Myths and Legends
475 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 22.8K ratingsJason Weiser and Carissa Weiser tell stories from myths, legends, and folklore that have shaped cultures throughout history. Some, like the stories of Aladdin, King Arthur, and Hercules are stories you think you know, but with surprising origins. Others are stories you might not have heard, but really should. All the stories are sourced from world folklore, but retold for modern ears. These are stories of wizards, knights, Vikings, dragons, princesses, and kings from the time when the world beyond the map was a dangerous and wonderful place.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
13A-Ragnar Lodbrok: The Beggar King
October 21, 2015 04:45 - 34 minutesThe tale of Ragnar Lodbrok, legendary Viking king and main character of the History Channel series "Vikings" and the many women in his life you absolutely do not want to mess with. It contains Viking battles, murder, betrayal, and heartbreak, uncommonly-ugly peasants, and, of course, a dragon fight. For the creature of the week, if anyone in the woods calls to you from a bush asking you to stop what you're doing to play a tickle game, you should probably say no. You should definitely say no ...
12-Pig-faced Women: Citation Needed
October 14, 2015 04:45 - 25 minutesFor over 200 years in western Europe, there was a pervasive belief among large portions of the population that the upper classes in society were hiding something - women horribly cursed with the heads of pigs . Not an insult or a metaphor, no, these were women who were thought literally to be pigs from the neck up. Crowds gathered to harass potential pig-faced women and chase their carriages, and they apparently made appearances at fairs. This is an incredibly bizarre series of events that is...
11-Japanese Fairy Tales: Key Details (Urashima Taro, The Boy Who Drew Cats)
October 07, 2015 04:45 - 34 minutesThese are two stories from Japanese fairy tales. I don't want to ruin them, so I can't say too much, but they are amazing. One is about a boy who draws pictures of cats, much to the detriment of his job and a ridiculous amount of ancient books. The other story is about a kind fisherman who saves a turtle and has his whole world turned upside down. On the creature of the week, it's a naked guy who, if he helps you, just thank him and be on your way. Seriously, who cares if he could have cut t...
10B-Hercules: Labor Intensive
September 30, 2015 04:45 - 38 minutesFinishing up the twelve labors, Hercules fights way, way too many things: a giant boar, a giant bull, vicious birds, man-eating horses, the three-headed hell hound Cerberus, and more, all as penance for his crime. The creature of the week are invisible weasel brothers that might give you a small cut or two...or might cut off your legs...all without you feeling it. Say hi on twitter (@mythpodcast) e-mail: [email protected] find the show on iTunes (itunes.mythpodcast.com) That story th...
10A-Hercules: Going into Labor
September 23, 2015 04:45 - 35 minutesThe story of Hercules is one part gritty, serious tragedy and two parts over-the-top monster fights. This week, in the origin story of one of the greatest mythological heroes of the western world, we get to see the human side of the demigod before the story goes completely off-the-rails and it's just one big monster fight topping the next. But don't worry, there are also monster fights this episode. We'll see that Zeus is essentially the Don Draper of the Greek pantheon, only without all tha...
9-Dogs and Wolves: Generations (Fenrir, The Black Dog, Dog King of Denmark, Gelert)
September 16, 2015 04:45 - 32 minutesInstead of one long story, this week I'm telling four stories about canines from folklore from all around the world. We'll go back to the Norse gods and goddesses where Loki will make more poor choices. Then I'll talk about the legend of the black dog of the UK and Ireland. There's the weird and hilarious story of a little dog that was made king of Denmark, and how the people took it surprisingly seriously. Finally, I'll round out the show with the saddest story about a dog you've ever heard....
8-Merlin: Call of the Wyllt
September 09, 2015 04:45 - 13 minutesA short supplemental on one of the inspirations for Merlin, a man named Myrddin the Wyllt, a Welsh warrior bard who went insane after seeing his friends die on the battlefield and ran off to a life in the forest. It would have been fine if people didn't keep dragging him back to civilization...or if he had thought at all about what he would do during the winter. You'll see that "insane" in this story is kind of a loose term for "I just want a little 'me' time in the forest." On the creature...
7-Little Mermaid: Cry with the Saints
September 02, 2015 04:45 - 30 minutesThe real story of the Little Mermaid is way more violent and grim than the Disney version, and does not have a happy ending. It's the story of a teenage mermaid who falls in love with a human and makes a deal to get legs, but that's where the similarities end. The original includes bald mermaids, daggers, and a great way to blackmail your kids into being good. If you've ever wanted to know way, way too much detail about a mermaid society, but hate it when your characters have names or plausi...
