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After two years, two seasons and 443 episodes, Major Jackson is stepping down from the host chair. 


A Farewell to Major Jackson

To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.


Supported in Part by National Endowment for the Arts

Raising poetry to a more visible and influential position in American culture.


Produced in Partnership With the Poetry Foundation

Announcements

[encore] 1520: The New City by Hieu Minh Nguyen

Today’s poem is The New City by Hieu Minh Nguyen.


Today’s poem is The New City by Hieu Minh Nguyen. This episode was originally released on May 21, 2026. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “There’s a very specific pleasure in doing things alone. Going to the movies by yourself, sitting in the dark with your own drink and popcorn or candy that you don’t have to share, and sitting anywhere you want in the theatre without asking a companion where they want to sit. Or having a meal on your own, party of one, just people watching and enjoying the ambience without the need to make conversation.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate


The Slowdown

[encore] 1412: Ledge (ars poetica) (love poem) (true story) by Amorak Huey

Today’s poem is Ledge (ars poetica) (love poem) (true story) by Amorak Huey. 


Today’s poem is Ledge (ars poetica) (love poem) (true story) by Amorak Huey. This episode was originally released on December 15, 2025. 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.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

[encore] 1427: A toast to something beautiful flapping in the wind by J. Hope Stein

Today’s poem is A toast to something beautiful flapping in the wind by J. Hope Stein.


Today’s poem is A toast to something beautiful flapping in the wind by J. Hope Stein. This episode was originally released on January 5, 2026. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Once upon a time, I was a new mother with a baby girl in my arms, and I was her whole world. It was seventeen years ago, but sometimes I swear I can transport myself back there just by closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. I remember reading that a baby’s first three months of life are called the fourth trimester. Three trimesters are spent in the mother’s body, bobbing around like a little fish, but the "fourth trimester" is when everyone is adapting to life in the outside world. The babies seem bewildered, trying to adjust to nursing and sleeping, but I think parents are just as bewildered.” This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

The Slowdown

Latest Episode

Recent Episodes

[encore] 1520: The New City by Hieu Minh Nguyen

[encore] 1412: Ledge (ars poetica) (love poem) (true story) by Amorak Huey

[encore] 1427: A toast to something beautiful flapping in the wind by J. Hope Stein

Announcements

A Farewell to Major Jackson

Supported in Part by National Endowment for the Arts

Produced in Partnership With the Poetry Foundation

Other APM Podcasts

Truth Be Told

Ripple

The Splendid Table

The Slowdown

Latest Episode

Recent Episodes

[encore] 1520: The New City by Hieu Minh Nguyen

[encore] 1412: Ledge (ars poetica) (love poem) (true story) by Amorak Huey

[encore] 1427: A toast to something beautiful flapping in the wind by J. Hope Stein

Get a poem handpicked by Maggie Smith every weekday. The email includes an abridged version of Maggie’s introduction.

Announcements

A Farewell to Major Jackson

Supported in Part by National Endowment for the Arts

Produced in Partnership With the Poetry Foundation

Other APM Podcasts

Truth Be Told

Ripple

The Splendid Table