John McCoy
@tracemcjoy.bsky.social
Host of Sophomore Lit podcast, museum professional, husband, father, dog owner.
An ancient Greek fable with absolutely no relevance to the present day: johnmccoy.org/2025/11/06/t...
The Radical Left City Mouse & the Very Good Country Mouse
A City Mouse once visited a relative who lived in the country. For lunch the Country Mouse took his elite East Coast cousin to the local Cracker Barrel for Country Fried Steak with a side of Onion …
johnmccoy.org
November 6, 2025 at 5:08 PM
An ancient Greek fable with absolutely no relevance to the present day: johnmccoy.org/2025/11/06/t...
In which I add yet another drop in the ocean of online autism discourse! {If that's not your thing, check out other posts on my bog. Some are even funny!) johnmccoy.org/2025/10/30/y...
Yeah, it’s called a disability
I got my autism diagnosis at a weird time: about a month and a half before the Global Pandemic. One day I was learning why I isolate myself, the next day the whole world was isolating right along w…
johnmccoy.org
October 31, 2025 at 1:59 PM
In which I add yet another drop in the ocean of online autism discourse! {If that's not your thing, check out other posts on my bog. Some are even funny!) johnmccoy.org/2025/10/30/y...
Pick up some more unicorns on the way home, we’re down to our last. @kathycampbell.com discusses butterflies and bulls. #sophomorelit #unicorns #entropy www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
The Last Unicorn (Sophomore Lit 179)
Don’t it allways seem to go, you don’t know what unicorns you got til they’re gone. Kathy Campbell discusses Peter S. Beagle’s 1968 The Last Unicorn.
www.theincomparable.com
October 10, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Pick up some more unicorns on the way home, we’re down to our last. @kathycampbell.com discusses butterflies and bulls. #sophomorelit #unicorns #entropy www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
I was honored to have the opportunity of curating an exhibition of the photographs of Martin Karplus, currently on view at the McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, until December 7. This link is to a lecture I gave last night as an introduction to the exhibition: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JRI...
Introduction to "Martin Karplus: Moments & Monuments" by Curator John McCoy (Oct 1, 2025)
YouTube video by mcmullen museum
www.youtube.com
October 2, 2025 at 4:10 PM
I was honored to have the opportunity of curating an exhibition of the photographs of Martin Karplus, currently on view at the McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, until December 7. This link is to a lecture I gave last night as an introduction to the exhibition: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JRI...
Get to know me through a series of anecdotes, an alarming number of which involving serious injury: johnmccoy.org/2025/09/28/j...
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale
When, as a kid, I learned the word raconteur, I thought that the role wasn’t simply a matter of one being good with stories; I thought it was a career one could have, and even be paid for. I&…
johnmccoy.org
September 28, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Get to know me through a series of anecdotes, an alarming number of which involving serious injury: johnmccoy.org/2025/09/28/j...
@siracusa.social returns to Sophomore Lit to answer once and for all, are the robots from R.U.R, the play that originated the word "robots," robots...or not? #r.u.r #sophomorelit #endoftheworldasweknowit www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
R.U.R. (Sophomore Lit 178)
BEEP boop what is… love? Well, we don’t figure this out, but John Siracusa does return to Sophomore Lit to discuss Karel Čapek’s play R.U.R. (1920), the origin of the word “robot.”
www.theincomparable.com
September 25, 2025 at 1:38 PM
@siracusa.social returns to Sophomore Lit to answer once and for all, are the robots from R.U.R, the play that originated the word "robots," robots...or not? #r.u.r #sophomorelit #endoftheworldasweknowit www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
Wow, there sure is a lot of autism discourse on the net these days. So anyway, here's more of mine: #autism #doggos #patheticfallacy johnmccoy.org/2025/09/23/o...
Out of touch
Getting a psychiatric diagnosis affects everyone differently. For many, it’s a catharsis, a key to self-discovery and self-acceptance. For others, it can be a troubling albatross, a confirmat…
johnmccoy.org
September 25, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Wow, there sure is a lot of autism discourse on the net these days. So anyway, here's more of mine: #autism #doggos #patheticfallacy johnmccoy.org/2025/09/23/o...
Reposted by John McCoy
In prepation for the upcoming Frankstein movie, you can listen to @tracemcjoy.bsky.social & I discuss Leslie Klinger’s remarkable New Annotated Frankenstein, which lets you read *THREE* revisions of the book at once! www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
Frankenstein (Sophomore Lit 62)
Glenn Fleishman returns to the show to discuss today’s modern Prometheuses. It’s the long-awaited episode on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818-31).
www.theincomparable.com
September 3, 2025 at 3:13 AM
In prepation for the upcoming Frankstein movie, you can listen to @tracemcjoy.bsky.social & I discuss Leslie Klinger’s remarkable New Annotated Frankenstein, which lets you read *THREE* revisions of the book at once! www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
My brother @dankmccoy.bsky.social pointed out that there was an audio problem with the most recent episode of Sophomore Lit. I fixed it! So if that was keeping you from listening, now you have no excuse. www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
The Pushcart War (Sophomore Lit 177)
Brush up on the Large Object Theory of History. Shaenon K. Garrity returns to discuss Jean Merrill’s The Pushcart War (1964).
www.theincomparable.com
August 29, 2025 at 3:57 PM
My brother @dankmccoy.bsky.social pointed out that there was an audio problem with the most recent episode of Sophomore Lit. I fixed it! So if that was keeping you from listening, now you have no excuse. www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
Reposted by John McCoy
I never get tired of talking about how every book I read as a kid turned me into a radical leftist.
