Épisodes

  • Ep 212: Girls! Girls! Girls! ft. Alexis Sears & Joanna Pearson

    Ep 212: Girls! Girls! Girls! ft. Alexis Sears & Joanna Pearson
    Sep 14 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Also the title of a good Liz Phair song. And Chloe Pirrie is Scottish.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Out of Order by Alexis Sears– Bright and Tender Dark by Joanna Pearson– The Hyla Brook Reading Series at the Frost Farm– Too Much (2025)– Girls (2012–2017)– Megan Stalter– Will Sharpe– Lena Dunham– Luis Felber– Michael Zegen– John Magaro– Aubrey Plaza– Sally Hawkins– Chloe Pirrie– Adele Exarchopoulos– Emily Ratajkowski– Jack Antonoff– Rhea Perlman– Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke, ft. T.I., Pharrell– Got to Give It Up by Marvin Gaye– Keith Moon– Sonoya Mizuno– Eudora Welty– Edi Patterson as Judy Gemstone– The White Lotus (2021–)– A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift– Historia Calamitatum by Peter Abelard– Her Ex Writes a Novel by Shashi Bhat– Byung-Chul Han– J. K. Rowling– Michael B. Jordan– S. E. HintonFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna Pearson– Matt Wall– Steve Knepper – Helena FederOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In Future PostsBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 h et 4 min
  • Ep 211: Literary Matters 18.1

    Ep 211: Literary Matters 18.1
    Sep 6 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: In case it needs saying, no, I don’t think people should just seize hold of one another’s genitals without asking.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Literary Matters 18.1– Submit to LM (but ignore the submissions guidelines)– Tar River Poetry– Submit to Tar River Poetry– New Verse Review– Submit Halloween-themed poems to New Verse Review – Come hear me read at the Frost Farm this Thursday, September 11, at 6:30!– My recent appearance on Matt Wall’s Bukowski Pod– Zina Gomez-Liss– Helena Feder– Matt Steinhafel– Emily Grace– The ALSCW– The Poetry Space– To the Reader by Charles Baudelaire, trans. Tristram Fane Saunders– The Little Review– Concerning The Wreck by T. O. Brandon– Women’s Work by Maya Venters– Alien vs. Predator by Michael Robbins– Chubby Checker by M. I. Devine– The Bad Apple Sings by Hailey Leithauser– Senryu at Zion National Park by Pedro Poitevin– Eratosphere– The Wreck of the Deutschland by Gerard Manley Hopkins– Concerning Kipling by George Bradley– Nightjar by James Midgley– Yangtze Gorge by Nida Sophasarun– A thing I wrote on another poem of Nida’s for 32 Poems– 90 North by Randall Jarrell– Narcissus by R. Nemo Hill– The Shield of Achilles by W. H. Auden– Assurances by Sunil Iyengar– Spoor by Forester McClatchey– The End of the Age of Singing by Niall CampbellFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna Pearson– Matt Wall– Steve Knepper – Helena FederOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In Future PostsBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 h et 15 min
  • Ep 210: Middle-Aged Witches, Pt. 1, ft. Versecraft & The Flummoxed

    Ep 210: Middle-Aged Witches, Pt. 1, ft. Versecraft & The Flummoxed
    Aug 29 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:Ari Aster Beau is Afraid (2023)Midsommar (2019)Eddington (2025)Interaction of Color by Josef AlbersThe Strange Thing About the Johnsons (2011)Flannery O’ConnorThe Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund FreudOn Dreams by Sigmund FreudThe Psychopathology of Everyday Life by Sigmund FreudThe Denial of Death by Ernest BeckerMother! (2017)Lord of Illusions (1995)Carl Jung Ethan's essay about Beau is Afraid on The Flummoxed Ethan’s podcast episode about Beau is AfraidLego Batman (2017)Frequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna Pearson– Matt WallOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In Future PostsBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 h et 13 min
  • Ep 209: Hybrid Vigor, ft. Derek Mong, Pt. 1

