Myths and Legends

242-Albanian Folklore: Two Roads

13 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Zjermi, Handa, the dragon Kuchedra, and about a hundred naked armpit angels from Albania. When it comes to the creature this week, look...

241-African Folklore: Hippopotamaster

06 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In a story from the folklore of the Sorko people who lived along the Niger river in West Africa, a hippo is causing all sorts of trouble. I mean, hipp...

240B-German Fairy Tales: Heart of Stone

29 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The conclusion of "A Heart of Stone" by Wilhelm Hauff, where we see what happens when Peter Munk, out of options after threatening the Little Glass Ma...

240A-German Fairy Tales: Man of Glass

22 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A German fairy tale about striving, falling short, and then seeking help from dangerous mythological creatures to help you pick up the slack. The cr...

239-Grimm: Give them a Hand

15 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Three stories from the Grimm brothers of people helping someone out. Sometimes that goes well. Other times you end up with an indescribable urge to bu...

238-Indian Folklore: Blue Raja

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A story from India about what happens when a murder cult who turns intruders into dogs moves in across the river and why you should get as far away as...

237B-Odyssey Finale: To Strive, to Seek, to Find, and not to Yield

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Odysseus confronts the suitors, and our long journey comes to its end. The creatures (Bakwas and Dzunukwa) just want to make you a roommate in their...

237A-Odyssey Finale: The Shape of Things to Come

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Odysseus finally landed on Ithaca, but, with 120 angry, armed men in his house who want his wife and life, can he survive his homecoming? The creatu...

236-French Fairy Tale: Piece of Cake

18 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we're in French fairy tales with queen who prepared her daughter for the world a little too well, and to the queen's despair she doesn't wa...

235-Korean Folklore: Ghost Story

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Three stories from Korean folklore! On the first, a boy loves collecting stories, but no one really taught him proper story care, so they went the way...

234-Scandinavian Folklore: Trolling

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, there are two stories from the north. On the first, a young Danish man is doing the hero's journey thing...but it's not going well, and tha...

233C-King Arthur: Not Dead Yet

28 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We finish up our current run of King Arthur episodes with the most evil castle in the land having fallen...maybe. Some knights will learn that the thr...

233B-King Arthur: 'Tis But a Scratch

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We catch up with the strange knight in the white armor, the boy who doesn't know his own past, as he travels the realm, and we witness him come up aga...

233A-King Arthur: The Boy with No Name

14 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We're back in the world of King Arthur! It's been too long, and if you haven't heard our King Arthur stories (or it's been a while) then this is the p...

232-Robin Hood: Public Enemy

07 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Robin decides that, you know what he needs? To walk directly into the home of his greatest enemies. Nothing bad can come from this. Nothing bad at all...

231-Irish Folklore: Challenge Accepted

30 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories from Ireland. On the first, Finn McCool, a giant Irish here, isn't scared! He totally isn't! He's just speed walking away from that guy he...

230-Grimm: A Hairy Situation

23 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A story from the Brothers Grimm about an evil king and a bad penny of a kid who's apparently unkillable. Oh, and prophesied to marry his daughter. ...

229-Monkey King: Forbidden Fruit

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We're back in the story of the Monkey King and the Journey to the West. After picking up Sandy, the sand monster and final member of their party, the ...

228-Italian Folklore: Full Circle

09 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories from the Italian writer Giovanni Francesco Straparola, who earns the title of one of the earliest fairy tale writers, putting tales down t...

227-Greek/Roman Mythology: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Olympus

02 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories from Greek/Roman mythology this week with the (not remotely) love story of Apollo and Daphne as well as the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe, wh...

226-European Folklore: Failing Upward

26 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, it's the story of Fortunatus, the man who, bet you could never guess from his name, was given an inexhaustible fortune, and how things kind...

225-Egyptian Folklore: Kitchen Nightmare

19 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Egyptian folktale of a young woman who's not messing around. After fleeing her home, she only sees one way to live free: become a monster that hau...

224-African Folklore: It's the Great Pumpkin, Kiali

12 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, it's a story from Africa (more specifically the Nilamba people in northern Tanzania) about a hunt for a murderer that goes off the rails ve...

223B-Samurai Legends: Dinner Party

05 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There's a killer on the loose in Kyoto. Young women are disappearing from the streets, never to be heard from again. Minamoto no Raikō, the legendary...

223A-Samurai Legends: The Devil went down to Kyoto

28 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Three connected stories of samurai from medieval Japan. On the first, Kintaro, a buff eight-year-old, discovers his destiny. On the second, Watanabe n...

