In this episode of Required Reading, we dive into Edgar Allan Poe’s haunting short story, The Tell-Tale Heart. Through the fevered confession of an unreliable narrator, Poe explores the thin line between sanity and madness, guilt and obsession. We discuss how Poe uses rhythm, repetition, and symbolism to capture the relentless beat of a guilty conscience — and why this tale still makes hearts race nearly two centuries later.

Co-hosted with Dr. Nic Hoffmann, Mike Burns, and Mike Carroll

Check us out!

• Shifting My Thinking about AI in the Classroom by Mike Burns
• Women, Reform, and War by Nic Hoffmann
• Comedy on the Arabian Peninsula by Nic Hoffmann
• The Last Time I Rewound: VHS, Star Wars, and the Freedom to Remember by Nic Hoffmann
• Follow the ongoing publication process with Mike Carroll

In this episode of Required Reading, we explore Edgar Allan Poe’s chilling masterpiece, The Cask of Amontillado. Set in the eerie catacombs beneath an Italian palazzo, the story follows Montresor’s calculated revenge against Fortunato—an act cloaked in deception, wine, and madness. The episode unpacks themes of pride, guilt, and psychological horror, showing how Poe turns a simple act of vengeance into a timeless study of the human mind’s darkest corners. This includes a reading of the audiobook from flansburgh38 from Librivox.

Co-hosted with Dr. Nic Hoffmann, Mike Burns, and Mike Carroll

Check us out!

• Shifting My Thinking about AI in the Classroom by Mike Burns
• Women, Reform, and War by Nic Hoffmann
• Comedy on the Arabian Peninsula by Nic Hoffmann
• The Last Time I Rewound: VHS, Star Wars, and the Freedom to Remember by Nic Hoffmann
• Follow the ongoing publication process with Mike Carroll

This week on Required Reading, we dust off our middle school readers and learn about high schoolers in love. We read Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the passionate and mature love of a 13 and 15 year old. It's basically Elizabethan Degrassi.

Co-Hosts: Dr. Nic Hoffmann, Mike Burns, Mike Carroll

"n Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates a violent world, in which two young people fall in love. It is not simply that their families disapprove; the Montagues and the Capulets are engaged in a blood feud. In this death-filled setting, the movement from love at first sight to the lovers’ final union in death seems almost inevitable. And yet, this play set in an extraordinary world has become the quintessential story of young love. In part because of its exquisite language, it is easy to respond as if it were about all young lovers." From the Folger Edition back cover.