Sh*t I Should've Read in School

OOOOOHhhhh OOOOhhhhh (*conch shell call, obviously). Join our hosts around the magic conch as they call this Lord of the Flies podcast to order. Listen in as they slowly give author William Golding props for doing a better than expected job of showing societal parallels by putting pre-teen boys on a deserted island (even if, low key, girls would have done it better). It's a savage discussion on leadership, fears, and a "Lost" style what happens next. The only thing that could have made this island better would've been a surprise visit to Casa Amor!

This week our hosts are joined by fellow East Coast friend Kristen Hazel to give their unsolicited opinions on phoney Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye. They discuss if Holden's privilege made him more dislikeable, if his trauma makes this iconic character more relatable, and the internet troll he would probably be today. You might as well skip school to listen to this one because it's a knockout.

There's been a MURDER... (or 10)! This week our hosts play couch-side, car-side, and "anywhere you can read"-side detectives as they help unravel mystery queen, Agatha Christie's, perfect crime novel. This episode, Lauren learns that the ending to the book is in fact an important clue, vigilante justice may not be worth the tax payer's dollar (we're looking at you, Batman) and why are so many people winding down with true crime stories? Or maybe this is all a red herring and we just talk about And Then There Were None...

Gather round 'Ole Sports for the podcast party of the century (this week)! It doesn't matter if you're from East Egg, West Egg or the NY Sin City, The Great Gatsby has something for everyone. Join the party as our hosts discuss if this is the greatest or worst love story of all time and was J. Gatsby a hopeless romantic or stalker? You may have learned about the symbolism behind everything F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in school, but we talk about none of that here.

Without books, high school must've been a lot easier for the students in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. This week's hot topic is book burning. Our hosts give into distraction to discuss why we all want to feel numb to the world from time to time. They look at how the more "mass" media is, the more people are going to be offended and why reading different points of view is so important.

As late bloomers to Judy Bloom's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, our hosts discuss what it was like going through puberty themselves, how Margaret's journey to find religion was mature for her age, and why Bloom's fearless approach to openly talking about being a woman is so difficult and still an important lesson for today! We must, we must, we must increase...ingly eradicate the shame of discussing women's issues!

Nerd Alert! Nerd culture has gone mainstream so what better way to celebrate the reign of nerdom than talk about it on a podcast ('cause that's never been done before...) Join our hosts on an audible adventure discussing the spectrum of nerd fandom, how OG Dungeon Master J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit laid the groundwork for fantasy storytelling and how each would have lasted in Bilbo's quest! And for Extra Credit actor Lucy Fry talks about how Tolkien's tale inspired her love of perfomring and why it's important to lose yourself in fantastical worlds.

Billy Shakespeare, you cheeky chappy and Rom Com writer OG. Congratulations! You've just earned three more loyal fans. This week our hosts listen to, watch, and read the classic A Midsummer Night's Dream. The faux thespians discuss why Shakespeare's work continues to be adored, adapted and performed today. Plus, a fun role play in what it would be like to have witnessed the King of Misunderstandings productions during his lifetime. And though this classic be but little, she is fierce indeed.

Only one person can catch the feels in this Dystopian society. On this episode, our hosts discuss The Giver and if author Lois Lowry was able to create the utopian dystopia landscape we all have been waiting for, or if experiencing "sameness" through a children's book just makes the idea more palatable for these millennial readers. And for Extra Credit, Outlander actor, Sophie Skelton, discusses how resilient the genetic memory of humans really is and why we'll never be fully able to forget our individuality. Katie and Sophie will also be fielding applications to join their Zombie Apocalypse alliance at this time.

Mr. Wickham, swipe left. Mr. Darcy, swipe right. Bingley, bring him home to mom. This week sparks fly when our hosts delve into Jane Austen's classic, Pride & Prejudice. They get passionate over what they look for when dating today and decide if the pressure to get married is as strong now as it was for the Bennet women. For Extra Credit, Bessie Carter who plays Prudence Featherington in Bridgerton gives her two pence on the highs and lows of dating apps and becoming the "Elizabeth Bennet" of her own story.

What if you could stay young forever? After reading Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, our hosts hold a mirror to themselves and the age-old issues of vanity, beauty and how they affect our mindset as most of us are (trying to) accept aging with grace. Katie, wear your sunscreen, damnit!

Is Nurse Ratched one of the greatest villains of all time or employee of the month? This week our hosts band together to discuss Ken Kesey's classic, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. They diagnose if Nurse Ratchet really intended to help the men on the ward or if McMurphy's infectious, yet questionable spirit was the true force to help these insecure inmates find their voice. For Extra Credit, Evanna Lynch who plays Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter series reminds these Millennial downers to see the book as hopeful and why laughing keeps us all from going "plumb crazy".