Myths and Legends

“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 episodes and twice as many stories has led to this. Achi...

18 Mar 202049min

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 emperor and his new clothes, where an emperor who needs ...

11 Mar 202037min

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 at his brother’s funeral, so things might get awkwar...

4 Mar 202048min

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 redemption includes the knight's participation in th...

26 Feb 202035min

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 Tunisia, and the other from Italy, about people who take...

19 Feb 202037min

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 exploits the laziness and ignorance of strangers in ...

12 Feb 202036min

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 when a barber gets to ask a king for anything.  Th...

5 Feb 202033min

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 still have that…but he’s been cursed by a draugr to al...

29 Jan 202045min