with an art form that specializes in human nature. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Geoffrey Hill's "Genesis" 4:03

2M ago4:03

4:03

In today’s poem, a young Geoffrey Hill is looking for a story to believe in. Happy reading. Known as one of the greatest poets of his generation writing in English, and one of the most important poets of the 20th century, Geoffrey Hill lived a life dedicated to poetry and scholarship, morality and faith. He was born in 1932 in Worcestershire, Engla…

1
The Princess and the Goblin: To the End 50:12

2M ago50:12

50:12

This week we discuss the delightful conclusion to George McDonald’s classic children’s novel, how it compares to classic fairy tales, why books like this matter more than ever, and much more. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com…

1
Prince Hal's soliloquy from Henry IV, pt.1 ("herein will I imitate the sun") 5:33

2M ago5:33

5:33

In today’s poem, Shakespeare puts the theatre in political theater via a candid moment with the future King Henry V in Henry IV pt. 1, Act 1, Scene 2. Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Phineas Fletcher's "A Litany" 2:40

3M ago2:40

2:40

Today’s poem is a short meditation on grief made enduringly-famous after Orlando Gibbons set it to music. You can hear an arrangement of that piece here. Happy reading. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Richard Wilbur's "The Writer" 5:46

3M ago5:46

5:46

Today’s poem goes out to 6-year-od girls and their dads. Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
The Princess and the Goblin: Chapters 1-14 57:03

3M ago57:03

57:03

Over the next few weeks we’ll be discussing George Macdonald’s delightful nineteenth century children’s story, The Princess and the Goblin. In this episode we discuss its similarities to (and influence on) Lewis and Tolkien, why books like this matter more than ever, and where it’s most delightful. As always, thanks for tuning in and happy listenin…

1
Alfred Tennyson's "In Memoriam..." 1-3 4:50

3M ago4:50

4:50

In today’s poem, a young Tennyson begins the long wrestling with grief. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

1
Kenn Nesbitt's "Our Teacher's Not a Zombie" 1:41

3M ago1:41

1:41

Today’s poem may or may not be based on actual events. Happy reading! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribeBy Sean Johnson

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