6C-King Arthur: How I Met Your Mother
August 26, 2015 04:45 - 34 minutesWrapping up this current run of King Arthur episodes, we find a kingdom in shambles. We'll see the final(ish..for now at least) battle between the Saxons and the Britons, and then the rule of King Arthur's uncle and father. Uther then decides to risk this extremely tenuous peace to woo a woman who isn't into him at all. And by woo, I mean declare war against her and her husband and use your fancy magician friend's fancy magic to trick her into...well, you'll see. Then, the sword in the stone!...
6B-Merlin: What’s Red, White, and Fighting All Over
August 19, 2015 04:45 - 30 minutesThis is where we meet Merlin, a son of a demon who uses his evil powers for good. But he's not yet the bearded sorcerer we all kind of know and love. No, he first enters our story as a serious seven year-old with power over magic, the ability to prophesy, and knowledge of the past, present, and future. The only problem? He's about to be executed by Vortigern's magicians. Luckily, his life will be saved by not one, but two dragons. Its the origin story of the world's most famous legendary wiza...
6A-King Arthur Prologue: The Once and Really Only that One Time King
August 12, 2015 04:45 - 31 minutesThe King Arthur legends don't actually start with Arthur, but with several years of war, intrigue, and betrayal among the Britons, and a slippery earl by the name of Vortigern not-so-subtly engineering the deaths of two kings to become king himself. We'll start at the very beginning, with Arthur's grandfather being murdered and his father fleeing across the channel to protect himself from assassins working for a usurper king. We'll also meet Merlin as a child, as he's being hunted by the king...
5B-Slavic Folklore: The First Horcrux
August 05, 2015 04:45 - 32 minutesAs it turns out, Koschei the Deathless is very, very hard to kill, a fact one could probably guess from his name. This episode explores his tragic origins, as well as the ludicrously complex way he's hidden his soul (a Russian nesting doll situation that's unpleasant for everyone involved). He'll prove his name incorrect as he finally meets his demise in what amounts to the most heart-wrenching egging of all time. In the creature this week, despite forests being kind of the only place where...
5A-Slavic Folklore: Tried and Died
July 29, 2015 04:45 - 36 minutesIn this story of a dangerous magician from Russian folklore, you'll learn that you should maybe believe your spouse if she says you definitely don't want to know what's behind that door in the dungeon. It's the bizarre, sad, and kind of hilarious story of Koschei the Deathless, a man who seems like a much more serious and dangerous version of the Ice King from Adventure Time. Really, if you're horrible sorcerer who's a little lonely, maybe stop kidnapping princesses and just get a cat. Or a ...
4-Mulan: A Likely Hero
July 22, 2015 04:45 - 27 minutesThe story of Mulan, the woman who took her aging father's place in the army, does not mean what you think it means. The original character is almost completely awesome and very different from many retellings. Unfortunately, the inspiring central message of the story is a modern interpretation of something that was actually very insulting. Also, villain is less of a looming, hulking Hun, and more a bandit with a name of a spandex print. This is the story of Mulan as it was originally told. T...
3E-Vikings: The Debt is Paid
July 15, 2015 04:45 - 33 minutesThe final chapter of the Saga of the Volsungs follows Sigurd as he finds that navigating relationships with the in-laws is way, way more hazardous than fighting a dragon. He finds the famliy he never had, but generations of betrayal and murder finally catch up with what has been perhaps the most honorable of the Volsungs...you know, minus that one tiny murder he committed. Also, if someone with nothing to gain from it tells you a ring is cursed, you should absolutely believe them. In the cre...
3D-Vikings: Blood of the Dragon
July 01, 2015 04:45 - 28 minutesPart four and the penultimate episode in the Saga of the Volsungs, the story of a legendary Norse family finds Sigurd riding with his Vikings in an attempt to reclaim his father's kingdom. Then, there's a fight with the dragon, Fafnir, who is in the possession of the cursed ring. Sigurd, our (so far) valiant hero, folds to the temptations of a magical ring way faster than Frodo, Bilbo, or even Boromir. In the creature of the week, you'll see why you need to treat your footwear will respect a...