222B-Norse Legends: It Takes a Pillage

21 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A packed episode with Thor, Odin, mythological dwarves, sword arms, and Valhalla, all ending up with a beautiful double wedding...which ends somehow w...

222A-Norse Legends: The Land of the Ice and Snow

14 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back in the nine worlds of Norse myth where two Viking blood brothers are looking for princesses that have been kidnapped by legendary monster...

221-Chinese/Scottish folklore: The Great Beyond

07 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, there are two stories about death and what comes next, from China and Scotland. On the first, a lonely fisherman meets an odd man down by t...

220B-Odyssey: Lonely Island

31 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We're back in the Odyssey where Menelaus comes home, Telemachus leaves it, and Odysseus? Odysseus has been stuck in the same place for seven long year...

220A-Odyssey: The Castaways

24 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Three men grappling with the legacy, or curse, of their fathers. Menelaus loses everything and finds a life, but will his past come hunting for him? T...

219-Italian folklore: Unhand Me

17 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A story from the Pentamerone with a title so spoiler-y that I can't even say it here, but it's a fun, mildly horrifying tale of a relationship that ju...

218-Monkey King: Enter Sandman

10 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We resume our journey to the west right where we left off: the Tang monk has been kidnapped by demons, and it's up to Sun Wukong and Pigsy to save him...

217-Mabinogion: Bringing Home the Bacon

03 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We’re back in the Mabinogion, where we’ll learn about the perils of bacon - and it’s not the cholesterol, but the magical wizard war that the fi...

216-Baba Yaga: Which Witch?

24 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories from Russia. On the first, we catch up with the famous witch, Baba Yaga, as we follow yet another young person who has been sent on an err...

215-Scandinavian Legends: Madness

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The story that inspired Shakespeare's Hamlet, the tale of Amleth, the prince of Denmark. A ton of death, some cryptic non-riddles, and copious amounts...

214-Japanese Folklore: Take Your Lumps

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Two short stories from Japan. On the first, an old man is in a tree surrounded by demons and faced with a desperate choice. On the second, a man has a...

213-Reynard: What Does the Fox Say?

03 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We continue the saga of Reynard where the the classic trickster tries to do good in a world turned against him...and, by his actions, reveals a sinist...

212-Armenian Folklore: Witchy Woman

27 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An awesome story about a young king who wants to do the impossible! And the ill-advised! And, frankly, makes a kind of stupid choice to go into the mu...

211-Aeneid: Troy Story

20 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Aeneid, by Virgil, is one of the great world epics. Inspired by, and modeled after, the Odyssey, it's the story of Aeneas's journey from burning T...

210-Russian Legends: Dragons, Dragons Everywhere

13 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Dobrynya the dragon slayer from Russian folklore is the tale of a young man finding his heroic destiny, from magical hats to skinny dippi...

209C-Viking Legends: Black Widow

06 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kjartan and Gudrun were always meant to be together, but when the former gets waylaid in a foreign kingdom with a beautiful princess, the latter needs...

209B-Viking Legends: Time and Tide

30 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Our winter Norse saga continues, with our protagonists celebrating Christmas in Norway...and also learning what Christmas is when the king basically p...

209A-Viking Legends: Bloodlines

23 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A Norse saga in the truest sense of the word, this story follows one family through changing times of the Middle Ages. There are cursed swords, Viking...

208-Maui: Big Tuna

16 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

What do you do after you hook the sun, dredge up islands for humanity, and bring fire to the world? How about settle down with a nice goddess, have so...

207-Monkey King: Girls Before Swine

09 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're back in the tale of the Journey to the West, where we'll catch up with the pious monk, Xangzang, the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, and the incognito ...

206-Mabinogion: The Blip

02 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're back in the Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh folklore, where we'll see what happens when the apocalypse comes and goes. The good news is that y...

205B-Odyssey: The Widening Gyre

25 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're back, finishing up this leg of our journey in a packed episode with a witch, pigmen, more giants, Scylla, Charybdis, Hades, Tiresias, and, of co...

205A-Odyssey: Man of Constant Sorrow

18 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With monsters, witches, sirens, and cyclopes, the Odyssey is one of the landmarks of world literature and a classic for the ages. This is the start of...

204-Russian Folklore: Get in the Bag

11 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're back in Russian folklore for a fun story about a soldier with some biscuits who fights demons, heaven, and yes, death itself. The creature is th...

203-Grimm: Out of the Woods

04 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories from the Grimm brothers! On the first, a wolf wants to eat some kids, and is annoyed that he needs to do the smallest amount of effort to ...

