Episodit
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PODRE's newest bonus miniseries (yes, our highly-anticipated literary salon) kicks off with guest Kaveh Akbar, all-world poet and author of PILGRIM BELL and the forthcoming novel MARTYR, here to discuss poets who can handle the rock, the enduring cultural significance of The Simpsons, and three poems about fatherhood that will make your heart swell bigger than the rim when Steph Curry's on one of his heaters. It's basketball season. It's poetry season. It's PODRE, from the logo, BAAAAANG!
In case you're a little confused as to what's happening in the special show intro, here you go.
Each of Kaveh Akbar's several magnificent books can & should be purchased at the website of the man himself, here.
Marvelous poet and friend of the pod Hayan Charara's books, including his newest collection, can be found here.
Robert Hayden's incredibly rich body of poetic work is worth owning in this handsome volume.
Please head over to the website or find us on social media so you can see the gorgeous PODRE Review Issue 1 cover art made by David Wojciechowski.
And here are the poems we discuss on the episode: "Ode to an Abandoned House" by Hayan Charara. "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden. And "Learning to Pray" by Kaveh Akbar.
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There are many ways of eating your child, but only a handful of reasons one might do so. In this edition of PODRE: Bad Dads, Chris & Brad search for answers in the literature of the Italian Middle Ages and in the 9th circle of hell of our own current politics. As ever, we bring you the baddest dads of yesterday, today, and tomorrow here on PODRE. Don't be one of them!
Brad Franco's book on Siena is here.
The Count Ugalino episode of Dante's Inferno, along with excellent commentary and some fun images, is here on Columbia U's frankly badass Digital Dante resource.
Dante & an Egg, by friend of the pod John Harvey, can be found here.
Get ready for more Monday bonus drops this fall, and make sure you're subscribing to PODRE so you never miss an episode.
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Writer, professor, and gourmand John Harvey returns to PODRE for a very special edition of Bad Dads. Chris, Brad, and John look to their beloved poets of ancient Greece to determine which is worse: being a deadbeat dad, murdering your father and marrying your mother, or simply swallowing your children whole without even so much as a nice sauce or side vegetable. We also reach back into the past to hear Julian at age three teaching his mother the plot of The Odyssey (professors' kids: what are you gonna do?) in this full Greek immersion experience of PODRE.
If you're in the market for a new translation of Homer's Odyssey--and you probably are--you'll want to get a copy of Emily Wilson's superb and modern version, published in 2018 by Norton. Wilson is the first woman translator of Homer's poems, and her much-anticipated Iliad will be out this fall.
https://www.emilyrcwilson.com/the-odyssey
Julian's board book is available here. Thanks Uncle Mik!
Please go to our website and sign up to join our email list so we can be in touch when season 2 is set to premier.
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PODRE is back with two new miniseries to get you through the summer. First up: Bad Dads, in which Chris Brunt & cohost Brad Franco discuss, argue, and occasionally agree on the worst dads in the history of humanity. We all need something to aspire to, and what we've brought you is the bare minimum--the bar we all must clear. Please, please, be better than these dads.
In this episode, we asked to speak to the manager and went right for the Alpha & Omega of bad dadness, the Big Guy, El Primo Papa, L'uomo Del Cielo, the Original Godfather, the Logan Roy of the Holy Bible... He Who Shall Not Be Named. Dios mio, man.
(Warning: So much blasphemy. Untold amounts of blasphemy. But it's constructive criticism! We just want to help.)
You can learn more about God in The Bible or in lots of other books, not to mention the music of Bach or Amy Winehouse or the scent of lilacs opening to the spring or the eyes of a small child or the sound of the ocean at night.
Bad Dads cohost Brad Franco is an associate professor of history at the University of Portland, where he teaches courses in ancient & medieval history. He has published several books, including The World of St. Francis of Assisi (Brill 2015) and most recently, The History of Siena: From Its Origins to the Present Day (Routledge 2019). He lives in North Portland with his wife, two children, and their puppy, Luna.
Be sure you're subscribing to PODRE wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss the next installment of Bad Dads or our second upcoming bonus miniseries THE PODRE REVIEW, a literary roundup of some of the great representations of parenting and childhood in modern fiction & poetry, where I'll be joined by some of the most exciting writers in the whole damn world.
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It's the season finale of PODRE. Congrats to us! To help us go out in style, George Saunders is here. The MacArthur Genius, the Man Booker Award winner, the National Book Award Finalist, the author of LINCOLN IN THE BARDO and TENTH OF DECEMBER and countless other surreal literary bangers. We talk about teaching Russian literature, how to see the best in people, how to write your dream novel, the all-too-human fatherly grief of Abraham Lincoln, and of course, having and being dads.
George is not only very famous and popular, he is a master teacher, storyteller, and unforgettable presence. We hope you enjoy hanging out with him for this very special finale.
And stick around for one last symposium on good dad-ness with cohosts Julian (7) & Nico (3). The next time you hear from us, they'll be older. That's the way with kids.