3C-Vikings: Renewed shall be Blade that was Broken
June 24, 2015 04:45 - 27 minutesYou can clearly see J.R.R. Tolkien's inspiration in this episode, what with that cursed ring finally making an appearance, a legendary sword reforged, and a selfish psychopath of a dragon sitting atop a pile of gold. Loki casually says something when he walks out the door which tears a family apart, and Odin is not fooling anyone when he (seemingly constantly) pretends to be an old man wandering the wilderness. There are also more huge Viking battles as well as more people transforming into a...
3B-Vikings: All that Hate’s Gonna Burn You Up
June 18, 2015 14:52 - 25 minutesThe Saga of the Volsungs continues, with a princess held captive by the man who killed her father, and her brother roaming the forest waging a covert guerrilla war...or just robbing people for the fun of it? There are berserker werewolves, magic swords, and a battle of really stupid insults between kings. Also, you'll see if a legendary Norse mustache is an effective filter for poisons. The creature of the week is the fossegrim, a nice guy who loves mutton and teaching people how to play the...
3A-Vikings: The Norse and the Furious, Bredi’s Drift
June 03, 2015 04:45 - 29 minutesSwords, dragons, werewolves, Vikings, betrayal, and revenge are all hallmarks of the thrilling, yet little known, Saga of the Volsungs, the story of an ill-fated medieval Nordic family. One of J.R.R. Tolkien's first Nordic reads, it's a tale of honor, love, loss, and vengeance, as well as the numerous benefits of just letting it go. Also, I talk about the barbegazi, a helpful little frozen beard with huge feet. Here are the promised pictures! (go to the website for the pictures) Support the ...
2B-Aladdin: A Whole New World of Problems
May 27, 2015 04:45 - 30 minutesIn the conclusion of the original Aladdin story, there's the meteoric rise of Aladdin, who is definitely not using magic to do any of this. Really. Will people just stop asking him that, already? I mean, so what if he made the most magnificent palace in the world overnight, and that it randomly disappeared. Nothing at all suspicious about that. In the creature of the week, there's shapeshifting dolphin people. Here's the picture mentioned in the show...I could see it: And here's a link to w...
2A-Aladdin: The Magician’s Nephew
May 20, 2015 04:45 - 24 minutesThe story of a poor man who finds a being of unlimited power, and not only uses it to put food on the table, but goes a little farther to take over the kingdom and become the richest man alive. It's the original story of Aladdin, but it's very different from the story you know. The jinni (actual spelling of genie, by the way), don't really grant wishes. Listen to this episode to hear the bizarre original story that led to inspired retellings. Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/mem...
1C-Knights of the Round Table: The Lion Knight Rises
May 13, 2015 04:45 - 32 minutesIn this episode, you'll see that you should definitely interfere if you see two apex predators fighting to the death in the wilderness. We'll finish the story of Yvain, a knight of King Arthur's court, as he (mostly) sees the error in his ways and (mostly) seeks atonement for his extreme selfishness. After you hear the creature of the week, you won't want to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night for fear of running into this greasy little red guy from Japanese mythology. Su...
1B-Knights of the Round Table: You’re So Yvain
May 06, 2015 17:05 - 17 minutesThis week, we're continuing the story of Yvain, a knight of King Arthur's court who we left in a very bad spot. He'll find an ally within the castle walls, get a magic ring, and try to find a way to hold out, since it's only a matter of days until Arthur will be there with his knights. The picture linked above is the Mythological Creature of the Week: the sad, sad story of the changeling - a troll baby who's only crime was not being as stylish as a human baby. Support the show: https://www.m...
1A-Knights of the Round Table: Yvainglory
April 30, 2015 08:04 - 16 minutesThis week on the Myths and Legends podcast, I’ll introduce the show and discuss what it’ll be about. Then, we’ll start right in on the story of Yvain, a knight of King Arthur's court who'll show that by being a huge jerk to nearly everyone you'll get everything you can ever want, throw it all away, and get it all again! Then, for the mythological creature of the week, the hidden folk of Iceland, cheerful little elves who might give you great gifts or rain rocks down on you. Support the show:...
Myths and Legends Trailer
April 27, 2015 16:00 - 56 secondsA little bit about what to expect when you listen to Myths and Legends. Subscribe using your favorite podcast app: http://apple.mythpodcast.com http://spotify.mythpodcast.com http://stitcher.mythpodcast.com or just search for "Myths and Legends" Support the show: https://www.mythpodcast.com/membership See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.