‘Don’t Quill The Messenger’ celebrates second anniversary

Excitement, scandal, and intrigue continue to fill each episode of the podcast series that focuses on the controversial Shakespeare Authorship Question. “Don’t Quill The Messenger: Exploring the Truth of Shakespeare Authorship” celebrated its second anniversary in the lineup of the Dragon Wagon Radio network Jan. 20. The network has announced a third year of episodes are on their way, sponsored by the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship.

Hosted by Steven Sabel, and featuring guest scholars from all walks of life, “Don’t Quill The Messenger” takes an investigative and often humorous look at the details surrounding the works in the Shakespearean canon in an effort to get to the bottom of the story about who really was responsible for the writings.

“Underpinning the content of Shakespeare’s writing, there is so much rich background evidence to uncover — colorful stories about the real-life people characterized in the plays; their personal relationships and contemporary scandals,” said Julie Sandys Bianchi, podcast curator for the SOF, an international organization dedicated to research and discussion of the Shakespeare Authorship Question.

“We have created more than 50 intriguing episodes over the past two years, and we’re excited to keep the conversation going in the coming year,” said Sabel.

Episodes of the series include “Shakespeare Authorship Question 101,” “Shakespeare and the Law,” featuring experts discussing Shakespeare’s legal knowledge; “The Will of Shakspeare,” discussing the famous last will and testament of the man from Stratford; and “It was all Greek to me,” covering some of the many Greek allusions found in the Shakespearean canon.

Future episodes will include deeper exploration into Shakespeare’s “problem” plays, the importance of identifying the author’s source materials, the details of Elizabethan history found in the text of the works, and diving into the controversy surrounding the famous Prince Tudor theory. New episodes are released every other Wednesday.

As part of the Dragon Wagon Radio network, “Don’t Quill The Messenger” is part of a list of podcasts dedicated to “giving voice and a public platform to a wide variety of personalities and artists who are interested in putting out professional quality shows their own way,” said Dragon Wagon cofounder Jake Lloyd Bacon.

Bacon and his partner, Zen Zenith, started the network as a means to give themselves and their creative peers a unified platform. The network began with two series in March 2017. Now, almost four years later, they produce more than a dozen different shows, and have cultivated more than two million downloads networkwide.

“We are super proud to offer a wide variety of podcasts. From personal discussions, to series about culture, society, music, politics, entertainment and more; Dragon Wagon has something for every podcast listener,” said Bacon.

The growing fanbase of “Don’t Quill The Messenger” is composed of listeners who reside around in the world in more than 45 different countries. They call themselves “Quillers,” and find themselves united through their love for Shakespeare’s works, said Sabel

“Shakespeare is indeed universal, and interest in the great literary mystery of Shakespeare Authorship continues to gain momentum, as even traditional scholars are beginning to recognize someone else’s hand in the writing,” he said.

Sabel is no stranger to the airwaves, or to Shakespeare. His previous experience includes a four-year stint as the host of “Progress Live,” a weekly AM radio talk-show covering news and politics. He served ten years as the producing artistic director of the Redlands Shakespeare Festival, and has produced more than 60 Shakespearean theatrical productions, covering more than 24 Shakespeare titles.

“The flavor of the ‘Don’t Quill” series is very light and humorous, while still addressing the available facts and evidence surrounding Shakespeare’s works, and dissecting the outright holes in the traditional narrative,” said Sabel.

“What we encourage through the podcast is the continual asking of questions in order to get past the myths and seek the truth,” Sabel said.

Bianchi, who also serves on the SOF Board of Trustees, thinks that podcasting is the perfect fit for the future of the discussion.

“A love of the creative use of speech is at the heart of the podcasting experience, and that was the same motivation that drove Shakespeare to craft his works,” Bianchi said.

“Don’t Quill The Messenger” is available at dragonwagonradio.com and every major podcast downloading site.