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PODCAST

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

Eliana Benavides

Poet Major Jackson is your guide on the pathways to feel and understand our common journey – through poetry. In sharing poems, we take a moment to pause and acknowledge the world’s magnitude, and how poets illuminate that mystery. Join The Slowdown for a poem and a moment of reflection in one short episode, every weekday. Produced by APM Studios in partnership with The Poetry Foundation and supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. Make us a

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All Episodes

7:33

1421: My 1994 by Stephanie Burt

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/26

Today’s poem is My 1994 by Stephanie Burt. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “In 1994 I was seventeen: my daughter’s age! I remember that as a time when I was trying to figure out who I was. But to some degree we’re always trying to figure that out, aren’t we?” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

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6:41

1419: Ladies' Arm Wrestling Match at the Blue Moon...

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/24

Today’s poem is Ladies' Arm Wrestling Match at the Blue Moon Diner by Jenny Johnson. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem begins with a little advice that made me smile because of its sauciness, and the poem unfolds into such a rich, detailed portrait — not a portrait of a lady, but of ladies, shedding old expectations and claiming new power.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference:

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6:47

1418: Whitetail in the Rain Moving About by Melissa...

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/23

Today’s poem is Whitetail in the Rain Moving About by Melissa Ginsburg.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem moves quietly and deliberately, the way a cautious deer might walk from the shelter of the woods into a clearing. I love the sounds of this poem, and its pacing.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

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8:51

Bonus Episode: Maggie Smith on This Old House Radio Hour

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/20

Today, we have a bonus episode for you: an excerpt of This Old House Radio Hour, featuring our very own Maggie Smith. She takes listeners inside the 100-year-old house that has carried her family through every chapter. If you’d like to hear more of “This Old House Radio Hour,” you can listen to past episodes at thisoldhouse.com/radiohour and follow the show wherever you get your podcasts.

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7:46

1416: Nursery by Kiki Petrosino

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/19

Today’s poem is Nursery by Kiki Petrosino. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem draws on the language of fairy tales and the strange, sometimes inexplicable things that happen in these stories. After all, strange, sometimes inexplicable things happen in life, too.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

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7:39

1415: Elephants Born Without Tusks by Alison C. Rollins

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/18

Today’s poem is Elephants Born Without Tusks by Allison C. Rollins. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “It’s one thing to think about animals that have evolved to adapt to their habitats: maybe they are camouflaged from predators, or they develop physical traits to help them withstand the elements. But what about humans? We have the ability to live anywhere, thanks to human technologies. We’ve built a society that protects us from natural predators—except for

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6:02

1414: This dark is the same dark as when you close by...

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/17

Today’s poem is by R.A. Villanueva. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem is one about parents and children, bedtime fears, and the ways we communicate love and safety. It references a lyric from a song I love: ‘Not Strong Enough’ by the band boygenius.”Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

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7:02

1413: On Proliferation by Cass Donish

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/16

Today’s poem is On Proliferation by Cass Donish. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “As a poet, I think one of my personal stages of grief is writing. When I experience deep loss, there is a part of me that needs to try to articulate that loss. I wouldn’t say that writing about loss is healing; writing doesn’t restore who or what’s been lost. There are distances we can’t cross, things we can’t fully understand. But we try, with language. And there is honor in

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6:12

1412: Ledge (ars poetica) (love poem) (true story) by...

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/15

Today’s poem is Ledge (ars poetica) (love poem) (true story) by Amorak Huey. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem calls itself an ars poetica, a love poem, and a true story. That’s a lot of work for one poem to do—a lot of layers of meaning! But this poet does speak to the precarity of it all: writing, and loving, and living.“ Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference:

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7:02

[encore] 1343: /’mīgrent/ by Tiana Nobile

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/11

Today’s poem is /’mīgrent/ by Tiana Nobile.The Slowdown is taking a week to return to some of our favorite episodes from Maggie’s tenure so far. We’ll be back on Monday, December 15 with new episodes. Today’s episode was originally released on September 2, 2025. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem looks at the word migrant and its meaning apart from the current political climate. Movement from place to place, after all, suggests possibility, opportunity, and AGENCY. To migrate, whether you

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6:08

[encore] 1368: Do You Consider Writing to be...

