It's that time of year again. No, not that one, the other one. (You know the one).

But we're in a Panettoni and outside is (mostly) closed.

But fret not: whether you're boo'd up or Locked down, we have you covered. This week, it's Top 5 Things to Do for Valentine's Day, so whether you're playing Campaign or with company there's something for everyone.

On top of saving your love lives, we've got some truly astounding poems for you this week by Hanif Abdurraqib (@NifMuhammad) and Aimee Nezhukumatathil (@aimeenez).

Poems: August 9th, 2014 & Red Ghazal

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Music by @GabrielPJones

Where are you listening? The car? The bath? Living room?

Well as the kitchen is the heart of the house, and the podcast is the heart of your week (yes), this week we chose to discuss our Top 5 Kitchen Utensils.

And for Some Poems we present the amazing work of Roger Robinson (@rrobinson72) and Isabella Borgeson (@isaborgeson).

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Music by @GabrielPJones

This week the boys attempt to have a cool, calm, and collected conversation about their Top 5 Ice Cream Flavours.

Then for Some Poems, we share a phenomenal piece by Maxine Scates (@maxinescates) and have our minds blown once again by the work of R. A. Villanueva (@caesura).

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Music by @GabrielPJones

The boys are [properly] back!

The Winter SZN has over, the days are getting longer, and the migratory birds are packing their load. So grab a beverage and your earphones, and settle in as we fully and entirely return to our regular programming.

Oh, and grab a calendar too, because this week we're ranking our Top 5 Months of the Year.

We also share Some Poems to make your chest tremble and shake up your by powerhouse and repeat offender, Hibaq Osman (@__hibaq) and the incredible Noor Hindi (@mynrhindi).

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Music by @GabrielPJones

AND THAT'S A WRAP!

We're now in the middle of January, and so we've reached the end of the Winter SZN.

To close out the series, we've brought you one of your dearest and people and poets in the person of Bayan Goudarzpour.

This episode, Bayan gives us her Top 5 Book Recommendations, shares a poem of hers, and a poem by Nicole Homer. The boys also reflect on the past year with a poem each and their favourite Top 5 segment of 2020.

Thank you to everyone who's been with us thus far, and thank you to all our amazing guests for blessing us this winter:

Troy Cabida, Antonia Jade King, Victoria Adukwei Bulley, Anita Barton-Williams, Clodagh Beresford Dunne, R.A. Villanueva, Theresa Lola, Inua Ellams, Jake Wild Hall, and Amy Acre.

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Music by @GabrielPJones.

Happy New Year!

It's 2021, which means: new decade, new goals, new vibes, but it's the same old us. It's still cold, though, so we're continuing the Winter SZN.

Today, as always, we've brought you two amazing guest poets, nascent academics, and old friends of the podcast flexing their superpowers: mild-mannered poet by day War Dove by night, Troy Cabida; and returning beyhive archvillain, Sailor, and future PhD, Antonia Jade King.

We've got them popping off the year with two pop culture rankings in the form of Top 5 Marvel Superheroes and Beyoncé Tracks. They are reading two poems of their own, and sharing gems by Maria Taylor and Morgan Parker.

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Music by @GabrielPJones.

WHEW! SZN's Greetings and a merry Christmas to all who celebrated!

If you're celebrating Kwanzaa, large up you and we hope you're having a blessed one.

Evidently, the festivities aren't over. It's Bank Holiday Monday in the UK, and we're giving you one more reason to celebrate because we've got another episode for you this Winter SZN.

In today's episode, we've got two phenomenal poets gracing us with their inimitably beautiful poetic (and physical) voices: Victoria Adukwei Bulley and Anita Barton-Williams.

They will be talking about their Top 5 Fruits and Sayings from Childhood, reading two incredible poems of their own, and sharing work by Tapiwa Mugabe and Linda Gregg.

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Music by @GabrielPJones.

SURPRISE!

Yes, you are reading this correctly. It's not a Monday, but here we are. We thought we'd bring you an extra special Christmas Bonus Bumper episode as our gift to your ears and virtual stockings.

We're continuing the festive season with an extra wholesome episode for you from two of the loveliest poets we've shared work from this year. We're very proud to present our incredible award-winning guests: Clodagh Beresford Dunne and R.A. Villanueva.

They will be sharing their Top 5 Fairytales and Video Games Consoles, reading two utterly beautiful and fitting poems of theirs, and sharing with us the work of Tess Barry and Solmaz Sharif.

Best enjoyed with a hot beverage, a cushion, and a source of heat.

Merry Christmas x

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Music by @GabrielPJones.

Special thanks to William, Emily, Charlotte, and John.

Here we are again with another gem.

We did not come to play with the Winter SZN.

Last week we started the fire, this week we're keeping the flame.

We're welcoming the OG duo of The Rap Party, award-winning poets beacons of Nigerian excellence: Former Young People's Laureate for London Theresa Lola and one-man studio Inua Ellams FRSA & FRSL.

They're talking Top 5 Cartoons and Cinematic Franchises, respectively, and giving us some poems of their own from their latest collections, In Search of Equilibrium and The Actual. They'll also be sharing two of their favourite poems by Tiana Clark and Terrance Hayes.

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Music by @GabrielPJones

Alright. We're finally here:

Welcome to the first special episode of The Sugar and Dread Podcast: Winter SZN

This is where we shake it up a little to shuffle off the cold. But fret not, frost-dusted friends - we've still got Top 5s and Some Poems. But we've got some amazing guest poets to seize the mic and do the sharing.

This week, we're bursting open the festive episodes with Jake Wild Hall and Amy Acre of Bad Betty Press sharing their Top 5 Biscuits, and some poems of their own and Clare Pollard and Wisława Szymborska.

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Music by @GabrielPJones