All of George Saunders' books can be had at a song right here. His excellent substack on writing and the writing life is available here. The awesome audio production of Lincoln in the Bardo is available here and stars an ungodly amount of major actors, from Nick Offerman to Don Cheadle to Susan Sarandon to Ben Stiller to [panting] Bill Hader to Keegan Michael-Keye to Julianne Moore to the author and his family. (Why not just get Lincoln himself?)
An insanely creative 3-D interactive New York Times VR rendition of the book is here.
Then head over to podrepod.com for more information about the show and to sign up for email updates so you never miss an episode or that moment in the near future when we blast out the special patented PODRE secret instructions for how to be the perfect dad.
This is our season one finale, but more bonus episodes are on the way, so keep up with us on Twitter, FB, and Insta, and at PodrePod.com. And of course, PODRE SEASON TWO is right around the corner.
Follow us @podrepod on all the socials to stay tuned in to the frequencies.
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What's it like to meet your father at twenty-eight years old? What's it like to find out you have a son at fifty-eight? For once, we have answers. Michael Frontain, biological father of your host, and beloved grandpa to your other host Julian, is here to tell the story of our meeting and the development of our relationship. It is... not... unmoving. We didn't not cry a little.
Then, an old friend-of-the-pod stops by to pick up his long overdue NATFITOIA. From now on, every NATFITOIA winner must perform a feat at least as daring and ludicrously heroic as this one.
Here's the Steve Earle TOWNES album Mike gave me the day we met on E. 86th St. (I already owned it. That's how spot on he was.)
And here is the website for Baron Vaughn, man of many extraordinary talents, from stand up comedy to acting to sketch show hosting to bringing babies into this world.
SEASON ONE FINALE next Monday! The guest? Is a big deal. Do not miss it.
Head over to podrepod.com for more information about the show and to sign up for email updates so you never miss an episode or that moment in the near future when we blast out the special patented PODRE secret instructions for how to be the perfect dad.
And follow us @podrepod on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to stay tuned in to the frequencies.
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Dads matter, yes. But do they matter... as much? Are there fundamental differences in the roles of mothers and fathers? And if there are, is that ok? What do we really mean by "coparenting" and how much more involved is this younger generation of fathers in all of the family business? Literary critic and professor Dr. Monika Gehlawat sits down for a discussion about all this plus the value of parental differences, whether birth order is destiny, having immigrant parents, which long-dead novelists we should hang portraits of in our kitchens, and much more. Then, poet Hayan Charara comes by to pick up his latest in a long glittering line of major awards.
Get a handsome copy of Monika's book IN DEFENSE OF DIALOGUE here.
The "lovingkindness" meditation Monika describes is helpfully printed here. You need that. We need that.
Images of Henry James to print out, frame, and hang over your kitchen sink can be found here. Be sure to laser print those bad bois.
Then head over to podrepod.com for more information about the show and to sign up for email updates so you never miss an episode or that moment in the near future when we blast out the special patented PODRE secret instructions for how to be the perfect dad.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow us @podrepod on all the socials to stay tuned in to the frequencies.
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It's time to talk about moms. Difficult, one-of-a-kind, ride-or-die moms. Four-time Moth champ, memoirist, king of the one man show, and "Stories in High Heels" TikTok phenom Jamie Brickhouse is here to remember his Mama Jean, to work out why storytelling matters in our family relationships, and why we can't change until our stories do. We also talk about queer identity in families, growing up in East Texas, and our old friends addiction & recovery.
Get a copy of Jamie Brickhouse's memoir DANGEROUS WHEN WET (St. Martins 2015) or look to preorder his new memoir I FAVOR MY DADDY: A TALE OF TWO SISSIES here.
Follow his world famous TikTok series "Stories in High Heels" for more tales of Mama Jean, Earl, and Ron the Roofer here, and watch some of his top prize-winning Moth stories here.
Jamie tweets @jamiebrickhouse and socials otherwise at @jamie_brickhouse.
Lanford Wilson's BURN THIS is available in one of those fun little hardcore editions here. Read it if you dare. Please make sure your guests are taken care of first.
Edward Albee's masterpiece of the booziest toxic marriage in literary history, WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF, is available in book form here and in glorious film form (starring Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton) streaming at HBOMax and Amazon Prime.
Come to think of it, PODRE needs to do an entire episode on that play. God a'mighty.
Then head over to podrepod.com for more information about the show and to sign up for email updates so you never miss an episode or that moment in the near future when we blast out the special patented PODRE secret instructions for how to be the perfect dad.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow us @podrepod on all the socials to stay tuned in to the frequencies.
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What if, as a thought experiment, we concede that everything is, in fact, "basically fine?" Even, maybe... "pretty good?" What if we're each of us intrinsically Not-A-Terrible-Father? In that hypothetical dimension of reality, would this podcast still exist? Philosopher, supremely confident father, and cohost of the Very Bad Wizards podcast Tamler Sommers is here to help us delve further into this Borgesian labyrinth of possible realities. Then, we talk to civil rights attorney and newish dad Vishal Agraharkar, who only has one (!) kid, but now, also, has one NATFITOIA. Quite a haul.
Listen and subscribe to Tamler and Dave Pizzaro's hit philosophy/psychology podcast Very Bad Wizards here. Get a copy of Tamler's newest book here. Or follow them on social media @Tamler on Twitter or @verybadwizards everywhere.
