SLEERICKETS

By Matthew Buckley Smith

Welcome to SLEERICKETS, a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems.

... more

4.8

3939 ratings

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FAQs about SLEERICKETS:

How many episodes does SLEERICKETS have?

The podcast currently has 295 episodes available.

SLEERICKETS episodes:

August 14, 2026 Ep 259: We’re Not Avocados, ft. Alexis & Joanna
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] com
Some 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
– The Drama (2026)
– ContraPoints on Twilight
– Liking What You See: A Documentary by Ted Chiang
– Hell Is the Absence of God by Ted Chiang
– Exhalation (story) by Ted Chiang
– The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling by Ted Chiang
– The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
– Bad Neighbors by Edward P. Jones
– Good Country People by Flannery O’Connor
– Deadwood (2004–2006)
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 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 McKeown
Other Ratbag Poetry Pods:
Poetry Says by Alice Allan
I Hate Matt Wall by Matt Wall
Versecraft by Elijah Perseus Blumov
Advice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan Farmer
Alice: In Future Posts
Brian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] com
Cameron: Minor Tiresias
Matthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com
Music by ETRNL
Art by Daniel Alexander Smith
...more
1h 13min
August 09, 2026 Ep 258: Listener Crit #13
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] com
Some 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!
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 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 McKeown
Other Ratbag Poetry Pods:
Poetry Says by Alice Allan
I Hate Matt Wall by Matt Wall
Versecraft by Elijah Perseus Blumov
Advice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan Farmer
Alice: In Future Posts
Brian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] com
Cameron: Minor Tiresias
Matthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com
Music by ETRNL
Art by Daniel Alexander Smith
...more
1h 26min
August 02, 2026 Ep 257: Situation Normal All Fucked Up, ft. Katie Dozier
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] com
Some 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!
– Residency Review by Katie Dozier
– The Poetry Space
– Rattle
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 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
Other Ratbag Poetry Pods:
Poetry Says by Alice Allan
I Hate Matt Wall by Matt Wall
Versecraft by Elijah Perseus Blumov
Advice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan Farmer
Alice: In Future Posts
Brian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] com
Cameron: Minor Tiresias
Matthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com
Music by ETRNL
Art by Daniel Alexander Smith
...more
59min
July 25, 2026 Ep 256: The Giant Crab
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] com
Some 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!
– Minor Tiresias on Cesar Vallejo
– In Future Posts on Lana Del Ray
– The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
– The Optimists by Brian Platzer
– The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
– In This Novel, It’s the Student Who Shapes the Teacher’s Life by Jean Hanff Korelitz
– The Kinda Sorta Real-Life Larry (My memory was slightly inaccurate. It appears this modest Wikipedia page would have existed even if Maugham hadn’t written a book kinda sorta about this guy.)
– Why I Live at the P.O. by Eudora Welty
– The clip in question from the Stone–Parker lecture
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 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
Other Ratbag Poetry Pods:
Poetry Says by Alice Allan
I Hate Matt Wall by Matt Wall
Versecraft by Elijah Perseus Blumov
Advice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan Farmer
Alice: In Future Posts
Brian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] com
Cameron: Minor Tiresias
Matthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com
Music by ETRNL
Art by Daniel Alexander Smith
...more
1h 3min
July 25, 2026 Ep 255: Snake Eyes, ft. Measureless, Pt. 1
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] com
Some 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!
– Measureless by Amit Majmudar
– Things My Grandmother Said by Amit Majmudar
– Lettre Sauvage
– The Lottery in Babylon by Jorge Luis Borges
– Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote by Jorge Luis Borges
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 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
Other Ratbag Poetry Pods:
Poetry Says by Alice Allan
