Journey to the West: The Podcast
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Keep on going with Journey of the Monkey King!
17 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week we take you behind the scenes of the Journey of the Monkey King Podcast. If you're not quite ready to go full enlightened after our last cha...
Chapter 100: You're a Buddha! And You're a Buddha! And... you're a janitor!
03 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week marks the conclusion of our Journey to the West! Monkey King and friends become buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats. But Tathagata has a speci...
Chapter 99: Ordeal with it!
27 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Guanyin does some quick math and realizes that the pilgrims, including Monkey King and his master, are one ordeal short of the set needed to achieve e...
Chapter 98: How the West Was One
20 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Monkey King has arrived! But first, Tripitaka must cast off his earthly body and cross the river that lies before Thunderclap Mountain, and then j...
Chapter 97: Monkey Justice! with Monkey King researcher Jim McClanahan
13 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After the pilgrims' awkward parting last chapter, a group of bandits descend on their hosts' home and kill Squire Kou! Kou's wife blames Wukong and th...
Scott Park Phillips Returns For Our 100th Episode!
06 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week we are excited to welcome back one of our favorite guests, Scott Park Phillips. In addition to enlightening us on many more fascinating aspe...
Chapter 96: Monkey and Friends Understay Their Welcome
30 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When you're the last 4 monks to be fed by a philanthropist who's vowed to feed 10,000 monks, some partying is bound to ensue. But when everyone but pi...
Chapter 95: Silly Rabbit, Tripitaka's Not For Monstrous Deviates!
23 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tripitaka's bride-to-be is unmasked as the Jade Hare, her divine owners come calling, and we get a heartfelt reunion between the royal family with the...
Chapter 94: As the Wedding Day Looms, Tripitaka's Poetry Blooms!
16 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With the wedding of Tripitaka to the fiendish princess arranged, the feasting begins! Wuneng's having the time of his life with daily banquets, despit...
Chapter 93: Forced to Marry a Princess! Will Tripitaka's Journey End Here?
09 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week Wukong the Monkey King and the gang hear about a princess who mysteriously turns up at the monastery they're staying in. Later, Tripitaka vi...
Chapter 92: Who's harder to control, a runaway rhino or a pillaging army?
02 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The epic conclusion of Wukong's war with the sacrifice-demanding, oil-stealing, Buddha-impersonating rhino fiends. Dragon kings, divine forces, and al...
The lantern festival with the three oily Buddhas.
25 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week the crew attend an annual lantern festival that's so expensive that the townsfolk must starve to afford it. We wonder about what happens to ...
Chapter 90: Did anybody lose a nine-headed lion?
18 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The exciting conclusion to Monkey and friends' fight with the lion kingdom! What started as a dispute over some stolen weapons has turned into an all-...
Chapter 89: Lions, and lions, and lions, oh my!
11 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Wukong, Eight Rules, and Sha Monk discover the stealer of their weapons is none other than the Yellow Lion spirit! Are there other kinds of lions? App...
Chapter 88: Wanna be my disciple? Here, hold my weapon!
04 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Wukong and the gang show their martial magic to three princely challengers who immediately ask to become their disciples. Crisis averted, right? But j...
Chapter 87: This one's for all the bureaucracy-lovers out there!
21 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Having finally arrived in India, the pilgrims must make it rain, literally. After a fight with his wife, the local prefect knocked over some sacrifici...
Chapter 86: Monkey King Sun Wukong, Head Inspector
14 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The evil Great King of South Mountain is prepping Tripitaka for dinner and he's got a plan to get rid of the elder's disciples: convince them that he'...
Chapter 85: That time the Monkey King "helped" his brother by almost getting him killed.
07 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we find out what happens when you shave the heads of everyone in a kingdom that's vowed to kill monks, Wukong decides to fight fair by tric...
Chapter 84: The monkey, the pig, the monk, the sand monster, and the wardrobe
30 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Our pilgrims find themselves outside a kingdom that's vowed to kill 10,000 monks and just needs 4 more to complete the mission. Monkey steals some mer...
Chapter 83: She tried to take my master's virginity, so Monkey is suing her father!
23 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Fair Girl steals Tripitaka and tries to marry him, again! Monkey's had enough so he takes the Fair Dad, Devaraja Li, to court. The father's respon...
