Bonus Episode: Interview with Mya Gosling, author and artist of Good Tickle Brain
Release Date: 06/03/2026
As You Like It: A Deeper Look at Shakespeare's Pastoral Satire
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In this episode, we examine Shakespeare's As You Like It as a piece of satire, one that pokes fun at the pastoral romantic comedy genre and the pastoral ideals so popular in early modern English court. We look at how Shakespeare undermines the tropes of the genre, subverts some of the negative stereotypes about country life that were common in the pastoral tradition, and what that suggests about his own relationship to the genre. We then turn to exploring further evidence that...
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Mini: Music and Songs in Shakespeare's Plays
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In this week's episode, we explore the role of music and songs in Shakespeare's plays. We look at how songs were woven into the fabric of early modern culture, from tavern ballads to church liturgies to , and consider how this musical culture influenced the music of Shakespeare's plays. We'll also explain how scholars and historians have pieced together bits and pieces of information to discover what we know about which instruments were popular and what the popular music of...
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As You Like It: Touchstone and the Function of Shakespeare's Fools (Episode 150!)
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In this episode, we turn our attention to Touchstone, the sharp-tongued clown who trades the court for the Forest of Arden. We begin by revisiting what we already know about fools in Shakespeare's plays and the real-life clowns and jesters of early modern England. This sets the stage for us to explore what makes Touchstone stand apart from the rest of Shakespeare's fools. We then dig into how Touchstone functions less as pure comic relief and more as a fun-house mirror for the...
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As You Like It: Stuff to Chew On
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. As we start off another one of Shakespeare's plays, we will first take a look at the themes, motifs, and production history of As You Like It in this Stuff to Chew On episode. This will provide a basis for future conversations as we dive deeper in later episodes. Think about it like As You Like It 101! Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp. Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander. For updates: Follow us on Instagram at ...
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As You Like It: Synopsis
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. It's time for our twelfth play! Today we are starting our series on Shakespeare's As You Like It with a synopsis episode. In this episode, we will provide a detailed summary of the plot, breaking down the action of the play scene by scene. Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp. Special thanks to Nat Yonce for editing this episode. Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander. For updates: Follow us on...
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Bonus Episode: Interview with Mya Gosling, author and artist of Good Tickle Brain
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In this episode, we are joined by Mya Lixian Gosling, the creator, author, and artist of the internet's favorite stick-figure Shakespeare webcomic, Good Tickle Brain. We chat with Mia about how Good Tickle Brain came to be and her creative process. Join us as we get to know the brain behind Good Tickle Brain. You can find Mya's comics and merchandise at . About Mya Lixian Gosling Mya Lixian Gosling (she/her) is the author and artist of Good Tickle Brain, the world's...
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Julius Caesar: Wrap Up
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In this wrap-up episode, we reflect on our exploration of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar by watching and discussing three distinct productions. We start with Phyllida Lloyd's ground-breaking 2012 all-female production at Donmar Warehouse, which sets the action of the play within a women's prison. Then, we explore The Bridge Theatre's 2018 production, directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Ben Whishaw and Michelle Fairley, which combined dynamic staging with a contemporary...
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Mini: Shakespeare and Stephen King with Caroline Bicks, author of Monsters in the Archives
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In this episode, we are joined by author and Shakespeare scholar, Caroline Bicks, to discuss her latest book, . Caroline will share with us how Shakespeare some of Stephen King's most famous works, and the surprising similarities she discovered between Shakespeare's writing and King's. Monsters in the Archive: My Year of Fear with Stephen King is out now. About Caroline Bicks Caroline Bicks is the Stephen E. King Chair in Literature at the University of...
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Julius Caesar: How Often Did Shakespeare Think About the Roman Empire?
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In this episode, we use Freyja Cox Jensen's Reading the Roman Republic in Early Modern England to explore how early modern readers encountered, studied, and understood ancient Rome, and what that means for how we read Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. First, we ask whether early modern people were truly obsessed with Julius Caesar and ancient Rome, and how Rome became so omnipresent in the early modern imagination. We then trace the roots of that obsession: how Roman history was...
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Mini: Ecological Shakespeare with Katherine Steele Brokaw
Shakespeare Anyone?
Want to support the podcast? or As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you. In anticipation of Earth Day and Shakespeare's birthday later this month, in this episode, we are joined by Katherine (Katie) Steele Brokaw to discuss how Shakespeare can be used as a tool to create conversations around ecological issues that impact our communities. We discuss how Shakespeare is already well-positioned to be used as an eco-playwright, why it is important to utilize his plays to speak to our current moment, and how theatremakers and educators can incorporate...
info_outlineWant to support the podcast? Join our Patreon or buy us a coffee. As an independent podcast, Shakespeare Anyone? is supported by listeners like you.
In this episode, we are joined by Mya Lixian Gosling, the creator, author, and artist of the internet's favorite stick-figure Shakespeare webcomic, Good Tickle Brain. We chat with Mia about how Good Tickle Brain came to be and her creative process. Join us as we get to know the brain behind Good Tickle Brain.
You can find Mya's comics and merchandise at goodticklebrain.com.
About Mya Lixian Gosling
Mya Lixian Gosling (she/her) is the author and artist of Good Tickle Brain, the world's foremost (and possibly only) stick-figure Shakespeare webcomic. Since 2013, Good Tickle Brain has been entertaining and subversively educating people with Shakespeare-related comics, including full-length play adaptations, extremely short and reductive summaries, song parodies, pop culture mash-ups, infographics, and much more. Mya thinks Shakespeare is super fun, and wants other people to also think that Shakespeare is super fun.
Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.
Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.
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