The Montclair State University English Club has wrapped production on the third season of its original Playne English Podcast. The podcast, which began in January 2024, provides a place for club members to have fun, casual conversations in an episodic format. Members pitch their own ideas for episodes, which sometimes include expert interviews, book recommendations or deep dives into authors or genres.
Senior English major Faith Monesteri is the English Club's vice president. Jordan Reed | The Montclarion
Faith Monesteri is a senior English major who serves as the vice president of the English Club. After helping on the podcast in past semesters, she gained the role of producer this year and has been a big part of the creation of season three. She discussed the club and the process behind making the podcast.
“At the beginning of a season or a production, we’ll all kind of sit down and go, ‘What do we want to talk about this season? What are people interested in?'” Monesteri said. “The goal is to [feel] very improvisational, very casual.”
The key to keeping the conversation casual and fun to listen to is in the topics. Members pitch ideas for podcast episodes, and other members of the group join in. “We don’t want it to [sound like] a person, just monologuing to themself,” Monesteri said. Collaboration and rapport are key in maintaining the fun atmosphere that makes the podcast entertaining in the first place.
Monesteri has been with the club since its foundation and helped to create the podcast when it was conceptualized last year.
“I was there when the English Club and the [Playne English] podcast were founded. We had our one very first producer who then went [on to be] club president. Last semester’s producer graduated, and then it got handed to me. I’m really excited to work with this because [the podcast] is my personal favorite part of the club.”
Junior English major Chris Halstead enjoys mythological stories and classics. Jordan Reed | The Montclarion
Chris Halstead, a junior English major with a minor in myth studies, became involved with the club through being friends with Monesteri. His passion for mythological classics has been his favorite topic to talk about on the show.
“I come in [without] a lot of experience in the field. So I come in with stuff I learned in class and [made] the Beowulf episode – I love Beowulf, I’ve read nine different translations of it, and I got to talk about that,” Halstead said. “[We did] a deep dive on the language, the history, the form of the poem, different critics and translations. Then we did a sonnet episode, and [we recently did an episode on] Emily Dickinson.”
Halstead also emphasized that the English Club is a welcoming environment and the podcast is open to everyone.
“I would say that if you have an idea that’s related to English at all, whether it’s teaching, journalism, a book that you read, or an author you enjoy, definitely come to the club and say, ‘Hey, I have this idea,'” Halstead said. “We’ll help you workshop it and see if there’s any common interests with people. It’s a really open environment.”
Denzel Rodriguez enjoys studying obscure elements of literary history. Jordan Reed | The Montclarion
Denzel Rodriguez, a junior English major with a concentration in education, got involved with the English Club around the time that the Playne English Podcast was conceptualized last fall.
“[The podcast] was an idea that was pitched by Professor Jeffrey Gonzalez,” Rodriguez explained. “A few of us got really interested in that and wanted to realize it, and we collaborated and made it happen.”
Rodriguez also talked about the topics he likes to cover on the show.
“I like to focus on the relatively obscure elements of literary history,” Rodriguez said. “We’re planning to do an episode on one of our professors [who teaches about] image and text, so [we] like to discuss how the visual arts and the literary arts, at one point, were more intertwined. In the first season, we did an episode on banned books in different states.”
Rodriguez hopes more people will get involved with the podcast and club in the future.
“The Playne English Podcast is always looking for more people to join,” Rodriguez said. “Anybody who’s really passionate about literature, literary history, or the arts in general, feel free to come in and pitch your ideas. There’s always an open space for new, fun enthusiasm.”
Seasons one and two of the Playne English Podcast are free to listen to on Spotify. Production for season four will begin around the start of the Spring 2025 semester and is open to all members of the club. The club’s Instagram page (@montclair_englishclub) contains updates on club meetings and podcast production.
