Spirits: Mythology, Legends, & Folklore

After 500 episodes, we have some advice to impart on how to survive in mythology. Plus, we get really drunk. Thanks for 500 episodes. Here’s to 500 more. 

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of explicit sexual content, sexual assault, incest, childbirth/pregnancy, home invasion, and colonization. 

Housekeeping

- Books: Check out our previous book recommendations, guests’ books, ...

It’s important to maintain that Final Girl Energy, gang. That’s what all of these urban legends have been preparing you for! We learn why it’s important to train kids young to spot ghosts, and why bringing your spooky partner home may lead to finding out you’ve got ghosts watching you at night!

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of defecation, auditory hallucination, abusiv...

We are joined by storyteller, author, and researcher, Chinenye Egbuna Ikwuemesi to talk about African intellectual history, colonial historiography, and the Yoruba creation story. Learn how Obatala broke the world, and then brought it back together again and became the patron of disability. 

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of racism, enslavement, surgery, death in childbirth, colonialism, ...

We are joined by Felicia Day (!!!!!!!!) to talk about her newest graphic novel, Lost Daughter of Sparta, as well as Greek mythology, mythological retellings, and how these stories help us look at how modern society treats women.

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of misogyny, ageism, grief, infidelity, human sacrifice, death, sexual assault, kidnapping, queerphobia, 

Guest

Felicia Day is an act...

In preparation for the new Christopher Nolan epic, we’re visiting the ORIGINAL epic - The Odyssey. We walk you through the story, the plot beats to expect, what characters to look out for, and give our own thoughts and opinions on what an adaptation of The Odyssey should be. And yes, that runtime is correct - this is like our own epic of an episode.

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of deat...

We can’t talk about Arthurian Legend without talking about the Most Knight of All Time: Lancelot. We love this complex character, at times a Gary Stu, at times complicated and yearning. But you’ll hopefully come away with a new appreciation of the most well-known knight.

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of adultery, kidnapping, sex, death, violence, mental illness, violence against w...

We’re beating the heat by giving ourselves chills with your urban legends! From taking a gap year to summon demons to offering the fae the most exotic snacks you can find, we think you’re going to walk away from this episode with more than your fair share of goosebumps!

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of colonization, military, death, and suicide (21:20 - 29:34). 

Housekeeping

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We’re joined by singer and songwriter Sammy Rae (of Sammy Rae & the Friends) to chat about her favorite thing besides music: cryptids! We hear about her becoming an honorary member of the Cryptozoology Museum, her love of cryptid documentaries, and the story of the UFO sightings of Varginha Brazil.

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of collective trauma, death, vehicle crashes, gun viole...

Pull up a chair at the Round Table as we discuss the centerpiece of King Arthur’s court! How many knights sat there (more than you’d think!), what did it look like, and what did it represent to these knights that swore fealty and chivalry? 

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of death, violence, and abduction. 

Housekeeping

- Books: Check out our previous book recommendations, g...

We teamed up with the folks at the Wine Enthusiast Podcast to chat about all things fairy wine, fairy food, the trope of “don’t eat the fairy food”, as well as how the tropes are being utilized in modern fantasy and romantasy! Grab a glass of wine (that didn’t appear in the middle of a ring of mushrooms, please!) and dive in with us. 

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions...

We are offering our services as ghost mediators. It seems like something some of you need. Also featuring ghost unions, the most useless form of clairvoyance we’ve ever heard, and a creepy white-eyed grandma. Y’know, the usual. 

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of sexual content, family death, and pregnancy. 

Housekeeping

- Books: Check out our previous book recommendations, ...

Gardeners, as you start to see your plants begin to sprout, be cautious that there might be nature spirits lurking in your (garden) beds! This roundup, we talk about the various yokai that might be haunting your trees, fruits, and vegetables this spring and summer - gangly pumpkin spirits, dueling melons, and the BEAN BOIS!

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of death, animal death, illness, sexual...

We’re joined by the fabulous Keala Kendall to deep dive into the history of Hawaii, the ghosts of imperialism that haunt the island, and what Hawaiian Gothic looks like as we discuss her new book, That Which Feeds Us!

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of family death, colonization, racism, enslavement, gentrification, stillbirth, grief, sexual assault, genitalia, and queerphobia. 

Guest

...

Okay, sorry it took us this long to do a vampire episode. As an apology, here’s ALL of the vampire stories you could possibly want from across the world - except for that classic European vampire. Because there’s way cooler ones across the globe!

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of death, blood, pregnancy, stillbirth, child birth, miscarriage, colonization, sexual assault, and xenoph...

You know, we don’t have to scar children with stories of how they’re going to be eaten in the woods. But also, if we didn’t, would we have as many wonderful listener submitted stories to read in our Urban Legends episodes? Also, what is the most haunted appliance in your house and why is it your printer? 

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of death, family member death, deca...

We’re creating the normie to trickster pipeline with the help of scholar and game designer, Isaac Sanders! We talk about their work around the archetype of the trickster, not only in folklore and mythology, but in day to day life. 

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of queerphobia, racism, fascism, and spiders. 

Guest

Isaac Sanders (they/them) is an Afro-Indigenous, non-binary schola...

We’re getting into Rome’s festivals, and April is FULL of them! We’re celebrating the harvest, we’re celebrating sex, we’re celebrating wine, shepherds, flowers and more! Get excited for the month ahead! 

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of animal death and sacrifice, sexual content, slut shaming, misogyny, pregnancy, immolation, death, and murder. 

Minneap...

We love mess, and Queen Guinevere of Arthurian legend? There’s a lot of mess there! There’s scandal, there’s infidelity, AND AN EVIL TWIN!! We discuss a woman that a lot of Arthurian scholars and writers simply don’t know what to do with. 

Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of infidelity, misogyny, abduction, death, immolation, sexual assault, sexual content, and viole...