Pod's The Thing

Emma, Felix, and Calder gather by the ghostlight this Halloween to give you an extra spooky episode, delving into Shakespeare's Ghosts. We talk about the 5 plays that ghosts appear in: Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard III, Julius Caesar, and Cymbeline, and dig into how ghosts propel the action of the play in each instance. Featuring: Great Caesar's Ghost, a deep dive on tables, the scary and the funny, staging Banquo's ghost, Jupiter descending on an Eagle, and the Vampires of Henry V.

This episode is dedicated to the late, great Sir Patrick Stewart. May your ghost haunt us, always.<...

The Bardcore Four return once more for an episode of Firsts: our First History Play, our First Henry Play, and our First scene in French! In this delightful- and unusual- scene in Henry V, Katherine of France's Handmaiden Alice teaches her English, and hilarity ensues. Featuring: a scene that passes the Bechdel Test, translating 16th-century French, how to produce a Pro-War play for a contemporary audience, naughty language, Felix's conspiracy theory about the Bishop of Canterbury, and De Bilbow.

This episode contains suggestive and lewd language, listener discretion is advised.

The Pod’s the Thing wa...

We're here to discuss Shakespeare's most romantic play, Henry IV Part 1. Just kidding! Emma and Beth are joined by the brilliant Lauren Grace Thompson to look at the one and only Romeo & Juliet, in this scene that came to be known as "The Balcony Scene." Featuring: the most romantic line in the English language, Survivor Dudes, bawdy jokes, blocking within the dialogue, a rom-com gone wrong, and the world's most eventful Monday.

The Pod’s the Thing was created by Emma Sherr-Ziarko and Felix Trench, and is produced by Emma Sherr-Ziarko.

This episode features Emma Sh...

Emma, Felix, and Calder are joined by the wonderful, wonderful Ian Geers to take a look at the delightful and somewhat perplexing comedy, As You Like It. We tackle the infamous Seven Ages of Man speech and ask the question: why is Jaques in this play? Featuring: glamping, carafes of gin and whiskey, poetry trauma, a proto-Armin Fool, Deadhead Duke Senior, and the Seven Ages of Man Soda Machine.

The Pod’s the Thing was created by Emma Sherr-Ziarko and Felix Trench, and is produced by Emma Sherr-Ziarko.

This episode features Emma Sherr-Ziarko, Felix Trench, Ca...

The Hardcore Four return to discuss our winner in our Episode Pitch Competition! Congrats to Mia for this excellent suggestion, and hopefully we do it justice, as we discuss this absolutely delicious scene between Prospero and Ariel, and Prospero's magnificent speech. We discuss how this play reckons with themes like art, relinquishing power, colonialism, and virtue. Featuring: wizard iconography, Ovid & Medea, plummets, Jumanji, and casual necromancy.

The Pod’s the Thing was created by Emma Sherr-Ziarko and Felix Trench, and is produced by Emma Sherr-Ziarko.

This episode features Emma Sherr-Ziarko, Felix Trench, Beth Eyre, and Ca...

You may think this is one of Shakespeare's most light-hearted comedies, but A Midsummer Night's Dream contains many unexplored darker themes. We welcome author, scholar, podcast creator and Shakespeare teacher Jen Sugden to the show to take a look at this scene between Titania and Oberon, and delve into some of the play's complexities. Featuring: Oberon's extraordinary parentage, visual conflicts, a cheeky little anapest, The Compositor's Vulgarization, and female friendship threatening the patriarchy.

The Pod’s the Thing was created by Emma Sherr-Ziarko and Felix Trench, and is produced by Emma Sherr-Ziarko.

This episode features Em...

While we take a small hiatus from Shakespeare, this month we're excited to share an episode from Two Thousand and Late, a new Audio Drama from Lauren Shippen (guest of the show) and Atypical Artists!

THIS IS HOW TO PROCRASTINATE THE END OF THE WORLD (otherwise known as the nine circles of hell on earth)! What do you do when you're thirty-six years old and you've been possessed by a demon and been fired from your job? You don't let the demon possessing you bring about the apocalypse like it wants to.

CONTENT WARNING: This...