I Hate Matt Wall by Matt Wall
Versecraft by Elijah Perseus Blumov
Advice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan Farmer
Alice: In Future Posts
Brian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] com
Cameron: Minor Tiresias
Matthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com
Music by ETRNL
Art by Daniel Alexander Smith
...more
1h 18min
July 19, 2026 Ep 256: A Giant Crab
Solo ep on The Optimists by Brian Platzer
...more
1h 18min
July 11, 2026 Ep 254: What You Don’t Know You Know, ft. Timothy Green, Pt. 1
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] com
Some 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!
– My essay on Macbeth in Portico
– Micah Mattix’s newsletter Prufrock
– Poems for Katie by Timothy Green
– Rattle
– Rattlecast
– The Poetry Space
– Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel
– Voices from the Other World by James Merrill
– Iain McGilchrist
– James Pennebaker
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 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
Other Ratbag Poetry Pods:
Poetry Says by Alice Allan
I Hate Matt Wall by Matt Wall
Versecraft by Elijah Perseus Blumov
Advice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan Farmer
Alice: In Future Posts
Brian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] com
Cameron: Minor Tiresias
Matthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com
Music by ETRNL
Art by Daniel Alexander Smith
...more
54min
July 04, 2026 Ep 253: A Little-Known, Much-Hated Poet
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] com
Some 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!
– Pumpkin Chucking by Stephen Scaer
– The Sidewalk Steve page on the Transgender Map
– Alex Pepple
– Eratosphere
– Say Nothing but Good by Stephen Scaer
– Gold Is the Last to Leave by Stephen Scaer
– Backyard Triumph by Stephen Scaer
– Mentor by Stephen Scaer
– Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
– 4trans by Naomi Kanakia
– ContraPoints
– My weird omnibus: I Reviewed 99 Recent Poetry Collections—Here’s What I Found
– No by A. M. Juster
– Maine LD 1735
– Stephen Scaer’s comment on Maine LD 1735
– Make Believe by Stephen Scaer
– Johnson and Nietzsche on Criticism and Critics by Ethan McGuire
– Ozark Elegy by Ethan McGuire
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 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
Other Ratbag Poetry Pods:
Poetry Says by Alice Allan
I Hate Matt Wall by Matt Wall
Versecraft by Elijah Perseus Blumov
Advice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan Farmer
Alice: In Future Posts
Brian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] com
Cameron: Minor Tiresias
Matthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com
Music by ETRNL
Art by Daniel Alexander Smith
...more
1h 9min
June 28, 2026 Ep 252: Advice from an Unknown Poet Wrap Party, Pt. 1
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] com
Some 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!
– Ep 248: The Montreal Fiasco, ft. Ernest Hilbert, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2
– Advice from an Unknown Poet
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 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
Other Ratbag Poetry Pods:
Poetry Says by Alice Allan
I Hate Matt Wall by Matt Wall
Versecraft by Elijah Perseus Blumov
Advice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan Farmer
Alice: In Future Posts
Brian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] com
Cameron: Minor Tiresias
Matthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com
Music by ETRNL
Art by Daniel Alexander Smith
...more
1h 10min
June 20, 2026 Ep 251: Maybe This Time, ft. Alan Shapiro
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] com
Some 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!
– Diver by Alan Shapiro
– Last Act by Alan Shapiro
– King Lear
– Macbeth
– Hamlet
– The Oxen by Thomas Hardy
– Church Going by Philip Larkin
– High Windows by Philip Larkin
– Steven Wright
– Glory Hunger by Alan Shapiro
– Grasshopper by Alan Shapiro
– Where Rainbows Go to Die by The SteelDrivers
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 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
Other Ratbag Poetry Pods:
Poetry Says by Alice Allan
I Hate Matt Wall by Matt Wall
Versecraft by Elijah Perseus Blumov
Advice from an Unknown Poet by Alice Allan & Jonathan Farmer
Alice: In Future Posts
Brian: brianplatzer [at] gmail [dot] com
Cameron: Minor Tiresias
Matthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com
Music by ETRNL
Art by Daniel Alexander Smith
...more
1h 27min

FAQs about SLEERICKETS:

How many episodes does SLEERICKETS have?

The podcast currently has 295 episodes available.

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