    Ep 209: Hybrid Vigor, ft. Derek Mong, Pt. 1
    Aug 24 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– When the Earth Flies into the Sun by Derek Mong– At Length– Annie O. Fisher– The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker– Traveling Sprinkler by Nicholson Baker– The Belle of Amherst by William Luce– A Quiet Passion ()– Being John Malcovich (1999)– Laura Lippman– Lewis Turco– Carl Dennis– Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota by James Wright– Vox by Nicholson Baker– House of Holes by Nicholson Baker– Funny, but Serious Too by Michael Dirda– Poems: North & South; A Cold Spring by Elizabeth Bishop– Geography III by Elizabeth Bishop– Specimen Days by Walt Whitman– Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham– Dead Souls by Sam Riviere– Ep 32: Poets Without Poems, ft. Sam Riviere– Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol– Practice by Rosalind Brown– A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) (Is it a coincidence that her yellow coat and red hat match Amanda Gorman’s inauguration ensemble?)– Lupita Nyong’o, great weirdo actor– The Kindergarten Teacher (2018)– Ep 126: Sassy Kids, ft. Alexis Sears, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2– A Teacher (2013)– The American Poet at the Movies by Laurence Goldstein– Paterson (2016)– Ep 27: Baker’s Poetry, ft. Alice Allan– Rhyme and Unreason by David Orr– Jason Koo– Meter in English by David Baker– Paul Kiparsky– Sara Teasdale– Lullaby by W. H. Auden– Ashes of Life by Edna St. Vincent Millay– If you stick a stock of liquor by Norman Levy– Susan Delaney Spear– The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe– Sonnet 31 by Philip Sidney– Marilyn Hacker– Horace i.25– The League of Moveable TypeFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna Pearson– Matt WallOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In Future PostsBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 h et 1 min
  • Ep 208: Password to the Ghost World, Pt. 1

    Ep 208: Password to the Ghost World, Pt. 1
    Aug 13 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: Oops, I said the wrong first name of Marilyn vos SavantMy book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Bronze Age Mindset by Bronze Age Pervert– The Cleveland Roundtable– Borat– Chapo Trap House– Jordan Peterson– ContraPoints on YouTube & Patreon– Yosha Iglesias– Vanessa Place’s Gone with the Wind project– Kenneth Goldsmith– Mark Leidner– Michael Shermer’s interview with Michael Egnor & Christof Koch– Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came by Robert Browning– On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin– There Are More Things by Jorge Luis Borges– Thomas Ligotti– Hasan Piker– Christopher Hitchens– Ta-Nehisi Coates– Dave Smith– J. D. Vance– Camille Paglia– Red Scare– The Monty Hall problem– Margaret Mead– The Brontosaurus– Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius by Jorge Luis Borges– Toni Morrison’s Nobel lecture– Michel Foucault– Sabrina Carpenter– Betty Boop– The Bud Light boycott– The Sydney Sweeney jeans ad– Plato’s CaveFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna Pearson– Matt WallOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In Future PostsBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    1 h et 32 min
  • Ep 207: Wild Ernestness, Pt. 1, ft. Jonathan Farmer

    Ep 207: Wild Ernestness, Pt. 1, ft. Jonathan Farmer
    Aug 6 2025
    NB: Alice also recommends this highly Mountainhead-esque footage of Peter Thiel.SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:Carson McCullersNational Book Critics Circle: A Conversation on Poetry CriticismThe Case Against the Trauma Plot by Parul SehgalVIDA: Women in Literary ArtsPaul ValeryLinda GregersonStanley PlumlyEp 132: Intermittent Positive Reinforcement on Harry HarlowHow Do You Like It Now, Gentlemen? by Lillian RossAcross the River and into the Trees by Ernest HemingwayThe Profile Hemingway Could Never Live Down by Adam GopnikCurtis Yarvin's Plot Against America by Ava KofmanMountainhead (2025) Drake VS Kendrick Explained to White People by Josh JohnsonSecret show notesPacino's speech in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) Tar (2023) Ep 166: Three Bird Mafia, ft. Jonathan Farmer on the Order of the Third BirdThe Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest HemingwaySoldier’s Home by Ernest HemingwayIn Another Country by Ernest HemingwayFear and Trembling by Søren KierkegaardScrambled Eggs & Whiskey: Poems, 1991 to 1995 by Hayden CarruthFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna Pearson– Matt WallOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In Future PostsBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    59 min
  • Ep 206: Feels Good While It’s Happening, ft. Matt Wall

