Sherlock Holmes: Trifles: 2026

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Episode 477 – Dr. Watson & Mr. Wilde

“a bit of professional business between two gentlemen” [3GAR]

In this month's Mr. Sherlock Holmes the theorist, we turn again to a bit of British scholarship from the 1950s.

James Edward Holroyd's chapter "Dr. Watson and Mr. Wilde" in Baker Street By-Ways does an exemplary job of comparing the timelines of the great detective and the great wit, who each had a connection to a certain dinner with J.M. Stoddart of Lippincott's. It's just a Trifle.

If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

There's a new "Trifling Trifles" episode out — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. We release these at the beginning of every month. The latest episode is about the questionable judgment of the head of the Baker Street irregulars. This is a benefit exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack).

Our Merch Store is now open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Start shopping today.

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts

Download | 27.6 MB 31:09

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band.
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Episode 476 – Revenge

Scott Monty 2:21 PM 0

“a methodical revenge” [STUD]

They say revenge is a dish best served cold. But what about when it's just threatened?

In this episode, we do a sweep of figures in the Sherlock Holmes stories who promised or exacted revenge. Did we catch them all? It's just a Trifle.

If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

Our Merch Store is now open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Start shopping today.

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts

Download | 32.6 MB 35:54

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band.
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Episode 475 - The Case of 'J'

Scott Monty 2:21 PM 0

“some strange and inexplicable horror in the background” [CARD]

This Morley-Montgomery award-winning article is the only one written under a pseudonym (thus far). In "The Case of 'J': A Psychoanalytic Case Study with Particular Attention to `Marriage Neurosis', one D.K. Andrews provides a 1920s medical journal-like case study.

In it, Dr. Andrews presents the background of an individual every Sherlockian is familiar with, providing some Freudian analysis on decisions this individual has made. It's a fascinating approach and it's just a Trifle.

If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

Our Merch Store is now open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Start shopping today.

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts

Download | 32.6 MB 35:54

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band.
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Episode 474 – Earls

Scott Monty 2:21 PM 0

“You evidently do not know the Earl” [CHAS]

For modern audiences (particularly those not familiar with British aristocracy), the titles of the nobility could be a bit confusing. In the Sherlock Holmes stories, we find our fair share of dukes, barons, and lords. But what about earls?

There are only a handful of earls in the Canon, so in this episode, we spend a little time investigating the duties of earls and what it is their female counterparts are called. So grab your coronet! It's just a Trifle.

If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

There's a new "Trifling Trifles" episode out — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. We release these at the beginning of every month. The latest episode ponders a message we never quite see. This is a benefit exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack).

Our Merch Store is now open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Start shopping today.

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts

Download | 22.2 MB 22:23

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band.
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Episode 473 – Oxford or Cambridge

Scott Monty 2:21 PM 0

“one of the brightest intellects of the University” [3STU]

Of the long-running debates about the Sherlock Holmes stories (the location of Watson's wound, the true dates of "The Red-Headed League," the location of 221B Baker Street), one of the most perennial is Sherlock Holmes's university.

There are cases to be made for each of the great universities, but it was Gavin Brend who made a definitive case in a chapter of his 1951 book My Dear Holmes. This Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist episode may be academic, but it's just a Trifle.

If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

Our Merch Store is now open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Start shopping today.

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts

Download | 28.3 MB 29:59

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band.
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Episode 472 – Professor Moriarty

Scott Monty 2:21 PM 0

“I must really know more before I leave him.” [MISS]

Professor Moriarty. We know him as the arch-rival of Sherlock Holmes. In many ways, he was the original model for the supervillain. But what do we really know about him?

The answer is surprisingly little. And what we do know about him comes primarily from Sherlock Holmes. Join us as we dig a little deeper (or as deep as we can) on this Napoleon of crime. It's just a Trifle.

If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

Our Merch Store is now open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Start shopping today.

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts

Download | 20.6 MB 21:59

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band.
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Episode 471 – Upon the Dating of Blood Stains

Scott Monty 2:21 AM 0

“whose interest is it that the letter should come out?” [SECO]

Season 10 kicks off with another Morley-Montgomery Award winning article from The Baker Street Journal — a series we're continuing in which we look at notable pieces of Sherlockian scholarship about certain trifling issues.

In Vol. 52, No. 4, Robert Schultz, BSI ("The Gloria Scott") examined "The Second Stain" for historical clues and then applied them to British foreign relations to discover, despite earlier scholars' results, that there is only one possible author of the dangerous letter. It is most definitely a Trifle.

Find all of the Morley-Montgomery series in one place (Patreon | Substack).

If you have a question for us, please email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com. If you use your inquiry on the show, we'll send you a thank you gift.

Don't forget to listen to "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode, released at the beginning of every month. The latest episode wonders about J pens. This is a benefit exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack).

Our Merch Store is now open: Trifles mugs, notepads, and oval stickers can be yours (or someone else's, if you'd like to make it a gift). Start shopping today.

Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts

Download | 34.6 MB 37:34

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra
Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band.
Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0