The Bunker – News without the nonsense23 Syys

The Amazing Spider-Myth – From Arachne to Spider-Man, how arachnids rule our imagination

Some people fear spiders so much they can barely stand to read the word. For others, these secretive eight-legged hunters are a source of fascination and mythic wonder. Why do some cultures loathe spiders and others love and revere them, even crediting them with creating the world? Harvard language professor and folklore and mythology expert Maria Tatar dives into the Spider-Verse with her book Arachnomania: Spiders and the Cultural Work They Do for Us.

She tells confirmed arachnophile Andrew Harrison how Arachne, the original main spider-character, got a raw deal; what spider stars like Charlotte, Shelob and the one who discomfited Miss Muffet mean; and why Peter Parker is oddly detached from the great web of spider-stories. “Are spiders our significant others,” she asks, “our second selves or sworn enemies?”

• Buy Arachnomania through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast

Written and presented by Producer: Andrew Harrison. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Artwork by James Parrett. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.

www.podmasters.co.uk

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Jaksot(1913)

Yes, your phone IS listening to you – with Alexis Conran

Alexis Conran, the broadcaster and consumer champion, gets asked one question more than any other: “Is my phone listening to me?” We’ve all had a conversation about a new duvet set or a kettle, only t...

22 Syys 31min

Burnham’s Trump meet: Can he handle the heat? – Start Your Week with Alex von Tunzelmann

Andy Burnham is meeting Trump this week – how will he handle the increasingly erratic US president? Plus, more issues for the UN, Labour conference and more news to look out for, with author and histo...

21 Syys 28min

Farage’s fight back, A.I. fallout and a 'referendum' – Weekly Wrap-Up with Jonn Elledge

Farage is bracing for legal war over a potential challenge to Reform’s mega money donations. But is his brand terminally damaged already? Plus, A.I. is being debated again, a village has chosen to lea...

18 Syys 30min

Sex, secrets and the KGB – How a Cold War spy accidentally saved the world

Vladimir Kuzichkin may have changed the course of the Cold War – and it was all down to a very personal problem. The KGB agent was stationed in Tehran in 1981, less than two years after the Iranian Re...

17 Syys 34min

Depraved new world – How billionaires’ sci-fi dreams are wrecking the future

The future has arrived, and it’s starting to look suspiciously like something Elon Musk and his fellow tech billionaires dreamt about as nine-year-olds. Silicon Valley’s rulers promise a world run by ...

16 Syys 26min

Is AOC really America's next president?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is constantly tipped as a potential Democratic contender for 2028. She is beloved by the left and loathed by Republicans with equal vigour for her progressive ideals. So, does...

15 Syys 24min

Farage’s crackpot jackpot – Start Your Week with Gavin Esler

Reform and Farage have raked in mega donations the likes of which British politics has never seen before. What does this money mean for democracy? Gavin Esler joins Jacob Jarvis to discuss the fallout...

14 Syys 29min