202-Greek Myths: Dead Poets Society

28 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week it is the very very spooky* Halloween episode about a terrifying** trek through the Greek underworld. It's definitely not a lighthearted rom...

201-1001 Nights: In the Wind

21 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're back in the stories of 1001 nights, where Scheherazade has to tell bedtime stories to save her life. On the first, a man ruins a wedding recepti...

200-Irish Legends: The Things We Do for Love

14 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Returning to Irish legends, we tackle the wooing of Etain, a love story that goes up against witches turning people into puddles and flies, multiple a...

199-Japanese folklore: Moonlight

07 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A story from Japanese folklore of Princess Moonlight, from Japanese folklore, where a bamboo cutter finds one of those magical heaven babies in a bamb...

198-Robin Hood: On the Road Again

30 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Robin Hood is back on the road and ready to make some quick cash, so of course, he's going to go undercover as a beggar an infiltrate a secret society...

197-Viking Legends: VFFs

23 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

After a ball game goes wrong in the worst possible way, Viking best friends go on a quest to clear their names. A quest that involves poison vultures,...

196-Reynard the Fox: Chaotic Good

16 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A reboot, of sorts, of Reynard the Fox, everyone's favorite brutal, amoral trickster. I found a much older, much more nuanced version of the fox's sto...

195-Greek Myths: Stranger Danger

09 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Dionysus was the god of wine from Greek myths and the last Olympian to earn a place on Mount Olympus. His story starts with him being born from Zeus's...

194-Mulan: The Warrior

02 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A completely new version of the Mulan legend, sourced from a story from the late middle ages, so even if you think you know the Mulan story, this vers...

193B-Monkey King: Pilgrim's Progress

26 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We're on the road with the monk, Xuanzang, and Monkey King, Sun Wukong, as they start their Journey to the West... that is, if Sun Wukong is coming ba...

193A-Monkey King: Golden Cicada

19 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We return to the stories of the Monkey King and pick up at the end of his long imprisonment under a mountain, for trying to overthrow everyone and eve...

192-Grimm: Brave Traveler

12 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

An off-the-wall story from the Grimm Brothers about a young man who knew no fear...and why that was a massive problem for him. The creature is a man...

191-Norse Legends: See How they Fly

05 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode from Norse legends, we'll see that the worst breakups involve Thor breaking up the couple with his hammer and we'll see that even thou...

190-Chinese Folklore: Fierce

29 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In one story, a dragon is rampaging around the countryside unless he gets his favorite meal: teenage girls. In the other, a young woman trapped in an ...

189C-Nibelungenlied: I Know It Was You

22 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the third and final part of our series on the Nibelungenlied, the hero of the story, Siegfried, is dead and his wife, the princess, has a score to ...

189B-Nibelungenlied: Heinous

15 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We pick up right where we left off last week: Gunther has tricked his way into marrying Brunhild, and Brunhild decided to give him a minor test of str...

189A-Medieval Legends: Cheater Cheater

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The story starts out with one prince slaying a dragon and getting rich. It starts there. The wild ride of the Nibelungenlied has echoes of one of our ...

188-The Flea: Forever Home

01 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Two stories from the bawdy, funny, and oftentimes deeply unsettling 17th century fairytale author Giambattista Basile, both of which have to do with p...

187-Greek Myths: The End to All Our Pain

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Agamemnon is coming home from the Trojan War. He has no idea what's waiting for him. There are over fifty bonus episodes on the Myths and Legends bo...

186-Grimm: Don't Be Weird

17 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A story from the Grimm brothers about three down-on-their-luck soldiers who get everything they could ever dream of and then do their absolutely best ...

185-Queen of Serpents: With This Hiss I Thee Wed

10 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Eglė the Queen of Serpents, from Lithuanian folklore, about a young woman who is faced with an impossible choice: witness the destructio...

184-Robin Hood: Check, Please!

03 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We return to the Robin Hood stories with a (mostly) standalone episode. Robin Hood and his merry men are throwing a dinner party! With food and wine! ...

183-Indian folklore: Revenant

27 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The story of an ancient Indian king who goes on a fetch quest through an evil-looking cemetery and listens to the worst podcasts of all time...hosted ...

182-Slavic folklore: The Brave Companions

20 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Join Bulat the Brave Companion and Ivan Tsarevich (no, not that one) as they get a magical new horse, escape magical prison, and get in some magical f...

