PODCAST · arts
Bard Flies
by James A. Smith, William C. Quinn
A podcast full of sound and fury, told by idiots. Dedicated to covering the plays of William Shakespeare in chronological order.
Episodes
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The End: Die Bard With A Vengeance
Several dozen plays later, Will and James host a wrap-up episode where they revisit, revise, and criticize one another’s rankings, recognize the greatest and most outlandish characters with awards, and reflect on the experience of reading Shakespeare cover to cover over the past several years as...
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The Two Noble Kinsmen: The Two Ignoble Podcasters
In Shakespeare's final -- yes, final -- play, he returns to where he started with the plight of noblemen in love with the same woman. Working again with John Fletcher, Shakespeare borrows from Chaucer for a tale set in ancient Greece featuring duels, delusions, exposure therapy, and prayers to…
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Henry VIII: Rope-a-Pope
In the final of the history plays, Shakespeare and his collaborator John Fletcher take on Henry VIII, the story of his first two wives, the birth of the future queen Elizabeth, and the establishment of the Church of England. In this episode, Will and James discuss why people have found the…
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The Tempest: Stuff as Schemes are Made Of
Magic, monsters, sprites, witches, shipwrecks, betrayal, love stories on an enchanted isle, and emotional catharsis driven by a puppet master pulling all the stings: no, dear listeners, it’s not a Dungeons & Dragons campaign but Shakespeare’s The Tempest! Will and James discuss the play know as...
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Minisode 9: An Interview with Dr. Dan Normandin
In this week’s minisode, the pod features a conversation on Cymbeline with Dr. Dan Normandin, postdoctoral fellow in Early Modern English Literature at George Mason University and, even more importantly, a former classmate of James and Will. Dr. Normandin offers his insight on some of the topics...
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Cymbeline: Imogen There's No Cloten
With plot twists that depend on poor facial recognition, one-sided bets over cuckoldry, one of the most idiotic kings in Shakespeare, and a truly villainous stepson whose beheading we are unfairly denied on stage, Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline” is an interesting and often forgotten play in the...
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The Winter's Tale: Pursued by a Nightmare
In a land ruled by a paranoid and jealous king hell-bent on destroying his own family and buffeted by violent storms, miracles, and a very large and hungry bear, Shakespeare’s characters go from intense melodrama to comedy to redemption in the five wild acts of The Winter’s Tale. In this week’s...
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Minisode 8: An Interview with Eliot Cohen
In this week’s minisode, Will interviews Dr. Eliot A. Cohen, former Counselor at the Department of State, professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and co-host of the podcast Shield of the Republic. Dr. Cohen talks about his latest book project on Shakespeare...
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Coriolanus: The Pride Before the Brawl
What happens when a virtuous general gets drafted to run for office after defeating Rome’s enemies in battle? Nothing good! In this classic tale of martial virtue, popular politics, banishment, and treason, Shakespeare explores the divide between soldiers and the public, martial honor and private...
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Pericles, Prince of Tyre: Mediterranean Blues Cruise
On a tour with the least linear ports of call since The Odyssey, Shakespeare’s Pericles tries to win the hand of a princess in an incestuous relationship with her father by solving a riddle, ends a famine, gets into a shipwreck, wins a different bride in a tournament, and loses his family to a...
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Antony and Cleopatra: The Be-Niled
In one of the most famously torrid love affairs of all time, defined by extramarital cheating, lavish outfits, histrionics, and the shadow of collapsing empires, this episode’s main characters define obsession and the insanity of passion. No, not Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton! Antony and...
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Minisode 7: Film Club - Kurosawa Does Shakespeare
In this film club minisode, Will and James talk about what happens when two great masters collide in director Akira Kurosawa's adaptations of Shakespeare to the samurai epics of medieval Japan. Kurosawa's adaptation of "Macbeth" in his moody and gore-spattered "Throne of Blood" in 1957 and "King...
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The Scottish Play: All Hail Macdeath!
