Well-Bred & Well-Brewed

Follow Well-Bred & Well-Brewed
Share on
Copy link to clipboard

Ease into the morning with a dose of culture.

Virginia Combs


    • Dec 3, 2019 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 5m AVG DURATION
    • 114 EPISODES


    Search for episodes from Well-Bred & Well-Brewed with a specific topic:

    Latest episodes from Well-Bred & Well-Brewed

    December 4th, Wednesday | Hiatus Week: The Walrus and the Carpenter

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2019 4:56


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

    December 3rd, Tuesday | Hiatus Week: Legend of the Indian Summer

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2019 4:55


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

    December 2nd, Monday | Hiatus Week: The Courtship of Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2019 5:43


    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!

    November 29th, Friday | Mom and Baby Barack

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2019 5:15


    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!

    November 28th, Thursday | A Thanksgiving Poem

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2019 3:00


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

    November 27th, Wednesday | Fanny Kemble stirs up trouble

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2019 5:06


    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.

    November 26th, Tuesday | Peanuts Creator was no Pauper!

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2019 5:21


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

    November 25th, Monday | A Million Dollar Lady

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2019 5:18


    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.

    November 22nd, Friday | The Real George Eliot Lived in Sin

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2019 5:09


    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.

    November 21st, Thursday | "Un Petit Volontaire"

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2019 5:14


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

    November 20th, Wednesday | Selma Lagerlöf wins it all

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2019 5:11


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

    November 19th, Tuesday | Hiram Bingham's Big (re)Discovery

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2019 4:59


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

    November 1st, Friday | A Very Vietnam War

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2019 5:14


    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.

    October 31st, Thursday | Of Course We're Gonna Talk About Halloween!

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2019 5:11


    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.

    October 30th, Wednesday | A Kentucky Writer & Tourette

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2019 5:03


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

    October 29th, Tuesday | The Biggest (and Easiest) Jewel Heist

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2019 4:43


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

    October 28th, Monday | Edna Mode-I mean Edith Head!

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2019 5:05


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

    September 10th, Tuesday | The Barefoot Gold Medalist

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2019 5:07


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

    September 9th, Monday | The Colonel of KFC

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 8, 2019 4:51


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

    September 6th, Friday | La-fay-ette! And Ze-li-a!

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2019 5:12


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

    September 5th, Thursday | Amy Beach & Robert Fergusson

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2019 5:09


    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.

    September 4th, Wednesday | Ahem, it's "The City of the Queen of the Angels"

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2019 5:07


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

    September 3rd, Tuesday | A Blind Mathematician & Sarah Jewett

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2019 5:02


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

    August 30th, Friday | Mary Shelley and the Birth of Frankenstein

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2019 5:07


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

    August 29th, Thursday | Wendell Holmes, Sr & Vivien Thomas

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2019 4:57


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

    August 28th, Wednesday | MLK's "I have a dream..."

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2019 4:56


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

    August 27th, Tuesday | The Famous Five (of Canada)

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2019 5:04


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

    August 26th, Monday | A Small-Town Writer & Hot Air Balloon Man

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2019 5:01


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

    August 23rd, Friday | One for the Books! Events from 1944, 1973, &1991

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2019 5:15


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

    August 22nd, Thursday | Bradbury & Debussy

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2019 5:06


    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.

    August 21st, Wednesday | Count Basie

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 20, 2019 5:03


    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.

    August 20th, Tuesday | Estonia Breaks Free After a Human Chain

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2019 5:06


    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.

    August 19th, Monday | Coco Chanel befriends Stravinsky

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 18, 2019 5:00


    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.

    August 16th, Friday | The Good, the Bad, and an Australian Poet

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2019 5:04


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

    August 15th, Thursday | Samuel Coleridge Taylor

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2019 5:05


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

    August 14th, Wednesday | Inventor of the Blender

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2019 5:13


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

    August 13th, Tuesday | A Hawaiian Pop Star & a Sharpshooter

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2019 5:05


    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.

    August 12th, Monday | "America the Beautiful" & Gladys Bentley

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2019 5:08


    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.

    August 9th, Friday | Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2019 5:03


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

    August 8th, Thursday | Sara Teasdale's lost love

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2019 5:02


    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.

    August 7th, Wednesday | The Other Kermit and a Spy

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2019 5:15


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

    August 6th, Tuesday | Why "Bolivia"?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2019 4:54


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

    August 5th, Monday | Father of the Modern Short Story

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2019 5:14


    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.

    August 2nd, Friday | Two Activists and a Sculptor walk into a bar...

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2019 5:03


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

    August 1st, Thursday | Melville's Stormy Start

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2019 5:05


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

    July 31st, Wednesday | Atlantic Records was founded by...

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2019 5:02


    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.

    July 30th, Tuesday | Emily Brontë

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2019 5:08


    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.

    July 29th, Monday | Tocqueville admires America

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2019 5:07


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

    July 26th, Friday | Shaw: If You Can't Beat 'em, Join 'em

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2019 5:06


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

    July 25th, Thursday | Parrish, Franklin, and Chapman

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2019 5:06


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

    July 24, Wednesday | A writer or a lover first?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2019 5:07


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

    Claim Well-Bred & Well-Brewed

    In order to claim this podcast we'll send an email to with a verification link. Simply click the link and you will be able to edit tags, request a refresh, and other features to take control of your podcast page!

    Claim Cancel