Alive Poets Society
13 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 7 ratingsAlive Poets Society is a podcast where three writers and readers--armed with degrees in literature and years of sharpened wit--analyze, philosophize, and comedicize (?) the best (or worst) literature and films of the past and present. Tune in if you'd like a deeper, more insightful look into your favorite stories, both on the page and the big screen. If you're a poet, live in a society, or are alive, this podcast is tailor-made for you.
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Episodes
A Crone, Titan, and Ogre Walk Into A Heart... – Reading "Heart Site" by Janalyn Guo
February 10, 2021 19:00 - 1 hour - 50.2 MBAlive Poets Society is back for Season Two—and now episode 2! We survived the quarantine and returned to the mic to bring you another season of your favorite (or else) podcast! Tom and fellow writer/editor Jesse talk about a wonderfully weird story, “Heart Site,” by the amazing Janalyn Guo. We dive into this fantastic and surreal tale by exploring how the crones do what they do, how hearts work in the story (not biologically), and how an Ice Dragon would get recked by a Kraken in a battle to...
All The Best Dead Bodies in All The Best Places - Watching Nightcrawler by Dan Gilroy
January 13, 2021 19:00 - 51 minutes - 35.7 MBAlive Poets Society is back for Season Two! We survived the quarantine and returned to the mic to bring you another season of your favorite (or else) podcast! Tom brought in friend and fellow writer/editor Jesse to talk about the oh-so-sexy Jake Gyllenhaal and his terrific role in the movie Nightcrawler. We discuss how the movie crawls under your skin, why it is so anxiety-inducing to watch, and how capitalism (of all things) is at the heart of what makes this movie itch and ache. Shout o...
It’ll Make You Laugh, Cry, and Stab Someone With a Kitchen Knife – Watching JOJO Rabbit by Taika Waititi
May 03, 2020 18:00 - 46 minutes - 31.8 MBTom and Holly again welcome the special guest Mary to the mic. Mary is a friend of the Pod and an avid/professional reader. She suggested the 2019 movie JOJO Rabbit directed by Taika Waititi. We discuss the comedy of the movie and how it creates a complex look at Nazi’s during this time period. The role of Imaginary Hitler sparks our interest, and we agree that Yorki is the best character ever. After we debate the dynamics of Nazi’s in the movie, we end on everyone’s favorite segment, review...
Where Is The Miracle? – Reading “Beautiful Monsters” by Eric Puchner
April 05, 2020 11:00 - 49 minutes - 33.8 MBTom and Holly welcome the incredibly special guest Mary to the Poet’s round table. Mary is a friend of the Pod and an avid/professional reader. The discussion of the story “Beautiful Monsters” by Eric Puchner begins with us talking about the strong prose of the piece and the odd relationships of the characters. We then dive into a discussion of nature vs. nurture, and the strange dynamics of the older man and woman’s relationship. Our discussion takes turns into the realms of psychology, sex...
Nude Ninjas Unite! – Watching Roma by Alfonso Cuarón
March 16, 2020 18:00 - 1 hour - 60.1 MBTom and Holly headline the ninth episode of APS where we discuss Roma directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Tom and Holly butt heads when it comes to how enjoyable they found this movie. After that fistfight, they dive into some of the movie’s core themes such as guilt, despair, work, and toxic masculinity. Holly drops some knowledge on the creation of the movie, and how it differs from most movies one normally watches. We end with everyone’s favorite segment, reviewing a review in The Review Review. ...
For All The Truckers Tuning In – Reading “A Manual For Cleaning Women” by Lucia Berlin
March 03, 2020 21:00 - 56 minutes - 39.1 MBTom and Holly host the eighth installment of Alive Poets Society, an episode where we discuss the short story “A Manual For Cleaning Women” by Lucia Berlin. Unfortunately, the story was not a fan favorite. Tom and Holly begin with a couple of things they liked about the piece, but the conversation quickly dives into the many shortcomings of the piece. Between the writing style, characterization, and theme, Tom and Holly are not impressed. You can read the piece (and come up with your own opi...
