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Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst 

American Public Media

Host Maggie Smith is your daily poetry companion. Poetry is one of the greatest tools we have to wield our own attention — to consider our own lives and the lives of others, to help us live creatively and compassionately, to use that attention to lean into wonder, and joy, and truth, and to find hope — to keep hoping. The Slowdown community knows that reflecting on a poem, every weekday, can connect us to our inner world and the world around us. Listen as you make your morning coffee, as you go on a walk in your neighborhood, as you pull away from the to-do list, as you resist the dismal, endless scroll to share five minutes of perspective through the lens of poetry, from poets old and new, well-loved and emerging onto the scene. Brought to you by American Public Media, in partnership with the Poetry Foundation.

The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily

The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. This encore episode was originally released on April 3, 2026.

Today’s poem is from Perihelion: A History of Touch by Franny Choi. 

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem is about the snow moon, the first full moon of February. The explanation behind the name “snow moon” is fairly straightforward: February is often the snowiest month. After reading this quiet stunner of a poem, I was inspired to turn on one of my favorite Nick Drake songs, “Pink Moon.” I highly recommend this poem/song pairing.” 

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

[encore] 1486: from Perihelion: A History of Touch by Franny Choi

The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. This encore episode was originally released on January 20, 2026.

Today’s poem is The Long Now by Robin Beth Schaer.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem addresses a child—a child full of questions about the world. It reminds me that as parents, we don’t need to have the answers, and we don’t need to pretend to have them. Instead we can listen, stay open, and honor our kids’ curiosity and wonder. Honor the poets and philosophers that they are.” 

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

[encore] 1438: The Long Now by Robin Beth Schaer

The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. This encore episode was originally released on September 18, 2026.

Today’s poem is Rancho Bar by Margot Kahn.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem looks, tenderly, at two siblings attempting to close the distance between them. The poem is made even more poignant by the fact that its setting, a bar in California, has since burned down in a wildfire.” 

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

[encore] 1355: Rancho Bar by Margot Kahn

The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. This encore episode was originally released on August 28, 2025.

Today’s poem is From the Sky by Sara Abou Rashed. 

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When I think about ways to foster empathy, perspective, and care, one of those ways is poetry. I know poetry can’t stop bombs from falling, and it can’t feed the starving, and it can’t evacuate people to safety. I know this. But poetry can change our inner world. We need that change, one person at a time. We need to reclaim our humanity.” 

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

[encore] 1340: From the Sky by Sara Abou Rashed

The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. This encore episode was originally released on February 25, 2026.

Today’s poem is Somewhere Else by Adam J. Gellings. 

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I was born at 4:30 in the afternoon on a cold Sunday in February. All of this is either useless information — time of day, day of the week, month of the year — or it’s part of our own myth-making.” 

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

[encore] 1464: Somewhere Else by Adam J. Gellings

The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. Today’s encore episode was originally released on February 27, 2026.

Today’s poem is Poem about everything except— by Amy Lemmon.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “I was drawn to today’s poem from the get-go because of its title: ”Poem about everything except—.” I went in anticipating maximalism — “everything but the kitchen sink,” as the saying goes, and the poem delivered.” 

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

[encore] 1466: Poem about everything except— by Amy Lemmon

The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. Today’s encore episode was originally released on March 30, 2026.

Today’s poem is XII. Southern Constellations by Brandon Kilbourne. 

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “No matter where I am in the world, no matter what beautiful landscape I might find myself in, no matter what new experience I might be having, I feel the pull of home. I don’t mean home as in place. I mean home as in people.” 

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

[encore] 1482: XII. Southern Constellations by Brandon Kilbourne

The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. Today’s encore episode was originally released on December 4, 2025.

Today’s poem is Go by Kathleen Ossip.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Other poems are like strands of pearls, long and lustrous and nearly impossible to gather into your hands all at once.” 

Celebrate the power of poems with a gift to The Slowdown today. Every donation makes a difference: https://tinyurl.com/rjm4synp

[encore] 1410: Go by Kathleen Ossip

The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. Today’s encore episode was originally released on November 3, 2025.

Today’s poem is Different Kinds of Sadness by Jenny Molberg.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “When I lost my joy, my generous friends were there. It can be so hard to accept help from others, especially if you pride yourself on being self-sufficient, but I took them up on their offers of meals, and company, and advice. And I’m so glad I did, because these things were all lifesaving. All of these things, in their own ways, helped me close some wounds. All, in their own ways, restarted my heart.” 

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

[encore] 1387: Different Kinds of Sadness by Jenny Molberg

The Slowdown is taking a break. We’ll be back soon with new episodes. Today’s encore episode was originally released on March 4, 2026. 

Today’s poem is Pardon My Heart by Marcus Jackson. 

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “If I had a different kind of heart, a tougher heart, would I be able to see what’s happening in the world around me and not feel so brokenhearted? What would it be like to be able to sleep through the night, unbothered? I can’t imagine feeling less, or caring less. That’s not the heart I have.” 

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

[encore] 1469: Pardon My Heart by Marcus Jackson

Today’s poem is ode to the afternoon by Zeina Hashem Beck.

The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “‘Que Sera Sera’ is a song I remember my mother singing when I was small. Which is fitting, as the song opens with these words: ‘When I was just a little girl I asked my mother what will I be.’ I remember part of the chorus well: ‘Que Sera Sera, whatever will be, will be, the future’s not ours to see.’” 

This show is supported by gifts from listeners. Support The Slowdown with a donation today. Slowdownshow.org/donate

1575: ode to the afternoon by Zeina Hashem Beck

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

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