Double, double toil and trouble! Fire burn and cauldron bubble! Haunted by witches, ghostly daggers, murder, Macbeth is an obvious classic. But why? Will and James discuss Shakespeare's finest marriage story, the power of ambition and guilt, and a short play packed with an improbable…
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Timon of Athens: No Money, Mo' Problems
In a classic riches-to-rags story, the wealthy and generous Timon goes from commissioning artwork and giving interest free loans to subsisting on roots and railing against humanity in Shakespeare's bleak comedy. The atmosphere is lightened somewhat by how he seeks revenge on his faithless…
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King Lear: Lear and Loathing
Pro tip from King Lear to parents of all varieties, especially those running hereditary monarchies and dictatorships: retirement ain’t all that it’s cracked up to be! The British ruler’s efforts to step away to enjoy his dotage by dividing his kingdom among his daughters backfires horribly in a...
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All's Well That Ends Well: Helen of Ploy
In a plot worthy of a day-time reality show, All’s Well that Ends Well tells the story of a low-born ward named Helena who cures an ailing king and asks for the hand of a young nobleman who will do just about anything to avoid marrying her. Of course, she finds a way to snare the cad with some...
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Othello: It's Called Deception
Lust, jealousy, rage, race, and one very inconveniently misplaced handkerchief lie at the center of Shakespeare’s "Othello," an emotional tour de force that takes manipulation and evil to new levels. Will and James discuss where Iago falls in the pantheon of Shakespearean villains, their visceral...
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Measure for Measure: Ten Times Deranged
In the darkest episode of “Undercover Bosses” of all time, the Duke of Vienna announces he’s taking a vacation and disguises himself as a monk, to see how his seemingly pious deputy Angelo runs the city -- only to find out that he’s a hypocritical autocrat with a penchant for sexually…
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Troilus and Cressida: The Trojan Whores
Picking up where Homer left off, Shakespeare’s little known Troilus and Cressida tells the story of the Trojan War with contemptuous aplomb. All the heroes are here, in their worst possible lights: the vainglorious Achilles refuses to fight, his noble opponent Hector laments the stupidity of war,...
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Minisode 6: Film Club - Shakespeare in Love
This film club minisode tackles the most sampled movie on Bard Flies: “Shakespeare in Love,” starring (deep breath) Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Judi Dench, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck, Geoffrey Rush, Rupert Everett, Tom Wilkinson, and a coterie of other great actors. John Madden’s portrait of…
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Twelfth Night: Twindecent Proposal
Shipwrecks, women disguised as men, scolds getting their comeuppance, mismatched love matches, and twins! If you’re sensing some common themes in Shakespeare’s comedies, dear listener, you’d be correct. Yet Will and James do not find the combination becomes more charming with repetition despite…
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Hamlet: The Rest is Violence
...what can one say about the Melancholy Dane that hasn’t already been said? It’s the big one, the work that casts the longest shadow in all of English literature outside of the King James Bible. We quote it without thinking. It helped inspire The Lion King. And its most famous soliloquy has...
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As You Like It: Cross-Dress for Success
All the world’s a stage in "As You Like It," a tale of exile, disguise, revenge, requited love, unrequited love, roleplay therapy, and illegal professional wrestling chokeholds. Will and James discuss one of Shakespeare’s most beloved heroines in the plucky Rosalind (or is it her handsome male...
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Julius Caesar: Give Caesar His Coup
Cry havoc! And let slip this explosive episode of Bard Flies, in which Will and James debate the merits of the Romans vying for power in Julius Caesar -- from the dictator himself to his usurpers -- and discuss the grim, all-too-apparent parallels between the incitement of mob violence in the...
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Henry V: The Prattle of Agincourt
In the culmination of Shakespeare’s second tetralogy, the new elevated Hal has put away childish things and readies himself to conquer France after receiving dubious legal advice from his clergymen and an insulting gift of tennis balls from the Dauphin. In this episode, Will and James discuss the...
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Halfway!
