1430: Earth Shovel by Dan Albergotti
The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
American Public Media
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 8 January 2026
⏱️ 7 minutes
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Summary
Today’s poem is Earth Shovel by Dan Albergotti.
The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual. In this episode, Maggie writes… “Today’s poem, which looks at the fragility of our planet, begins with two epigraphs. One is from American astronomer Carl Sagan, from his book Pale Blue Dot. The other is the famous line from politician Michael Steele.”
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Maggie Smith, and this is The Slowdown. |
| 0:19.3 | The phrase drill baby drill might sound familiar to you. |
| 0:26.3 | Michael Steele, former Maryland lieutenant governor, proclaimed it at the 2008 Republican National Convention, |
| 0:36.3 | drill baby drill, showing his support for drilling for oil. Republican National Convention, Drill Baby Drill, |
| 0:38.7 | showing his support for drilling for oil and gas in the United States, |
| 0:45.4 | despite the concerns of environmentalists. |
| 0:50.1 | Drill Baby Drill became a Republican campaign slogan, famously used by Sarah Palin, and more |
| 0:58.9 | recently, Donald Trump. Trump used the phrase repeatedly during his 2024 presidential campaign |
| 1:07.8 | and at his 202525 inaugural address. |
| 1:13.9 | Today's poem, which looks at the fragility of our planet, begins with two epigraphs. |
| 1:22.5 | One is from American astronomer Carl Sagan, from his book Pale Blue Dot. |
| 1:30.3 | The other is the famous line from politician Michael Steele. |
| 1:37.5 | Earth Shovel by Dan Albergatti. |
| 1:43.5 | Look again at that dot |
| 1:46.1 | That's here |
| 1:48.1 | That's home |
| 1:49.5 | That's us |
| 1:51.2 | A moat of dust |
| 1:53.3 | suspended in a sunbeam |
| 1:55.9 | The only home we've ever known |
| 1:59.1 | Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994. |
| 2:07.6 | Drill Baby Drill |
... |
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