Doggerel Diaries: Ben & Matthew's Literature Program

Amina Gautier's "Surely Not"

In this episode, Ben and Matthew discuss Amina Gautier's "Surely, Not," which was published in the Boston Review in 2019 as well as in Amina's collection The Best That You Can Do. After that, as always, they'll share music and book recommendations.

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Terra Travis's "Ham Hocks"

In this episode, Ben and Matthew discuss Terra Travis's "Ham Hocks," which appeared in Oroboro's May 2026 volume 12, then share music and book recommendations.

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Carlos Portugal's "Deserts"

In this episode, Ben and Matthew discuss Carlos Portugal’s "Deserts," translated by Asheley Nova Navarro, which appeared in March 2026 in Joyland, then share music and book recommendations.

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Ágnes Makó's "Snow White"

In this episode, Ben and Matthew discuss Ágnes Makó's "Snow White," which was published in Ploughshares in their winter 2025/26 edition, then share some music and book recommendations.

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AI and Literature

In this episode, Ben and Matthew discuss artificial intelligence and its relationship, or lack thereof, to literature.

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Five for Fall Revisited: How Are Those Fall Book Picks Coming?

In this episode, Ben and Matthew check in on the books they picked for fall reading on the September 19 episode. Each recommended five and this is the winter update, plus they'll give you a few more to read now that the weather's full-on-cold.

Sharon Wahl's "Friends"

In this episode, Ben and Matthew discuss Sharon Wahl's "Friends,” which was published in Action, Spectacle's summer 2025 edition, then share some small literary magazines they've discovered lately as well as music and book recommendations.

Riddhi Dastidar’s “Darling, Darling”

In this episode, Ben and Matthew discuss Riddhi Dastidar’s “Darling, Darling,” which was published in Electric Literature. Then, they share some small literary magazines you should be reading and give music and book recommendations. *Correction: The story was mistakenly referred to as "She Stole My Heart and My Favorite Toe" in the introduction. The actual title is "Darling, Darling."

Five for Fall: Reading Recommendations

In this episode, Ben and Matthew recommend five books apiece for the fall that they will be reading and debut a new feature called Things I've Been Noticing in the Zone. If you'd like to see the recommendations, check out their Instagram.

Feral Transformation in Lauren Groff's "Dogs Go Wolf

In this episode, Ben and Matthew discuss Lauren Groff's "Dogs Go Wolf," which appeared in the New Yorker in 2017, as well as sharing recommendations for reading and listening.

Strange Magic and Metamodernism in Noah Milligan's "Abyss"

In this episode, Ben and Matthew read and analyze "Abyss" by Noah Milligan, which appeared in the metamodern-themed May issue of Jokes Review, doing their best to explain it in a metamodern context and, as usual, share music and literature recommendations.

Poetry! Two poems by Vincent Antonio Rendoni

In this installment, Ben and Matthew read and analyze two poems by Vincent Antonio Rendoni, which appear in his collection A Grito Contest in the Afterlife, then provide some music and reading recommendations and talk about summer writing conferences.

Fending off the Venom of the Soul: Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place"

Ben and Matthew analyze Ernest Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" in this installment of the program, as well as sharing music and literature recommendations.

Troy James Weaver's "Hooks"

In this installment, Matthew and Ben examine Troy James Weaver's "Hooks," which first appeared X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine in 2018, and give you some music and literature recommendations.

Paul Yoon's "Valley of the Moon"

In this episode, Ben and Matthew look at Paul Yoon's "Valley of the Moon," then give you music and reading recommendations.

Maeve Barry's "Girabella"

In this installment of the program, Ben and Matthew discuss Maeve Barry's "Girabella," winner of Sewanee Review's 2024 fiction prize, and conclude with music and reading recommendations.

Gothataone Moeng's "Small Wonders"

In this episode, Ben and Matthew analyze Gothataone Moeng's "Small Wonders," an "aftermath" short story that takes up the themes of mourning, ceremony and banality following a tragic death, and in the second segment provide you with some reading and listening tips.

Garth Greenwell's "Harbor"

On the latest episode of the program, Ben and Matthew unpack Garth Greenwell's "Harbor," looking into that pregnant moment when things are about to happen but we're not quite there yet, and provide some reading and music recommendations for right now.

Last Year, This One, Robot Censors and Our First-Ever Awards

In this episode, Ben and Matthew take a look back at 2024, presenting an inaugural group of winners with the prestigious Lawrence-Patrick award, while looking ahead to what 2025 has in store and getting robot-censored.

Kafka's "Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk"

Franz Kafka's "Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk" is a concentrated story that explores capitalism, Marxism, an artist's role in society and more. On this episode, Ben and Matthew jump into that heady mix with both feet, mix up dates (sorry, history!) and talk new publications and podcasting from Albuquerque.