Well-Bred & Well-Brewed

Hiatus Week Day 3: A very odd and sort of a ‘trickster’ poem by none other than Lewis Carroll.

Hiatus Week Day 2: A belated autumnal poem to explain the Indian Summer phenomenon.

Our first ever hiatus week doesn't mean we won't be sharing some daily culture with you - find out what this week's content-theme theme is!

Imagine a baby Barack Obama in a little carrier, set upon a desk in a large lecture hall. His mom is there too of course. She's the one taking the classes, taking care of a new baby, and taking care of business!

Today we're grateful for all our listeners. A reflection on gratitude is baked into one timely poem for today's holiday. Happy Thanksgiving!

Fanny Kemble stirs up trouble in her marriage...but over what? The first big-time Asian American actor makes waves in Hollywood, finding his place after a fight-happy youth.

Charles Schulz basically made a killing with Peanuts! A fiercely independent American surgeon shares a birthday with the cartoonist. Poem by Lewis Carroll.

A million-dollar Lady deserves a million-dollar question: Can you name the most ethnically diverse country in South America? Plus, a completely unrelated poem.

Toy Story premiered in theaters – and it was well worth the investment! George Eliot lived in sin as an adult and was considered by her father to be unattractive. She showed him.

A female Dutch playwright rises to fame and French thinker Voltaire named himself. Plus, a modern poem for a special birth-day.

The first woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature was Swede Selma Lagerlöf. Plus, a star-inspired poem and a thank you.

An amateur explorer makes the re-discovery of an iconic ancient city. Which fictional character did he inspire? Plus, a poet watches the sunset.

1955 saw the start of the Vietnam War - though the fighting had been going on for some time. In today's poem, the speaker attempts to forget his own war experiences.

It's Halloween so you know what that means...a closer look into this sort of weird holiday (if you think about it!). Plus, a spooky poem from an Aussie poet.

An American writer and Gilles de la Tourette share a birthday. What else was Tourette an expert in? The answer may surprise you!

The biggest (most priceless) jewel heist happens at the American Museum of Natural History. It’s arguably also the easiest. Poem by Robert Frost.

Costume designer Edith Head, who holds the record for most Oscar wins, shares a birthday with an Irish poet and 16th century philosopher.

An Olympic Gold Medalist wins the marathon in bare feet. An American writer travels to England and decides she doesn’t want to leave.

Harlan David Sanders got a late start on his masterpiece, Kentucky Fried Chicken, but was “Colonel’ed” by Kentucky around 1930 for good deeds.

Marquis de Lafayette and MesoAmerican scholar Zelia Nuttall share a birthday. Poem honors ’Fayette. Plus, an announcement as we near our 100th episode.

Composer Amy Beach and a short-lived Scottish poet share a birthday. Plus, an elegy for a friend’s shorn hair is today’s poem.

Los Angeles was first “The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels.” Luckily for the postal system, that name didn’t stick.

A blind mathematician (literally) and an American regionalism writer share a birthday. A poem from the birthday poet about a still Sunday morning.

A little bit on Labor Day for the upcoming holiday on Monday. Plus, Mary Shelley’s birthday and her day of labor over Frankenstein.

A doctor remember for his poetry, and an assistant surgeon that has saved countless young lives share a birthday. Poem by birthday poet.

In 1963, MLK, Jr. gave his momentous “I Have a Dream” Speech to 250 thousand people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

The Famous Five (of Canada) ask a clarifying question. A poet rejects his father’s lifestyle, despite benefitting from it. Plus, a translated poem.

The first female to win a Pulitzer for Drama and the French inventor of the hot air balloon. Poem by the birthday writer.

What a day in history! Completely unrelated events from 1944, 1973, and 1991. In keeping with the theme, an arbitrary poem by Melville.

Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451, is today’s spotlight. S.O. to Debussy too (see show notes for longer Debussy bio). Poem by Whitman.

Jazz Royalty Count Basie shares a birthday with a prominent Israeli artist, known for his…sheep paintings…Today’s poem is an Edgar Allen Poe classic.

Estonia’s path to renewed independence was peaceful, and they achieved it with their Baltic neighbors! Also: Happy World Mosquito Day! A dog-and-cat poem.

From convent to boudoirs to hat-making, French designer Coco Chanel at one time befriended Igor Stravinsky. Today’s poem by a humorous birthday poet.

An important editor in the Harlem Renaissance and an Australian poet who spent time in Paraguay. A patriotic poem by the birthday poet.

Samuel Coleridge Taylor is not the person you might be thinking he is: an African-English composer and violin prodigy. Plus, a related poem.

Who invented the blender? Probably someone you've never heard of! And the impetus for the gadget? Milkshakes, of course. Plus, a baseball poem.

Today, birthday-ers Don Ho and Annie Oakley make and break stereotypes - isn't everyone more real up close? Love poem by e.e. cummings.

The woman who penned “America the Beautiful” and a Harlem Renaissance cross-dressing performer share a birthday. “America the Beautiful” shines as today’s poem.

Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton was more than just Alexander Hamilton’s wife. A Swiss developmental psychologist shares a birthday. Plus, a poem from Willa Cather.

Sara Teasdale’s missed-chance love is a common theme in her work. An Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder shares a birthday. Poem from our birthday poet.

The costume designer behind a few Sesame Street residents shares a birthday with a controversial WWI Spy. Do you know Dickinson’s poem #445?

Independence for Bolivia! But why “Bolivia”? Longest-reigning Poet Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson celebrates a birthday. An evocative love poem from the birthday poet.

The father of the modern short story, an activist, and a lesser-known American poet share a birthday. Today’s poem from the birthday poet.

Two women’s rights activists – from different continents and separate times – and a French sculptor all share a birthday. Plus, a quiet little poem.

Herman Melville’s prose maybe be a bit cumbersome to read at times, but it was certainly inspired by his stormy and eventful life!

Atlantic Records is a classic American label, but it was founded by an immigrant! As promised today’s poem is a response to yesterday’s.

Emily Brontë’s "Wuthering Heights" stands in stark contrast to the life she led…or does it? In today’s poem a shepherd attempts some wooing.

Tocqueville was supposed to study American prisons…but what he ended up chronicling was far more compelling: the work ethic of 19th Century Americans.

George Bernard Shaw was a frustrated critic of Victorian theater, before he tried writing his own plays. Plus, a poem by Sara Teasdale.

The Chemist who helped in the discovery of DNA, a Painter famous for the color blue, and an editing abolitionist share a birthday.

A deep dive into Alexandre Dumas reveals a generous friend, a saavy writer, and French lover. Plus, a classic sonnet from the Bard.