Oct 13, 2026 · 39 min · 10 segments
In his 100th episode, Brett sits down with Bonnie Garmus to discuss her new book, 'Peck & Peck'. They have a 'Lessons in Chemistry' check in, they talk poets as oracles, the downside to AI, the need…
Bonnie GarmusGuest
Brett BennerHost
So for our viewers and our listeners, do you have a, an elevator pitch for Peck & Peck?
Well, you know, I'm so bad at elevator pitches, and that's bad, right, because I'm from advertising.
But I would just say Peck & Peck is about a young man who doesn't quite know who he is and is a little ashamed of the talent that he has, which is an ear for poetry.
But he does find one employer who's interested in that, and when he takes a job there, the adventure begins.
Okay, so the big question is, and you started to interestingly talk about it for a moment, but why poetry? Like, what is it? Especially 'cause I just said, I, my first thought was, "Oh, clearly she's a huge poetry fan."
I, I- Completely understand that, and that's why I wanna reassure readers that this book isn't littered with poetry.
What it's trying to do is just teach you about an art that is so undervalued, but is so, so important in our lives.
You know, when we attend funerals or weddings or inaugurations or graduations, we hear poetry, and there's a reason for that.
And I think when we discover that we turn to the poets during our most tragic and most vulnerable times, our happiest times, that says something.
So what is it that these people provide us? I wanted to really get into that.
So for our viewers and our listeners, do you have a, an elevator pitch for Peck & Peck?
Well, you know, I'm so bad at elevator pitches, and that's bad, right, because I'm from advertising.
But I would just say Peck & Peck is about a young man who doesn't quite know who he is and is a little ashamed of the talent that he has, which is an ear for poetry.
But he does find one employer who's interested in that, and when he takes a job there, the adventure begins.
Okay, so the big question is, and you started to interestingly talk about it for a moment, but why poetry? Like, what is it? Especially 'cause I just said, I, my first thought was, "Oh, clearly she's a huge poetry fan."
I, I- Completely understand that, and that's why I wanna reassure readers that this book isn't littered with poetry.
What it's trying to do is just teach you about an art that is so undervalued, but is so, so important in our lives.
You know, when we attend funerals or weddings or inaugurations or graduations, we hear poetry, and there's a reason for that.
And I think when we discover that we turn to the poets during our most tragic and most vulnerable times, our happiest times, that says something.
So what is it that these people provide us? I wanted to really get into that.
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