Oct 25, 202642 min
Are you ready for a poetry brew? Ian McMillan is and he's joined by: Graeme Richardson, Anglican priest and the Sunday Times poetry critic, with his debut poetry collection, Dirt Rich; Dr Julie Blake, cofounder and...
About this Podcast:
Ian McMillan hosts Radio 4's cabaret of the word, featuring the best poetry, new writing and performance.
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Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
37%
Guest openness
Selective
80/100
Required Score
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What has The Verb covered recently?
Recent episodes include "The Verb - where the poetry kettle is always on" (25 October 2026, 42 minutes), "Poems to help us brave the elements" (20 September 2026, 42 minutes), and "Poetry to keep you afloat" (29 July 2026, 41 minutes).
How often does The Verb publish?
The Verb publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 43 minutes across 283 episodes.
How hard is it to get booked on The Verb?
Booking probability for The Verb is 37%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. The Verb requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. The Verb's contact route on record: verified email.
Who should pitch The Verb?
The strongest fits for The Verb are Artists, Writers & Performers. The Verb has a society audience.
About the host
The Verb is a society podcast with 283 episodes published.
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Recent episodes
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
- Sep 20, 202642 min
Ian McMillan's poets show how the tiniest poem can help us brave the fiercest elements - from a haiku that's inspired generation after generation - with its careful noticing of the splosh of a frog into a pond, to a...
The Verb
Poetry to keep you afloat
Jul 29, 202641 minIan McMillan and poets Vona Groake, Jardel Rodrigues, Mira Rosenthal and Malgorzata Lebda bring poetry that helps us navigate storms, rivers and seas - real and metaphorical, and sound artist and musician SHHE (Su Shaw)...
- Jun 21, 202642 min
The celebrated writer Daniel Mendelsohn on his acclaimed translation of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey. Poet Lydia Unsworth on finding inspiration for her new collection, Stay Awhile, in ring roads, shopping centres...
- Jun 14, 202642 min
The poems that nourish us, and the myths that nourish poems. What can a connection with a mythical figure give us, or a legendary flower? Ian McMillan is joined by Zeus, Poseidon, the Green Man, the trees of Under Milk...
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- Jun 7, 202642 min
Ian McMillan is joined by Lindsey Hilsum, Channel 4 News' International Editor, who shares poems that have sustained her while reporting from conflict zones around the world. Richard Skinner, editor of 14, the annual...
The Verb
The Verb at the Hay Festival
May 31, 202643 minIn this special edition of The Verb, coming from the Hay Festival, Ian McMillan's guests are: Nicola Davies, the Children's Laureate Wales, who will be talking about how the natural world inspires her poetry and why she...
The Verb
Dark nights of the Soul, Brian Bilston, JH Prynne, Daljit Nagra, William Blake and Martha Sprackland
May 24, 202642 minThe comedy of corporate language, why a 16th century 'dark night of the soul' poem could help you through your own dark night, the experiments of J.H.Prynne, and the tenderness of boys' friendships - with Ian McMillan...
- Mar 8, 202642 min
Michael Laskey has produced six collections of poetry since his first pamphlet in 1988. That was also the year he co-founded the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. His career in poetry which has seen him teach, edit, and...
The Verb
Sibling relationships with Blake Morrison, Natalie Shapero, Tara Bergin, and the word 'literally'
Mar 1, 202642 minIan McMillan is joined by Blake Morrison with the poetry of sibling relationships, Natalie Shapero - who reports poetically from the world of cinema in L.A., and Tara Bergin, who looks at how to escape from a poem, as...
- Feb 22, 202642 min
George Szirtes, winner of the T. S. Eliot Prize and the King’s Gold Medal for Poetry, is the most recent poet to join the small selection panel for arguably the UK's most public celebration of poetry - Poems on the...
- Feb 15, 202642 min
Ian McMillan's guests this week are the singer and songwriter Richard Dawson, T.S. Eliot prize winning poets Jacob Polley and Sarah Howe and Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell Boyce - who celebrates Professor John Carey...
The Verb
The Love Verb
Feb 8, 202642 minIan MacMillan has love in mind as he is joined by a swoon of poets all interested in the subject of love in lyric form. Kim Moore’s poetry collections include The Art of Falling and All The Men I Never Married. She's...
- Feb 1, 202642 min
Ian McMillan explores Rainer Maria Rilke's life advice, and is joined by Paul Farley, Griot Gabriel, Kate Fox and Ulrich Baer Paul Farley brings us the sound of planes, and the world of the usher - as well as a...
The Verb
T.S. Eliot Prize Poets
Jan 25, 202641 minJoin Ian McMillan for a celebration of remarkable poets and poetry as he presents highlights of the annual T.S. Eliot Prize readings, recorded in front of an audience at London's Southbank. Ian was the host for the TS...
The Verb
The Christmas Adverb
Dec 19, 202557 minTestament, beatboxer, rapper and writer - presents a festive Adverb (complete with a yuletide salad battle), with his guests the former Scottish Makar Jackie Kay, poetic legend John Hegley, Mercury prize nominated folk...
- Nov 16, 202542 min
Ian McMillan's guests include the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage with poetry from his latest collection 'New Cemetery', impressionist and poet Alistair McGowan and Joelle Taylor with her new book 'Maryville'. Poet...
- Nov 9, 202543 min
Ian McMillan enjoys the language of the iconic 'Night Mail' poem by W.H. Auden, invites us into signal boxes, imagines train station bars, and evokes the empty platforms that inspire songs - as he celebrates 200 years...
- Oct 26, 202542 min
Shaun Usher's Letters of Note project became a cultural empire spanning multiple books, stage shows, and an online archive. He's now produced Diaries of Note - a collection of diary entries that span centuries from the...
- Oct 19, 202542 min
Ian McMillan celebrates an iconic poem that inspired a generation of poets and readers - Tony Harrison's 'Them and Uz'. His guests include the new US Poet Laureate Arthur Sze, the former Poet Laureate of Belfast Sinéad...
Recent guests
Recent guests on The Verb. Study who booked and why before you pitch.
D
Daniel Mendelsohn
classics scholar and translator of The Odyssey, Bard College
L
Lindsey Hilsum
Channel 4 International Editor, Channel 4 News
R
Richard Skinner
Digital Sports Columnist and Editor, Local 12 in Cincinnati
R
Richard Dawson
Atty at Law / Alumni / Board Member, Wynn Center Toppers / Metropolis Drum & Bugle Corps
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