Myths and Legends

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 b...

27 Nov 201934min

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 ...

20 Nov 201934min

The story of the 47 Ronin is a historical tale where a powerful daimyo is shamed and killed by a greedy official…the only issue? The victim had dozens of loyal samurai, and they’re not about to forget...

13 Nov 201938min

Two stories from Japanese folklore today dealing with the consequences of our actions. The first has a woman chasing a dumpling across her floor…and into a mysterious, far-away land. The second is wha...

6 Nov 201932min

There's something in the forest in 16th century Scotland. It's been there for years. Anyone who sees it doesn't live to tell about it, and it moves seamlessly between land and sea, leaving nothing but...

30 Okt 201937min

The story of Rip Van Winkle is more than just a guy taking a long, alcohol-induced nap. It's a story about a changing time and a man struggling to keep up. It's a story about lost love and and a secon...

23 Okt 201932min

This week, we’re back on the boat to the Trojan War where Agamemnon has a problem. I mean, he always has a lot of problems, but this one involves a bunch of warriors with nothing to do but wait for th...

16 Okt 201932min

Jack the giant killer is back, and he’s less Jack the giant killer than Jack the let’s-just-sit-here-and-let-the-giants-die-from-their-own-unforced-errors guy. That’s way less catchy, though.  The cr...

9 Okt 201933min