Will and James reflect on how their understanding of Shakespeare and his relevance have changed now that they're halfway through the plays. Plus, rankings mea culpas!
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Much Ado About Nothing: Sleepless in Sicily
Will they? Won’t they? In Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick sink their wickedly sharp wits into one another, cutting through sexual tension and the conventions that held back Shakespeare’s earlier comedies. Will and James discuss whether Much Ado is the first truly successful modern…
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Henry IV, Part 2: The Crimes at Midnight
England, Prince Hal, and John Falstaff are still a hot mess in the third part of Shakespeare’s Henriad, but maturity and the burdens of the crown are on the horizon as another rebellion materializes, King Henry falls ill, and Sir Jack feels his age while hanging around a house of ill repute. In...
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The Merry Wives of Windsor: Ford v Falstaff
In this delightfully farcical and absurdly complicated comedy, Sir John Falstaff takes a break from partying with the Prince of Wales to woo two not-so-desperate housewives at the same time in the London suburb of Windsor while a Frenchman, a judge, and the boy-next-door seek to marry one of…
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Henry IV, Part 1: Hotspur the Potstir-er
Can honor set a leg? Are gluttony and drunkenness ever virtues? And just how many capons and slain enemies will it take to settle the immortal question of who should be King of England? In this week’s episode, Will and James debate the relative merits and demerits of Sir John Falstaff and Sir…
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Minisode 4: Film Club - "The Merchant of Venice"
In this week’s minisode, Will and James discuss Michael Radford’s 2004 adaptation of The Merchant of Venice, starring Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, and Joseph Fiennes’ distinctive mullet. Despite its sumptuous costume and scenery that Pacino avoids chewing during the course of his humane performance…
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The Merchant of Venice: The Merchant of Menace
"Shylock." The very name of Shakespeare’s infamous Venetian moneylender overshadows the plot of this complex and twisted comedy about love, marriage, and the importance of always reading the fine print in your credit card agreement. Is he an anti-Semitic caricature? A representation of vengeful...
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The Life and Death of King John: John with the Wind
In one of Shakespeare’s lesser known outings, a king better known for his role as a villain in countless retellings of the legend of Robin Hood is a flawed hero fighting against the hated French! Amid the endless twists and turns of the plot, Will and James dissect the politics of foreign wars,...
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A Midsummer Night's Dream: Lord, What Tools These Mortals Be
In this trippy comedy featuring magic, hallucinogenic potions, spiteful gods, pickup artists, hybrid man-animal horrors, and worse wedding entertainment than a Nickelback cover band, the mischievous Puck holds sway over Athens and court of the Fairy King alike. James and Will try to make sense of...
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Minisode 3: Lucrece
Written for the Earl of Southampton in 1594, Shakespeare’s “Lucrece” recounts the fall of Rome’s corrupt kings. The precipitating event is the sexual assault of the noblewoman Lucrece by King Tarquin’s son. Her decision to come forward and demand justice leads to the rise of the Roman Republic.…
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Romeo and Juliet: Woe-Is-Me-O and Juliet
Young love has a body count in "Romeo and Juliet," as packs of young scallywags, roustabouts, and jabronis from House Montague and House Capulet roam the streets of fair Verona - much to the chagrin of their parents and the local authorities. It also contains some of the most powerful love poetry...
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Richard II: From Sun King to Done King
England is a “teeming womb of royal kings, fear’d by their breed, and famous by their birth” in Shakespeare’s Richard II, which features a philosopher-sovereign with a taste for the finer things in life whose arrogance, capriciousness, and cruelty is either a sign of disinterest, dictatorship, or...
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Love's Labour's Lost: Love's Belaboured Language
What happens when four young noblemen take chastity pledges to focus on their academic studies only to have the Princess of France and her ladies-in-waiting camp outside their castle? Catfishing, verbal one-upmanship, and the pitching of woo while disguised in traditional Russian garb, naturally!...
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The Comedy of Errors: Wherefore Art Thou Dromio?