Pushcarts of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but a bunch of trucks. @shaenon.bsky.social discusses Jean Merrill's The Pushcart War (1964) #pushcarts #sophomorelit #generalannalives www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
The Pushcart War (Sophomore Lit 177)
Brush up on the Large Object Theory of History. Shaenon K. Garrity returns to discuss Jean Merrill’s The Pushcart War (1964).
www.theincomparable.com
August 27, 2025 at 10:07 PM
I never get tired of talking about how every book I read as a kid turned me into a radical leftist.
Pushcarts of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but a bunch of trucks. @shaenon.bsky.social discusses Jean Merrill's The Pushcart War (1964) #pushcarts #sophomorelit #generalannalives www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
The Pushcart War (Sophomore Lit 177)
Brush up on the Large Object Theory of History. Shaenon K. Garrity returns to discuss Jean Merrill’s The Pushcart War (1964).
www.theincomparable.com
August 27, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Pushcarts of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but a bunch of trucks. @shaenon.bsky.social discusses Jean Merrill's The Pushcart War (1964) #pushcarts #sophomorelit #generalannalives www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
New on Pathetic Fallacy: I jump aboard the Cracker Barrel bandwagon. Is the world ready for yet another hot take? #logos #crackers #badideas johnmccoy.org/2025/08/25/l...
Less Fun than a Barrel of Crackers
Header image: S.O. Grimes general store, Westminster, Md., c. 1900. Image via Library of Congress. Another day, another shot fired in the culture wars: this time, the internet is loosing its collec…
johnmccoy.org
August 25, 2025 at 11:16 PM
New on Pathetic Fallacy: I jump aboard the Cracker Barrel bandwagon. Is the world ready for yet another hot take? #logos #crackers #badideas johnmccoy.org/2025/08/25/l...
Happy to announce the first-ever piece of Sophomore Lit merch! A great present for a listener, or for a non-listener you want to confuse! cottonbureau.com/p/EZQ23R/shi...
Sophomore Lit by The Incomparable
For fans of the Sophomore Lit podcast on The Incomparable, it's a Mockingbird wearing Holden Caulfield's hat studiously reading a book. She's got a four-page essay due on Tuesday.
cottonbureau.com
August 12, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Happy to announce the first-ever piece of Sophomore Lit merch! A great present for a listener, or for a non-listener you want to confuse! cottonbureau.com/p/EZQ23R/shi...
If you enjoy comic essays in which the 57-year-old author roasts his six-year-old former self, I got you covered: johnmccoy.org/2025/08/04/t...
The Early Writings of John McCoy (2nd edition)
A Facsimile Edition; with commentary by the author The author in 1974. I published the first edition of this commentary in 1997, having just learned how to code HTML from a disreputable Usenet post…
johnmccoy.org
August 5, 2025 at 1:37 PM
If you enjoy comic essays in which the 57-year-old author roasts his six-year-old former self, I got you covered: johnmccoy.org/2025/08/04/t...
If you're not already reading my blog/newsletter Pathetic Fallacy, what better post to start with than this exploration of Boston's best graves? (As voted on by me.)
johnmccoy.org/2025/07/27/m...
johnmccoy.org/2025/07/27/m...
Meet me at the cemetery gates
Boston is a great place for cemeteries. If you visit our fair city as a tourist and walk the Freedom Trail, which is the red-brick line that connects downtown Boston’s and Charlestown’s…
johnmccoy.org
July 27, 2025 at 6:27 PM
If you're not already reading my blog/newsletter Pathetic Fallacy, what better post to start with than this exploration of Boston's best graves? (As voted on by me.)
johnmccoy.org/2025/07/27/m...
johnmccoy.org/2025/07/27/m...
