The podcast episodes on The Slowdown demonstrate various approaches to poetry analysis, with the host and guest hosts providing in-depth examinations of poems by authors such as Natasha Trethewey, Clark Coolidge, TR Brady, Denise Duhamel, Linda Gregerson, and Jill Bialosky.

For example, in the episode Illumination by Natasha Trethewey, the host Major Jackson analyzes the significance of marginalia and annotations in the poem. Similarly, the episode from "The Crystal Text" by Clark Coolidge delves into the indeterminate and delicate nature of the poetic enterprise.

Other notable episodes that focus on poetry analysis include Horse by TR Brady, which explores the themes of the divide between man and beast, as well as How It Will End by Denise Duhamel, which examines the difficulties of plotting the trajectory of a couple's relationship.