181B-Mabinogion: With Friends Like These

13 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Branch two of the Mabinogion has the kings of Great Britain and Ireland (Bran and Matholwch, respectively) just wanting to bro out, but their nobles a...

181A-Welsh Legends: Otherworld

06 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

King Pwyell just wants to go hunting in the dark forest alone. What's the worst that can happen? Huh? Forced to live for a year away from his people a...

180-Azorean Folklore: Power

29 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The story from Azorean folklore about a sorcerer who turned his life around. He became a priest, helped his people flee, and then faced a choice when ...

179-Slavic legends: Grateful Dead

22 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A classic quest from Slavic legend with princesses, dragons, wizards, dragons fighting wizards, and princesses fighting wizards fighting dragons. The ...

178-Tanuki: Changes

15 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

An episode about the Tanuki, the notorious raccoon-dog trickster from Japan with giant...well...you'll see. The creature is the Tote Road Shagamaw, ...

177D-Trojan War: Horsin' Around

08 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Greeks finally find a way into Troy and while, yes, it's exactly the way you think they get in, there are so many ridiculous side quests on the wa...

177C-Trojan War: When I am Gone

01 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Achilles is back and it's god vs. god, Greek vs. Trojan, Achilles vs. Hector in the most epic battle of the Trojan War. The creature this week, the ...

177B-Trojan War: Storm of Spears

25 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The episode starts with Menelaus sparking the biggest battle of the war so far and ends with an even bigger battle. A lot happens as the Trojan War, w...

177A-Trojan War: Rage

18 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

“Sing, O muse, of the rage of Achilles, son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans.” We're here. The culmination of a dozen ep...

176-The Emperor's New Clothes: Matchless

11 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Three stories this week from the Danish fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen about people that are matchless. The first is the tale of the empero...

175-Thor: Surprises

04 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Thor’s daughter is getting married to a dwarf, and Thor is the last person to find out about it. Also he punted a dwarf onto a burning ship for fun ...

174-Medieval Knights: Take Your Time

26 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The story of Sir Isumbras, a knight from the high Middle Ages, includes talking birds, epic battles, unicorns, and a quest for redemption where the re...

173-Tunisian Folklore: Fortune

19 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Fortune favors the bold. Or people willing to put up with a decade of junk. Or the best liars. On this episode, there are two stories: one from Tunisi...

172-Norwegian Folklore: Adventure!

12 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The story of the master thief, from Norwegian folklore, which will have you wondering what the difference is between a master thief and someone who ex...

171-Indian Folklore: Love and Marriage

05 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Three stories of love from India. The first is what happens when a prostitute and a thief try to build a life together.  The second is what happens ...

170B-Norse Sagas: On a Long Enough Timeline

29 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we continue the story of Grettir. Last week he was driven by an intense, mysterious tendency toward self-destruction. This week, he’ll st...

170A-Norse Sagas: Good for Nothing

22 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we’re back in the Icelandic sagas with the story of Grettir the strong, who, whether it’s by berserkers crashing his Christmas party, b...

169-1001 Nights: A Bottle of Djinn

15 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

A story from the famous Middle Eastern collection of folklore entitled 1001 Nights where, three friends go on a road trip to get so many bottles full ...

168-Robin Hood: Team of Rivals

08 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How to win friends and influence people and also get beat up a lot in the 12th century. We've talked about Robin's origins, but who are all these othe...

167-Nutcracker: Cracked

24 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week, it is the insane original story behind the popular holiday ballet. In this story for children, we'll get some contradictory lessons for the...

166-Grimm Brothers: The Dark Forest

18 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Two (originally children's) tales that underscore the shocking brutality of the world in which these stories were told. The first one is that of three...

165-Greek Myths: A Tangled Web

11 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The story of a weaving contest between a goddess and a woman challenging the cruelty and tyranny of the Olympians leads us into three more stories: Pa...

Supplemental: Lady White Snake Conclusion

09 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A short supplemental that finishes the story of Lady White Snake...because there wasn't enough story left for a full episode. There's still a full Myt...

164B-Lady White Snake: Enlighten Me

04 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Xu Xian is dead. He discovered the truth about his wife and he died. I mean, yeah, he's dead...but he's also unwittingly married to a 1700 year old ma...

164A-Chinese Legends: Here I Go Again

27 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The legend of the White Snake is one of the four great folktales of China. Today, we start that with an act of kindness, demons lurking in the places ...

163-Hansel and Gretel: Crumble

20 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There's a surprising amount to the story of Hansel and Gretel. There's your average fairy tale weirdness, like load-bearing cake and aquatic duck Uber...