Make no mistake, we will call you back to the lake. Or pond, whatever. @dancredentials.bsky.social discusses Walden. #thoreau #sophomorelit #quietdesperation www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
Walden, or Life in the Woods (Sophomore Lit 176)
If you’re suffering from Quiet Desparation, why not listen to the not-so-quiet voices of Dan Daughhetee and me discussing Henrey David Thoreau’s Walden, or Life in the Woods (1854)?
www.theincomparable.com
July 18, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Make no mistake, we will call you back to the lake. Or pond, whatever. @dancredentials.bsky.social discusses Walden. #thoreau #sophomorelit #quietdesperation www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
I invite all listeners to Sophomore Lit—and anyone else, really—to check out the new iteration of my blog, Pathetic Fallacy. In addition to literature, I discuss design, pop culture, ASD, and lots more! You can subscribe to the blog as a newsletter and get new posts via email. johnmccoy.org
Pathetic Fallacy
Another Blog You're Not Reading.
johnmccoy.org
July 14, 2025 at 2:11 PM
I invite all listeners to Sophomore Lit—and anyone else, really—to check out the new iteration of my blog, Pathetic Fallacy. In addition to literature, I discuss design, pop culture, ASD, and lots more! You can subscribe to the blog as a newsletter and get new posts via email. johnmccoy.org
Reposted by John McCoy
Just posted, only for The Incomparable members - I talk with @tracemcjoy.bsky.social about Stephen King's first novel "Carrie,” which I had never read. Turns out... Sue Snell is in it?
www.theincomparable.com/members/firs...
www.theincomparable.com/members/firs...
First Class - The Incomparable
Exclusive bonus content, only for Incomparable members.
www.theincomparable.com
May 2, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Just posted, only for The Incomparable members - I talk with @tracemcjoy.bsky.social about Stephen King's first novel "Carrie,” which I had never read. Turns out... Sue Snell is in it?
www.theincomparable.com/members/firs...
www.theincomparable.com/members/firs...
Fun fact: this book never actually says what a chrysalid is. #JohnWyndham #SophomoreLit #TheWorldEndsAgain www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
The Chrysalids (Sophomore Lit 174)
Podcasts are the original voices in your head. David Dredrick discusses John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids (1955).
www.theincomparable.com
April 23, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Fun fact: this book never actually says what a chrysalid is. #JohnWyndham #SophomoreLit #TheWorldEndsAgain www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
Reposted by John McCoy
I talked about the surprisingly relevant 1950s play The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt with @tracemcjoy.bsky.social on Sophomore Lit. www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit... Call it “the ones who decided Omelas was an okay place to live if it paid well enough.”
The Visit (Sophomore Lit 173)
Make money fast with this one weird trick. Glenn Fleishman discusses Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s play The Visit (1956).
www.theincomparable.com
March 19, 2025 at 6:01 AM
I talked about the surprisingly relevant 1950s play The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt with @tracemcjoy.bsky.social on Sophomore Lit. www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit... Call it “the ones who decided Omelas was an okay place to live if it paid well enough.”
If life is getting you down right now, maybe spend about a half an hour discussing someone else's problems.
@lschmeiser.bsky.social discusses T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." #sophomorelit #disturbingtheuniverse www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
@lschmeiser.bsky.social discusses T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." #sophomorelit #disturbingtheuniverse www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (Sophomore Lit 172)
And indeed there will be time to discuss this, the most mid-life white-guy crisis poem of all. Lisa Schmeiser discusses T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (1915).
www.theincomparable.com
February 28, 2025 at 3:58 PM
If life is getting you down right now, maybe spend about a half an hour discussing someone else's problems.
@lschmeiser.bsky.social discusses T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." #sophomorelit #disturbingtheuniverse www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
@lschmeiser.bsky.social discusses T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." #sophomorelit #disturbingtheuniverse www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
In the latest episode of Sophomore Lit I discuss Frank O'Connor, first confessions, and heather-based whisky with guest host Kieran Healy (@kjhealy.co) www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
Frank O'Connor Stories (Sophomore Lit 171)
I’ve heard it said by men of wide experience that podcasts used to be better in the old days. Kieran Healy discusses three short stories by Frank O’Connor: “First Confession,” “The Majesty of the Law,...
www.theincomparable.com
February 6, 2025 at 2:28 PM
In the latest episode of Sophomore Lit I discuss Frank O'Connor, first confessions, and heather-based whisky with guest host Kieran Healy (@kjhealy.co) www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
I'll tell you how the sun rose... is not discussed in this episode. #sophomorelit #dickinson #emopoetsunite
Emily Dickinson Poems (Sophomore Lit 170)
Forever is composed of podcasts. Caroline Fulford discusses selected poems by Emily Dickinson (c. 1860-65).
www.theincomparable.com
January 10, 2025 at 5:50 PM
I'll tell you how the sun rose... is not discussed in this episode. #sophomorelit #dickinson #emopoetsunite
Not a movie tie-in! www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Sophomore Lit 169)
Cigars are always trouble. Marina McCoy discusses Barbara Robinson’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1972).
www.theincomparable.com
December 24, 2024 at 10:26 PM
Not a movie tie-in! www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
Phil Gonzales (@pcgonzo.bsky.social) visits #sophomorelit to discuss this very strange play that is also an American classic? www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...
The Time of Your Life (Sophomore Lit 168)
Sometimes you want to go where everybody is a thread in the fabric of the human condition. Also they know your name. Phil Gonzales discusses William Saroyan’s The Time of Your Life (1939).
www.theincomparable.com
December 6, 2024 at 10:23 PM
Phil Gonzales (@pcgonzo.bsky.social) visits #sophomorelit to discuss this very strange play that is also an American classic? www.theincomparable.com/sophomorelit...