Chapter 82: Falling down a sex rabbit hole, and there is no bottom.
16 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tripitaka's getting married! Or, at least he would be if the Fair Girl had her way. This week's over-sexed fiend seeks to take the Tang Monk's virgini...
Chapter 81: Hands off my stinky root!
09 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What did Tripitaka think would happen when he brings a gorgeous demoness into a monastery? After six young monks are found "bone-dry", Monkey pulls a ...
Chapter 80: When damsels become demons: save them anyway?
02 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tripitaka's got a bad feeling about the dense pine forest they're stuck in. But when they find a beautiful maiden tied to a tree, it's Monkey who call...
Chapter 79: Eat my heart out... but which one?
26 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When a befuddled king under the influence of an evil Daoist asks to devour your heart, who are the pilgrims to say no? Monkey's only got one question:...
Chapter 78: Child sacrifices, sex control, and shadowy demonic conspiracies... what's QAnon doing in my Monkey story?
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week's chapter has all the elements of a cracking Monkey King caper, folks! A kingdom just like China but for this VERY WRONG THING they do, a he...
Chapter 77: Monks, They're What's For Dinner!
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The exciting conclusion to our arc sees the three demon brothers try to steam our poor monks, Dim Sum style. Wukong falls for a fiendish prank, and Ga...
Chapter 76: Never cut a deal with three demon brothers
05 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Sun Wukong the Monkey King makes the eldest brother promise to give the pilgrims safe passage to the west, his fiendish elephant brother kidnaps ...
Chapter 75: Monkey King Tastes Like a Real Bad Time
26 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Wukong gets devoured by a demon, drinks too much, does calisthenics from inside his foe, and considers making chop suey out of demon guts. So, a typic...
Chapter 74: Sympathy for the Little Devils
19 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Pilgrim develops a conscience! After clubbing some fiends to death, he takes a less-violent path and convinces the next bunch of fiends to desert rath...
Chapter 73: Monkey gets the thousand-eyed stare!
12 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Just when the party thinks they've seen the last of the 7 Spider Women, they arrive at a Daoist Abbey and discover that their host is none other than ...
Chapter 72: Wuneng Goes Swimming with the Spider-Women
05 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Tripitaka tells his disciples to hang back so he can beg for a meal from some seemingly harmless young maidens, he gets a harrowing reminder of w...
Chapter 71: Teaching An Old Wolf New Tricks with the Ol' Switcheroo
29 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why are wolves always horny no matter which culture they appear in? How is Monkey gonna wangle his bells this time? The answers and more this week. Pl...
Chapter 70: The Evil King Gets His Bell Rung
22 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Having cured the king, Wukong and pals must heal the kingdom. The Monkey King once more drops his doctor's coat and picks up the golden staff to rescu...
Chapter 69: Paging Dr. Monkey, Your Horse Piss is Ready!
15 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Wukong's got just the cure for our ailing king, and it involves every type of medicine in the city, the ashes below an old cooking pot, and their long...
Chapter 68: Sympathy for the Eunuchs
08 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week Pilgrim and Wuneng are called upon to heal the emperor. Also, we defend the much-maligned eunuch, a class of people who are no longer around...
Chapter 67: Don't let your persimmons become pythons!
01 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's a slimy, smelly episode as Tripitaka's disciples arrive at a valley filled with rotten persimmons. Worse yet, an evil wind sweeps through the vil...
Chapter 66: A belly like Santa's and a mission like Jesus', it's the Buddhist Messiah!
25 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
While we celebrate a certain Christian savior's birthday, Wukong gets a little help from Budai, aka Maitreya Buddha, the prophesied future redeemer of...
Chapter 65: The False Buddha with the Thunderclap Trap!
18 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tripitaka's sworn to visit every monastery he passes on his way to the west, even the one that Sun Wukong is convinced is a demonic snare. What's a mo...
Chapter 64: Crafting Knotty Poetry at the Tea Party
11 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tripitaka gets whisked away to a poetry jam with some dirty old geezers by moonlight. While Monkey and his disciples search for him through the brambl...
