We sit down with incredibly thoughtful special guest, Dr. Haylie B. Swenson, of the Folger to talk about animal studies and how rats in particular…ahem…penetrate the text and person of Coriolanus. The Rhetorical Device Revisited is epizeuxis, epizeuxis, epizeuxis, and how Shakespeare uses it to create a particularly sheep-like mob in the play (animals, again!). In our on-going How to Grad School segment, Haylie and Jess discuss how to confront the isolation that comes with ABD status and writing your dissertation. We gossip about the (very few) upcoming productions of Coriolanus, as well as a call for action* on racism in Medieval and Early Modern academia. Thanks for giving us so much to chew on, Dr. Swenson!