Add Us On Weibo – Reading “To Get Rich Is Glorious” by Alexandra Chang - Ep. 7
February 09, 2020 20:00 - 1 hour - 48.9 MBWe have special guest host, Mitch Turck, on again for our seventh episode where we dissect the short story “To Get Rich Is Glorious” by Alexandra Chang. Holly starts us off by looking at the tone of the story, and how the narrator uses her/his distinct voice to add another layer of meaning to the text. Mitch and Tom jump in on how the tone of the story affected their reading of it for the better. The story leads us to discussions about materialism, communism, capitalism and every other fun -...
My Dad Was A Fisherman – Watching Snowpiercer – Episode 6
January 30, 2020 17:00 - 1 hour - 44.2 MBSorry for the delay, but to make it up to you we have procured a super special guest host, Mitch Turck, for Alive Poets Society’s sixth episode. Mitch is a writer, advocate, and dreamer for all things driverless cars and AI—especially the part where AI kills all humans and takes over the world. With Mitch’s help, Tom and Holly dive into the cult classic film Snowpiercer directed by Bong Joon-ho. We start by discussing the dynamics of the train in terms of its social and economic structure. T...
Fantasy: Love Me Some Diversity – Reading The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu – Episode 5
January 12, 2020 21:00 - 47 minutes - 33 MBIn Alive Poets Society’s fifth episode, we dive into the social, cultural, and literary themes present in the extremely popular fantasy short story, “The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu. After spending the first 40 minutes of the show debating on how we should pronounce the author and character’s names, we dive into the story. We debate how horrible each character is, and how the author builds empathy for the mother in the piece. The story leads us to a discussion on racism in American culture, ...
Fantasy: What Would You Do For Love? – Watching The Lobster – Episode 4
December 31, 2019 21:00 - 46 minutes - 32 MBIn Alive Poets Society’s fourth episode, we talk about the cult classic film The Lobster directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. We start by diving into the wonky logic of the movie, and how it compares to other fantasy literature. We break down some of our favorite scenes, and how the movie uses juxtaposition to build its theme. After debating the ending, we come to an agreement about two things, one being an amazing metaphor that Tom made up (that you can’t steal because he’s already using it in a s...
Horror Part 2: Anti Devil, Pro Details. The VVitch – Episode 3
December 16, 2019 00:00 - 55 minutes - 38.2 MBIn Alive Poets Society’s third installment, we (continue to) get spooky (in December) with the movie The VVitch directed by Robert Eggers—a movie currently on Netflix. The episode begins with some backstory as we get a glance into Maxwell’s search history and his father’s profession. Maxwell and Holly dive straight into the dialogue and how it affects the film’s believability and creepiness. Tom and Holly admit their deep fear of horror movies, but Maxwell makes a good case for them. After d...
Horror Part 1: Eat Your Lover’s Heart Out–And Your Children’s. "Love Bun" by Myriam Lacroix – Episode 2
December 01, 2019 14:00 - 45 minutes - 31 MB“Love Bun” by Myriam Lacroix: https://www.therupturemag.com/rupture/love-bun In Alive Poets Society’s second and third installments, we get spooky with horror-themed episodes. Broken up into two parts, in Part 1 we look at Myriam Lacroix’s brilliantly creepy short story, “Love Bun,” published in The Rupture (linked above). After forgetting to introduce ourselves, we dive into the prose of the piece, such as the unique dynamics of how the first and last lines play into the theme of the story...
Speculative Fiction: Were Saunders, Bradbury, and Alfonso Cuarón right?– Episode 1 of Alive Poets Society
November 15, 2019 20:00 - 1 hour - 57 MBIn our first-ever (and probably longest-ever) episode of Alive Poets Society, we dive into pre and post-apocalyptic literature in our speculative fiction themed episode. We analyze, philosophize, and comedicize (?) the two stories, “Escape from Spiderhead” by George Saunders and “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury, along with the film Children of Men (links to read and watch below). After introducing speculative fiction as a genre, we writers dive into Saunder’s prose, which demands...