Chapter 63: Never Let Your Daughter Marry an Insect
04 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The conclusion to the mystery of who robbed the Golden Light Monastery of its relics! Not only do Monkey and pals take on the thief, but an entire fam...
Chapter 62: The Life-Changing Magic of Pagoda Sweeping
27 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Monkey and friends arrive at a kingdom where all the Buddhist monks are being punished for a crime they didn't commit! Somebody stole the land's big h...
Chapter 61: Taking the Bull By the Fan
20 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's the epic conclusion to the Bull Demon King saga! Will Monkey and friends finally extinguish the flames that block their path? And what will becom...
Chapter 60: That Crab Stole My Ride!
13 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Monkey finally catches up with his old blood brother, the Bull Demon King! But a lot's happened between them in the 500 years since they last saw each...
Chapter 59: You Look Like You Swallowed A Monkey King!
06 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, everyone's favorite Buddhists find their path blocked by a flaming mountain. The only way to put out the fire is with a legendary Palm Leaf...
Can Buddha Cure Multiple Monkey Disorder?
30 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The world reels as two identical Monkey Kings fight for dominance, and no Bodhisattva, Heavenly Emperor, or minion of hell can tell them apart! Can Bu...
Wujing and the Tale of Two Monkey Kings!
23 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With Sun Wukong banished, we briefly consider what the tale would be like had Wujing, the most sensible of Tripitaka's disciples, been the one to lead...
Chapter 56: The Monkey's Business Goes Too Far
16 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Monkey's always been great at turning demons into meat patties, but when he starts braining bandits, Tripataka is absolutely horrified. Is Sun Wukong ...
Chapters 54 - 55 with Katherine Alexander: Woman's World--Tripitaka accepts a queen's proposal, Pilgrim is poisoned!
02 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week we are joined by Katherine Alexander, Assistant Professor of Chinese at University of Colorado, Boulder for a fresh take on the book's infam...
Chapter 53: The Baby-Making River and Tripitaka's Trimesters
25 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There really is something in the water of the Women State of Western Liang and nobody bothered to tell our poor pilgrims! After quenching their thirst...
How the Buffalo Got Its Nose Ring & Why You Should Lock Away Your Medicine!
18 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The exciting conclusion to the Buffalo Demon saga this week as Monkey and the hosts of heaven finally figure out the origin story of the evil king who...
Chapter 51: Meet Behind Gold Helmet Cave for Schoolyard Fisticuffs!
11 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With his golden rod gone, Wukong the Monkey King tries everything to get his master back, including challenging the Water Buffalo Demon to an old-fash...
Chapter 50: Breaking and Entering a Haunted House for a Snack
04 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When the gang comes upon an impossible mountain, Pilgrim has Tripitaka stand inside a magic circle while he goes begging for food. But the master is h...
Water Wars with the Great King and The Origin of the Fish Basket Guanyin!
28 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week's chapter is an undersea extravaganza as Wukong, Wuneng, and Wujing all descend into the depths to battle the Great King in his "Sea Turtle ...
Special Guest: John Zhu of the Chinese Lore Podcasts!
21 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, fellow lover of Chinese classics, and storyteller extraordinaire, John Zhu, shares his experience with our favorite pilgrims and helps shed...
Journey to the West... On Ice!
14 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week sees Monkey and his brother try the old, "change into someone the evil guy wants" trap, but before they can settle business, the villain esc...
Chapter 47: Monkey and Pigsy on the Kids' Menu
07 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Monkey and pals come across a village whose monstrous "Great King" demands child sacrifices! Good thing Wukong and Wuneng know some transformations an...
Chapter 46: Meditation Death Match!
31 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Proof that the evil immortals of Cart Slow Kingdom aren't true Daoists? They just won't let a loss go. This week Tripitaka must meditate to the death,...
Chapter 45: Tripitaka making it rain OR "With a little help from my dragons"
24 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After a piss-poor first encounter with the Buddhist-enslaving evil Daoist Immortals, Tripitaka is commanded by the king of Cart Slow Kingdom to a weat...
Chapter 44: Sending Darned Daoists to the Bureau of Five Grain Transmigration
17 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What's the Ancient Chinese Buddhist's vision of a dystopian world? One where the Daoists have taken over! Tripitaka's party encounter just that this w...