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/10

Today’s poem is Do You Consider Writing to be Therapeutic? by Andrew Grace.The Slowdown is taking a week to return to some of our favorite episodes from Maggie’s tenure so far. We’ll be back on Monday, December 15 with new episodes.Today’s episode was originally released on October 7, 2025. In this episode, Maggie writes… “The next time I’m asked if writing is therapy, I may just respond by reading today’s poem. I think it answers the question with succinct, heartbreaking beauty.” Celebrate the

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6:49

[encore] 1332: Tea by Leila Chatti

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/09

Today’s poem is Tea by Leila Chatti.The Slowdown is taking a week to return to some of our favorite episodes from Maggie’s tenure so far. We’ll be back on Monday, December 15 with new episodes. Today’s episode was originally released on August 18, 2025. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Maybe the ultimate self care is learning to give yourself the respect, the tenderness, and the grace you extend to others. To love yourself the way you love others.”

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6:32

[encore] 1376: Laura, I Want You Pulling Your Hair...

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/05

Today’s poem is Laura, I Want You Pulling Your Hair Back by Natalie Dunn.The Slowdown is taking a week to return to some of our favorite episodes from Maggie’s tenure so far. We’ll be back on Monday, December 15 with new episodes. Today’s episode was originally released on October 17, 2025. In this episode, Maggie writes… A big part of loving someone, whether they’re a friend or a family member or someone you’re romantically involved with, is embracing them exactly as they are. Not hoping they’ll

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6:38

1410: Go by Kathleen Ossip

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/04

Today’s poem is Go by Kathleen Ossip.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Other poems are like strands of pearls, long and lustrous and nearly impossible to gather into your hands all at once.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

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7:14

1408: Noah's Nameless Wife Takes Inventory by C.T....

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/02

Today’s poem is Noah's Nameless Wife Takes Inventory by C.T. Salazar.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “In many of the stories I grew up with, the men are named but their wives and daughters are not. That makes it pretty clear who the main characters are, doesn’t it? For example, in the story of Noah’s Ark, in the book of Genesis in the Christian bible, there are four wives on the ark—the wives of Noah and his three sons. Guess which characters aren’t named

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7:21

1407: At the Base of the Mountain by Amanda Hawkins

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/12/01

Today’s poem is At the Base of the Mountain by Amanda Hawkins.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I’m not a religious person, but I think everyone has places that are sacred to them—places we might return to as pilgrims, as seekers. I think of how people visit the graves of their ancestors, or the places where they once lived. When we stand where our loved ones once stood, it does feel special and meaningful to be in that space, on that ground.”Celebrate the

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7:18

1406: Paperweight by Ryan Teitman

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/11/28

Today’s poem is Paperweight by Ryan Teitman. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem charmed me immediately with its imagination and its restraint. It’s a poem that makes me ask, “What if?” It’s also a poem I want to read again as soon as I finish it.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

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6:46

1405: Entry by Chet'la Sebree

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/11/27

Today’s poem is Entry by Chet'la Sebree.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “It's human nature to want to know for oneself, not only to trust in the knowledge of others. It’s human nature to want to make decisions for oneself, not only to trust in the decisions of others. It’s human nature to want to see for oneself, firsthand, not mediated by others.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference:

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7:24

1401: LeaveTaking by Rita Dove

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/11/21

Today’s poem is LeaveTaking by Rita Dove. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem dreams its way into an imagined scenario: finding oneself on this planet, an alien, a stranger, and doing one’s best to be seen as belonging, so as to stay.” Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

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5:52

1400: The Eulogy I Didn’t Give (I) by Bob Hicok

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily ·

2025/11/20

Today’s poem is The Eulogy I Didn’t Give (I) by Bob Hicok.The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes … “I’m here, and you’re here, so I’d call us “poetry people.” But even people who don’t think of themselves as “poetry people,” people who don’t spend time with poetry each day, do turn to poems when they’re grieving or celebrating: at weddings, funerals, and other occasions that call for something more than we’re able to achieve with our own words. Grief, love, longing,

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