167-Nutcracker: Cracked (ad-free)
In a podcast full of problematic and wildly different original tellings of popular adaptations, this might be the most different and most problematic. It's the original tale of the nutcracker.
166-Grimm Brothers: The Dark Forest (ad-free)
Two (originally children's) tales that underscore the shocking brutality of the world in which these stories were told.
165-Greek Myths: A Tangled Web (ad-free)
Four stories from Greek mythology: Arachne and Athena, Pandora's box, the great flood of the ancient Greek world, and the love story of Idas and Marpessa.
164B-Lady White Snake: Enlighten Me (ad-free)
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 magical demon snake on a redemption arc, so...you know...something might happen. Seriously, though, this is a packed episode. There are magical (if not wholly unexpected) resurrections, crustacean armies, [...]
164A-Chinese Legends (White Snake): Here I Go Again (ad-free)
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 we can’t look, and a (misguided?) monk hoping to bring justice. When the creature this week has time off, it prefers crashing funerals and projectile vomiting on [...]
163-Hansel and Gretel: Crumble (ad-free)
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, but there's an unexpected humanity in the story that I think is overlooked. I hope you like it. The creature is punyaiama, from India, and she's the reason you can't get drunk [...]
162-47 Ronin: Wanderers (Ad-free)
47 ronin (samurai without masters) lead one of the greatest revenge stories ever told.
161-Japanese Folklore: Karma (ad-free)
The stories of a lost dumpling and two young people finding love among the ashes.
Member episode 46-Slavic Folklore: Vacation
A Tsar goes on a trip with his buddies, and it takes a bad turn when he gets captured by an enemy king. It turns out torture isn't fun (who knew?) and he needs his wife to come save him. The creature is the piroboli! Hot rocks! They are rocks who are hot (both actually hot [...]
160-Halloween Special: Lurking (ad-free)
On our annual Halloween special, it's a supposedly true story of a string of killings from something lurking in the dark forest