    Ep 206: Feels Good While It’s Happening, ft. Matt Wall
    Aug 1 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Donate to Matt’s Seasons of the Muse Indiegogo fundraiser!– Bukowski Pod– Matt’s Art– Poetic Anarchy Press– Shaylynn Marks– When I Was a Poet by David Meltzer– Neeli Cherkovski– Charles Bukowski– Allen Ginsberg– Martin Esslin– The Meat Poets– The Beat Generation– The Theatre of the Absurd– Lawrence Ferlinghetti– Gregory Corso– The San Francisco Renaissance– Jack Kerouac– Ocean Vuong– Andrea Long Chu’s review of Ocean Vuong– Tom Crewe’s review of Ocean Vuong– The Black Mountain Poets– So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)– Ben Jonson– Robert Herrick– The Tribe of Ben– The Hatred of Poetry by Ben Lerner– Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner– Douglas Blazek– Weird Mask Magazine– Arthur Rimbaud– Holly Day– Adam Crawford– Francois Villon– The Creative Act by Rick Rubin– The Art Spirit by Robert Henri– Black Square by Kazimir Malevich– On the Beach by Nevil Schutes– Every Day Is Like Sunday by Morrissey– New and Collected Hell by Shane McCrae– I Am 25 by Gregory Corso– Pier Paolo Pasolini– The Portrait Gallery Called Existence by Neeli Cherkovski– Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong– Seventh Circle of Earth by Ocean Vuong– An Epistle Answering to One That Asked to Be Sealed of the Tribe of Ben by Ben Jonson– Without by Donald HallFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna Pearson– Matt WallOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In Future PostsBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander SmithSLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– Donate to Matt’s Seasons of the Muse Indiegogo fundraiser!– Bukowski Pod– Matt’s Art– Poetic Anarchy Press– Shaylynn Marks– When I Was a Poet by David Meltzer– Neeli Cherkovski– Charles Bukowski– Allen Ginsberg– Martin Esslin– The Meat Poets– The Beat Generation– The Theatre of the Absurd– Lawrence Ferlinghetti– Gregory Corso– The San Francisco Renaissance– Jack Kerouac– Ocean Vuong– Andrea Long Chu’s review of Ocean Vuong– Tom Crewe’s review of Ocean Vuong– The Black Mountain Poets– So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)– Ben Jonson– Robert Herrick– The Tribe of Ben– The Hatred of Poetry by Ben Lerner– Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner– Douglas Blazek– Weird Mask Magazine– Arthur Rimbaud– Holly Day– Adam Crawford– Francois Villon– The Creative Act by Rick Rubin– The Art Spirit by Robert Henri– Black Square by Kazimir Malevich– On the Beach by Nevil Schutes– Every Day Is Like Sunday by Morrissey– New and Collected Hell by Shane McCrae– I Am 25 by Gregory Corso– Pier Paolo Pasolini– The Portrait Gallery Called Existence by Neeli Cherkovski– Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong– Seventh Circle of Earth by Ocean Vuong– An Epistle Answering to One That Asked to Be Sealed of the Tribe of Ben by Ben Jonson– Without by Donald HallFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna Pearson– Matt WallOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt ...
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    59 min
  • Ep 205: Ascending Orders of Meaninglessness

    Ep 205: Ascending Orders of Meaninglessness
    Jul 26 2025
    SLEERICKETS is a podcast about poetry and other intractable problems. NB: I said pull quotes but they’re actually, like, source quotes or something.My book Midlife now exists. Buy it here, or leave it a rating here or hereFor more SLEERICKETS, subscribe to SECRET SHOW, join the group chat, and send me a poem for Listener Crit!Leave the show a rating here (actually, just do it on your phone, it’s easier). Thanks!Wear SLEERICKETS t-shirts and hoodies. They look good!SLEERICKETS is now on YouTube!For a frank, anonymous critique on SLEERICKETS, subscribe to the SECRET SHOW and send a poem of no more 25 lines to sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] com Some of the topics mentioned in this episode:– I’ve got some poems in the terrific new issue of Poetry London!– Niall Campbell– Mark Leidner’s interview with Hilary Plum– ChatGPT Gave Instructions for Murder, Self-Mutilation, and Devil Worship by Lila Shroff– Brad Listi’s interview with Jessa Crispin– Ep 195: The White Guy Publishing Vortex, ft. Ethan McGuire, Pt. 1 & Pt. 2– Ep 204: Darkness Audible– Jay Caspian Kang– Freddie deBoer– Hell House (2001)– Roko’s BasiliskFrequently mentioned names:– Joshua Mehigan– Shane McCrae– A. E. Stallings– Ryan Wilson– Morri Creech– Austin Allen– Jonathan Farmer– Zara Raab– Amit Majmudar– Ethan McGuire– Coleman Glenn– Chris Childers– Alexis Sears– JP Gritton– Alex Pepple– Ernie Hilbert– Joanna PearsonOther Ratbag Poetry Pods:Poetry Says by Alice AllanI Hate Matt Wall by Matt WallVersecraft by Elijah BlumovRatbag Poetics By David Jalal MotamedAlice: In Future PostsBrian: @BPlatzerCameron: Minor TiresiasMatthew: sleerickets [at] gmail [dot] comMusic by ETRNLArt by Daniel Alexander Smith
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    58 min