Then head over to podrepod.com for more information about the show and to sign up for email updates so you never miss an episode or that moment in the near future when we blast out the special patented PODRE secret instructions for how to be the perfect dad.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow us @podrepod on all the socials to stay tuned in to the frequencies.
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Darkness in the family. It happens. How do we move forward as people and as parents when there are violent, traumatic experiences lurking back there in our early life? Friend of the pod, dad, author, and charming devil Daniel Magariel (ONE OF THE BOYS, Scribner 2017 & WALK THE DARKNESS DOWN, Bloombury 2023) is here to enlighten and delight us with harrowing tales of an addict father, how trauma can be channeled into autobiographical art, and how literary craft might just be a moral endeavor. PODRE: it's certainly cheaper than therapy.
Get a copy of Daniel Magariel's luminous debut novel ONE OF THE BOYS here or here, and pre-order his second novel WALK THE DARKNESS DOWN here. He tweets at @danielmagariel.
Then head over to podrepod.com for more information about the show and to sign up for email updates so you never miss an episode or that moment in the near future when we blast out the special patented PODRE secret instructions for how to be the perfect dad.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow us @podrepod on all the socials to stay tuned in to the frequencies.
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Has PODRE ever been credited with reviving an entire literary genre? No, but our guest today has. Mary Karr, author of THE LIARS CLUB (Viking 1995), two other best-selling memoirs, and five collections of poetry, comes from a long line of legendary storytellers. Mary talks to PODRE about her new memoir-in-progress, her famed childhood with a larger-than-life father, being a single mom in the 80s, and what makes Texas storytellers different. Then, a very special conferring of the Not A Terrible Father In This One Instance Award (NATFITOIA) upon poet, playwright, and gourmand John Harvey.
Mary Karr's many bestsellers, including THE LIAR'S CLUB, CHERRY, LIT, and THE ART OF MEMOIR, are available to order here.
You can read John Harvey's blogs on gourmet cooking, literature, and life here, or follow his Instagram for his series on Dante's Divine Comedy, food, and the meaning of life here.
Julian's favorite podcast, Circle Round, from WBUR Boston, can be found here. But don't forget, PODRE is "also... pretty good."
For our beloved close listeners, yes, the host does claim in the monologue that it's been 12 years since March 12, 2010, when in fact it's now been 13 years since that day when he began his recovery. But what happens when you produce a podcast by yourself is: it takes a while. All special edition collector DVDs of this and future episodes will come with AI-enhanced *years-elapsed technology* to account for those kinds of necessary temporal modifications, including the one in this paragraph.
Please head over to podrepod.com for more information about the show and to sign up for email updates so you never miss an episode or that moment in the near future when we blast out the super special patented PODRE secret instructions for how to be the perfect dad.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow us @podrepod on all the socials to stay tuned in to the frequencies.
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Did you have one of those dads who "never raised his voice?" No? Us either. What is a bear dad and is it ok to be one? If you have more than one child, are you a different parent to each one? PODRE discusses these and other pressing items with Keith Gessen, cofounder of N+1 and author of RAISING RAFFI (Viking 2022), a new book on dadhood and raising the little maniacs we adore so much. Then, we honor the very first recipient of the Not a Terrible Father in This One Instance Award (NATFITOIA), author and physician Dr. Ricardo Nuila, who regales us with his heroic tale of fatherly improvisation, provides some tips on flying with your children, and explains what a baby cop is.
You can get yourself of copy of Keith Gessen's RAISING RAFFI here, here, or here.
You can read one of the essays from RAISING RAFFI in it's original publication, some little zine called The New Yorker, where Keith is a frequent contributor, here.
Ricardo Nuila's excellent new nonfiction book THE PEOPLE'S HOSPITAL is available for order here.
Then head over to podrepod.com for more information about the show and to sign up for email updates so you never miss an episode or that moment in the near future when we blast out the special patented PODRE secret instructions for how to be the perfect dad.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow us @podrepod on all the socials & stay tuned in to the frequencies.
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How do we know how to be a good dad if none of the old models are working? What if we grew up without a model at all? Can we learn how to be a good dad from watching HBO? Why is trust the most fundamental piece of a parent-child relationship? Why is silence so corrosive? Comedian, actor, and fellow father-of-two Baron Vaughn (Grace & Frankie; The New Negroes; Corporate) joins us on PODRE to break all this down and tell his story in typically hilarious fashion.
Go to baronvaughn.com to stream Baron's comedy specials, check out his podcast Self Quar, and watch him perform on Conan, Comedy Central, and HBO. Baron's documentary film FATHERLESS lives on Amazon Prime here.
Then head over to podrepod.com for more information about the show and to sign up for email updates so you never miss an episode or that moment in the near future when we blast out the special patented PODRE secret instructions for how to be the perfect dad.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow us @podrepod on all the socials to stay tuned in to the frequencies.
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PODRE. A new podcast about all things fatherhood. Hosted by writer, professor, and father of two Chris Brunt. Premiering this March. Listen now to check the vibes.