Surprise! Happy Birthday Shakespeare! We wanted to take a moment to talk about the man himself, his legacy, and why we're all still obsessed with him today. Featuring: The Shakespeare Ladies' Club, the definitive Gattaca, the Divine Right of Kings, and Constable Felix: Shakespeare Investigator.

Got an idea for what scene we should tackle in our next episode? Fill out this Form and state your case to Constable Shakespeare! We'll be choosing our favorite response by Midsummer's Day (June 24, 2026)

The Pod’s the Thing was created by Emma Sherr-Ziarko and Felix Trench, and is produced by...

We welcome audio fiction legend Lauren Shippen to the show as we dive into arguably one of the most perfect of Shakespeare's Tragedies, The Scottish Play (or, if you're feeling bold, Macbeth!) We look at two of the greatest characters and most coveted roles in all of Shakespeare's canon, Macbeth and Lady M. Featuring: the Tragedy of MacElizabeth, Sleep No More, drugged possets, cue scripts & sushi, and Chekhov's Chekhov's Gun.

The Pod’s the Thing was created by Emma Sherr-Ziarko and Felix Trench, and is produced by Emma Sherr-Ziarko.

This episode features Emma Sherr-Ziarko, Felix Tr...

April Fools! The Hardcore Four (Felix, Beth, Calder, and Emma) reunite for a Shakespearean Fools Episode, looking at two of the most iconic Fools in Shakespeare: Feste in Twelfth Night and The Fool from King Lear. We discuss the different types of Shakespeare's Fools, and how the Elizabethan actors William Kemp and Robert Armin influenced the writing of these roles. Featuring: a fleet of Lears, speaking truth to power, Felix's two haircuts, zanies, and lots and lots of coxcombs.

The Pod’s the Thing was created by Emma Sherr-Ziarko and Felix Trench, and is produced by Emma Sh...

Things are getting controversial here at Pod's the Thing, as we welcome the Marvelous Dayeanne Hutton to the show to talk about one of Shakespeare's more problematic plays, The Taming of the Shrew. In this scene between Petruchio and Katherine, we delve into a younger Shakespeare's portrayal of banter and wooing, and how modern productions can grapple with the more troubling parts of the play. Featuring: the weird Induction, On the Origins of Negging, a hint of Johnny Bravo, winged turtles, and chaotic swans.

Content Warning: This Episode contains discussion of emotional and physical abuse and sexual...

Welcome to Hamlet Part 2: The Gertrude Strikes Back! In our very first Part 2 (of 2), Gabriel Urbina returns and we conclude the closet scene between Hamlet and Gertrude. We dig into questions about the role of the Ghost (in this scene and beyond), tackle complicated metaphors and famous (but forgotten) fables. Featuring: differing versions of the text, reechy kisses (ew), Ghost Rules, lugging guts, and the Famous Ape.

The Pod’s the Thing was created by Emma Sherr-Ziarko and Felix Trench, and is produced by Emma Sherr-Ziarko.

This episode features Emma Sherr-Ziarko, Beth Eyre, Calder Shilling, an...

It's every actor's dream to play the Dane, and after this episode you'll understand why. Emma, Beth, and Calder are joined by Gabriel Urbina (Wolf 359, The Harbingers) in a very special episode where our actors get directed. Get a glimpse into what it's like to work with Gabriel, and how to tell a story only through audio, as we work on what is possibly the best play in the English language. Featuring: Polonius mansplaining, sonic textures, Gertrude's complicity, choose your own adventure Hamlet, and a maths teacher's one man show. (Part 1 of 2.)

This episode is dedicated to...

Today we welcome the wonderful Lindsay Zana to the show to take a look at one of Shakespeare's latest- and possibly strangest- plays, The Winter's Tale! In looking at Act 2 Scene 3 between Paulina and Leontes, we explore how the overlapping themes and messy meter can inform an actor tackling this text. Featuring: Calder learning lines in a Cabin in the Woods, time jumps, Antigonus the Comedian, psychotic breaks, and Shakespeare's White Album

The Pod’s the Thing was created by Emma Sherr-Ziarko and Felix Trench, and is produced by Emma Sherr-Ziarko.

This episode features Emma Sh...