Chapter 43: Black River Blues, an iguana plans a birthday party fit for a dragon king
10 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week an iguana plans a birthday party for a dragon king, why you shouldn't stay for dinner if your host is a demon, and whatever happened to the ...
Chapter 42: Thou Shalt Not Have False Guanyins Before Her!
03 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week Wukong finally gets through to Guanyin and we're all set for the match of the 15th century between the Bodhisattva and the Red Boy. How does...
Chapter 41: Goodness Gracious, Great Boy of Fire!
26 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Invincible warrior with no respect for authority and a rebel attitude... sound familiar? This week the battle with the Red Boy continues and Monkey ca...
Chapter 40: Son of a Bull Demon King!
19 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Spooky sightings abound this week as the gang encounter a strange red light floating through the air and a naked boy hanging upside down from a tree! ...
Monkey King: Hero is Back with Special Guest: Jim McClanahan
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Journey to the West Research blogger Jim McClanahan returns this week to provide commentary for the 2015 animated film, "Monkey King: Hero is Back". W...
The Lion, The Monks, and The Elixir
05 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Wukong uses some tricky negotiation tactics to get the Golden Elixir from Lao Tzu and bring the dead king back. But the Taoist imposter has a trick th...
Mom, I Think Dad Might Be An Evil Daoist In Disguise!
29 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week the prince learns more than anybody wants to know about their parents, and uncovers the truth that his father has been replaced! How will he...
From Rain Maker to King Replacer: A Taoist Wreaks Havoc in Black Rooster Kingdom
22 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tripitaka gets a special visit from the dead king of Black Rooster Kingdom and is tasked with unmasking his murderous usurper--a treacherous Taoist wi...
Chapter 36: How Do Monks Ask to Spend the Night?
15 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week finds Tripitaka a little low in spirits when he finds out how far they still have to go. Coming upon a monastery, the monk and the monkey mu...
Chapter 35: Lao Tzu's BoyZ
08 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's the exciting conclusion to the Golden Horn, Silver Horn saga! What exactly are all five of their treasures and how will monkey fare against their...
Special Guest: Scott Park Phillips, Master Martial Artist and Dancer!
01 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week we rest our weary cloud-trodding feet and take a deep dive with Scott Park Phillips into the Tao of Journey to the West. Learn how classic C...
Chapter 34: The Amazing Great Sage, Escape Artist!
24 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's a series of escapes and recaptures this week as the party's only hope, Sun Wukong, takes on Golden Horn, Silver Horn, their mother, and their who...
Chapter 33: Monkey Shrugged
17 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Just when Sun Wukong the monkey mind thought he had things under control, Tripitaka and Wujin get kidnapped, and he ends himself under a mountain rang...
Chapter 32: What the Pig Saw
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last time Tripitaka banished his monkey disciple. Now, with demons over yonder hill, he's put all his trust in Sun Wukong to get them through. But is ...
Chapter 31: The Prodigal Monkey Returns!
03 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How does a lazy pig convince a Monkey King to give up his kingdom once more to take up a life of austerity and don the monkly robe? With as little eff...
Chapter 30: Yellow Robe, Handsome Devil!
27 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the Yellow Robe gets his revenge! We've seen what a clever monkey with transformative powers can do, now just imagine what horrors a gentle...
Chapter 29: Pride Cometh Before the Porker or Tripitaka the UPS Monk!
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tripitaka is freed by the Yellow Robe demon's wife, the princess of Precious Image Kingdom, and given a letter to deliver to her father. Just when you...
Chapter 28: Monkey King for PETA President, Tripitaka for Dinner
13 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we catch up with our band of monks and one ex-monk equal to heaven after Wukong's banishment by his master. If you thought human-eating mon...
Lady White Bone The Cadaver Demon or What do Wukong and Cthulu Have in Common?
06 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Every one of our travelers seems grouchy this week as we meet the deviously horrifying Cadaver Demon, 白骨精. But what really sent chills down our ...
Chapter 26: Monkey's Quest and Guan Yin's Green Thumb
28 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Just when you think all hope is lost, Sun Wukong hatches a plan to revive the tree he knocked over in exchange for their freedom. But if none of his f...
Chapter 25: Punish The Pilgrims!
