Much ado about nothing?

William Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and five volumes of poetry in his short 52 years. But was the so-called Bard of Avon really responsible for all that work?

A new podcast “Don’t Quill the Messenger” seeks to uncover the truth about the Shakespeare authorship question once and for all. And what better time for English lit nerds to tune in than this week, the 455th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth (and death, which both happened on April 23. But if you’re a true Bill-head, you already knew that.)

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. Current episodes include “Shakespeare Authorship Question 101;” “Shakespeare and the Law;” “The Will of Shakespeare;” and “It was all Greek to Me.” "There is so much rich background evidence to uncover, colorful stories about the real-life people characterized in the plays and their personal relationships, and contemporary scandals that have never been studied in depth,” Julie Sandys Bianchi, podcast curator for the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship, said. "Exploring the 400-year-old Shakespeare authorship mystery through the magnifying glass of an Oxfordian can be the most satisfying adventure for a modern-day internet sleuth.”

The podcast is hosted by Steven Sabel, who is no stranger to the airwaves or to Shakespeare. His previous experience includes four years as the host of “Progress Live,” a weekly AM radio talk show. He is the artistic director of Archway Theatre Co. in Burbank, Calif., and also writes a monthly entertainment column for an L.A. trade publication. He served 10 years as the artistic director for the Redlands Shakespeare Festival.

“The flavor of ‘Don’t Quill’ 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.

Sabel said the goal of the podcast is to ask the difficult questions that the established orthodoxy doesn’t want to answer or acknowledge.

“This question has been lingering for hundreds of years, while those who have a vested financial interest in the Stratfordian myth have sought to silence anyone who doubts the money-making tourism scheme,” 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.”

The podcast is produced by the Dragon Wagon Radio network and new episodes are released every other Wednesday. It is available on most major podcast downloading sites or at dragonwagon radio.com.