Today we welcome prolific actor Chris Tester to the show for a more in-depth analysis of one of the most compelling characters in Shakespeare's canon: Iago from Othello. Chris speaks to how his classical training in British Drama School- and with Shakespeare specifically- informs his voice acting work to this day, and we get to see it in action as we dive into this iconic scene between Iago and Roderigo. In this exploration we ask, is Iago simply a 'motiveless malignity,' or is there something deeper in the text for an actor to ground him in? Featuring: Felix's...

Today we welcome actor, director, and writer Caroline Mincks to the show to look at one of the most iconic couples in all of Shakespeare: Beatrice and Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing. Their love is timeless- or at least their banter is- but this is one of the few scenes that the two actually share. Featuring: being tricked into falling in love, flipping genders, Daddy Issues, Baby Boy Claudio, The Friar Playbook, and our first official Calder's Corner (TM).

The Pod’s the Thing was created by Emma Sherr-Ziarko and Felix Trench, and is produced by Em...

How about a little Damnation this Christmas? For our first Christmas Special, we welcome our special guest Ella Watts to take a break from Shakespeare and look at one of his contemporaries: Christopher Marlowe. Ella educates us about Marlowe's life as a gay man, spy, and atheist living in Elizabethan England. We discuss his legacy as a queer icon in drama, and apply it to his spectacular work, Doctor Faustus. Featuring: Marlowe's Mighty Verse, Felix's Conspiracy Corkboard, tall tortured geniuses, Marlowe's influence on Shakespeare, Prospero & Faustus, and Great Gams.

Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of homophobia...

Step aside Romeo- there’s a new romantic lead in town. His name’s Richard, and he’s got it all: a silver tongue, a smoking falchion, and some serious gaslighting. We welcome to the show Jordan Cobb (No Such Thing Productions) to take a look at everyone's favorite villain Richard III as he seduces Lady Anne over the corpse of her late father-in-law. Featuring: The Original Mr. Darcy, trochaic feet, Shakespeare's Richard v. History's Richard, congealed mouths, Richard III and Zombies, and Hot Blood.

Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of violence, warfare, sex, emotional abuse, and bo...

In this episode, we take a look at one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies, Twelfth Night. Emma, Beth, Felix, and Calder dissect Act 1 Scene 5 between Viola and Olivia, and share their experiences performing in and seeing the play. Featuring: an introduction to prose v. verse, class dynamics getting topsy turvy, Viola's secret name, love as a plague, inviting in a contemporary ear, and that time Emma met Mark Rylance.

The Pod’s the Thing was created by Emma Sherr-Ziarko and Felix Trench, and is produced by Emma Sherr-Ziarko.

This episode features Emma Sherr-Ziarko, Felix Trench, Be...

We open the curtain of our show on one of the juiciest scenes in Shakespeare: Julius Caesar, Act 4 Scene 3 (or sometimes scene 2), between Brutus and Cassius, otherwise known as 'The Tent Scene.' Find out why these Roman Generals are so upset with each other as we work through the text, the historical context of Julius Caesar, and address the challenges of performing Shakespeare for audio. Featuring: Team Bay v. Team Bait, thou's, you's, and ye's, the invention of money, and Cassius and Brutus go camping.

The Pod’s the Thing was created by Em...

Before we begin, let’s meet the Company, shall we?

In this prequel episode you’ll get to meet some of Pod’s the Thing’s usual suspects: Emma Sherr-Ziarko, Felix Trench, Beth Eyre, and Calder Shilling. Hear how the show came to be, how we all “met” Shakespeare, and what our first roles were. Some combination of the four of us appear in each episode, so it’s only fair you get to decide if you like us or not.

This episode was edited by Emma Sherr-Ziarko.

Original Artwork by Felix Trench and Original M...

Friends, Nerds, Thespians... Lend us your ears!

The Pod's the Thing is a Shakespeare Podcast made by Actors, to show you a glimpse behind the curtain into how we approach Shakespeare's Text. Whether you're an actor, a Shakespeare enthusiast, or you're new to the Bard, you're bound to learn something new, laugh a lot, and maybe even be moved. Coming November 12, 2025.

Created by Emma Sherr-Ziarko (Wolf 359) and Felix Trench (Wooden Overcoats), with help from our co-conspirators Beth Eyre (Wooden Overcoats), Calder Shilling, and a whole bunch of other brilliant souls. Produced by Emma Sherr-Ziarko.