14 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Old Monkey just couldn't leave that ginseng fruit tree alone, and now they're going to get it! Luckily, the Zhengyuan Immortal is a lenient guy. Probl...
Chapter 24: Fruit Heist! Pigsy Learns a Lesson, and Monkey Forgets One
07 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Tripitaka gets a gift from a friend from a past life in the form of the ultimate super fruit. One sniff and you'll live hundreds of years. ...
Chapter 23: Pigsy's Choice, or, a Most Indecent Proposal
31 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, Eight Rules got the glory as he dealt with the Yellow Sand River demon and even helped convert him into one of master Tripitaka's disciples...
Moksa's Back! OR How Much Damage Can One Pig Do?
24 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week is really Zhu Eight Rules' time to shine! The piggish younger brother gets his fill of fighting against a man-eating water monster while Sun...
Chapter 21: I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your eyes out!
17 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pilgrim and his pig brother, "Zhu Eight Rules", face off against some world-shatteringly bad breath! Not only is the Yellow Wind monster the Monkey Ki...
Chapter 20: The Ol' Cicada Casting Its Shell Trick!
10 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week we meet an old man who thought he'd seen it all. Then the Tang emperor's top monk shows up for dinner with a talking monkey and a hungry pig...
A New Word For Pig Monster and A Power Up for Tripataka
26 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week we get the exciting conclusion to Sun Wukong's fight with Zhu the pig monster and the Gao family's ordeal. In the process, Zhu gets a new na...
Chapter 18: Help! My Daughter Married a Pig!
20 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Who do you call when your son-in-law turns out to be a literal pig, a divorce attorney or an exterminator? That's the dilemma facing old man Gao when ...
Chapter 17: Mercy Monkey Team Up Time!
13 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If this week's chapter was a Marvel comic, it would be a top-seller and totally worthy of being part 2. With the cassock gone and Monkey King unable t...
Chapter 16: The Case of the Stolen Cassock!
06 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the monk Tripitaka and his disciple, the Monkey King Sun Pilgrim, arrive at a temple and encounter an old abbot who's got a thing for fancy...
Chapter 15: Monk's on a Horse!
29 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Xuanzang and Monkey King are forced to take a long walk, as a dragon eats the chosen monk's horse! And don't think the Monkey King's forgot...
Chapter 14: Xuanzang and Wukong's First Fight
22 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Monkey King meets the king of monks in an encounter that's been a long time coming. And the Journey to the West is officially, finally, underway! ...
Chapter 13: Some Monsters Invite Xuanzang for Dinner
15 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week the venerable Xuanzang, aka Tripitaka, begins his quest for the scriptures! And it goes... about as well as you'd expect from a few naive mo...
Chapter 12: Imperial Payback
08 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In which the emperor's attempts to keep all the promises he made in the afterlife leads to the building of a grand temple and the commencement--once a...
Chapter 11: The Emperor Goes to Hell
01 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It's like Dante's Inferno meets a Christmas Carol in this week's Journey to the West podcast. One of the greatest emperors who's ever lived confronts ...
Chapter 10: Dragon King's Lament
25 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We go from commoners and lords to emperors and gods in this week's chapter of Journey to the West. Starting with an Ancient Chinese rap battle and end...
Episode 10: Journey to the West Research's Jim McClanahan
18 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We had a really great time sitting down with Jim McClanahan whose blog, Journey to the West Research is a wealth of information on all things Monkey...
Chapter 9: A Sadder Origin Than Batman and Moses Combined
11 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Guanyin's ready to meet the monk who will retrieve Buddha's scriptures, and so are we! If you thought Batman's origin was sad, just wait until you r...
Episode 8: Guanyin's Quest
04 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What's Buddha going to do now that the monkey madness is over? Finish his magnum opus on how to get enlightened, that's what. And how does an ancient ...
Episode 7: Buddha's Wager
27 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With his forces finally defeated and the rebellious Sun Wukong himself brought to heel, one question remains: How do you punish an immortal when he's ...
Chapter 6: Monkey King Meets the John Wick of the Great Beyond
20 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After getting caught red-handed for stealing the Queen Mother's peaches, harassment and drinking on the job (but mainly for stealing those peaches), h...