Mistaken identities, undeserved beatings, gaslighting, probable affairs, exorcisms, misplaced bags of gold, and two sets of twins amounts to double the trouble and double the fun as Shakespeare brings on the jokes after a spate of history plays. Will and James dissect the finer points of farce in...
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Edward III: The Hundred Years' Bore
Defined by repetitive battles, inappropriate romantic gestures, gratuitous insults to the Scots, and the murky question of who wrote most of its scenes, "Edward III" is a bad play that can teach us a good deal about collaborating on art, script doctoring for the stage and screen, and the...
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Minisode 2: Film Club - "Richard III," Starring Ian McKellen
Richard Loncraine’s brilliant 1995 film adaptation of "Richard III" takes Shakespeare’s classic and sets in the Europe of the 1930s amid the rise of fascism with a blackhearted Sir Ian McKellen in the title role. Will and James discuss what makes this movie so successful -- from its all-star cast...
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Richard III: A Kingdom for a Hearse
In Richard III, the conclusion to the War of the Roses tetralogy, Richard of York connives, lies, and murders his way to the top. In the process, he dispatches his brothers, nephews, and his own wife with aplomb, plenty of puns, a broken fourth wall that paved the way for House of Cards, and a…
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Titus Andronicus: A Bloody Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
After defeating the Goths, Rome descends into chaos in Titus Andronicus -- or, Will and James prefer to call it, The Titus Chainsaw Massacre. In Shakespeare’s goriest play, which is larded with a dozen on-stage murders, wanton dismemberment, appalling cruelty, and, of course, questionable…
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Henry VI, Part 3: The Fall of the House of Lancaster
With the Wars of the Roses now thoroughly underway between King Henry VI, Queen Margaret, and the Duke of York, we get to witness England descend into a state of barbarism -- ruled by a king who wonders why we can’t all just get along. Full of increasingly intense battle and betrayal, Henry VI,...
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Minisode 1: "Venus and Adonis"
From 1592 to 1594, plague stalked London, leading authorities to close playhouses as a public health measure. Amid this mandatory social distancing, Shakespeare sharpened his quill at home and turned to narrative poetry with “Venus and Adonis,” a retelling of the famous Greek myth that recasts a...
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Henry VI, Part 2: Harumph!-rey of Gloucester
Treachery! Necromancy! Pirates! Rebellion! Unmerciful executions! In Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Part 2, England takes a turn for the worse as the pitiful Henry and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (the O.G. Ned Stark of our tale) get taken for a ride by just about everyone, as nobles orchestrate baroque...
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Henry VI, Part 1: Joan of Snark
The first of Shakespeare’s history plays, "Henry VI, Part 1" is a gore-spattered prelude to his War of the Roses tetralogy, which ends with the early masterpiece "Richard III." England has a new, oblivious king who makes Tommen Baratheon look competent and is barely holding his kingdom together…
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The Maiming of the Taming of the Shrew
Famously adapted for the screen in the classic teen movie "10 Things I Hate About You", "The Taming of the Shrew" tells the story of a brutal battle of the sexes featuring unpleasant characters, unrepentant chauvinism, psychological torture, and some of the most controversial passages in...
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Two Scoundrels of Verona
Shakespeare’s first play has everything: a love quadrangle, gender-swapping disguises, banditry, erroneous Italian geography, one beautiful soliloquy, and a bit with dog. Lamentably, Will and James conclude, beginner’s luck largely does not apply in “The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” a decidedly...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A podcast full of sound and fury, told by idiots. Dedicated to covering the plays of William Shakespeare in chronological order.
HOSTED BY
James A. Smith, William C. Quinn
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Bard Flies have?
Bard Flies currently has 49 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Bard Flies about?
A podcast full of sound and fury, told by idiots. Dedicated to covering the plays of William Shakespeare in chronological order.
How often does Bard Flies release new episodes?
Bard Flies has 49 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Bard Flies?
You can listen to Bard Flies on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Bard Flies?
Bard Flies is created and hosted by James A. Smith, William C. Quinn.
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