Myths and Legends

Myths and Legends

Jason Weiser, Carissa Weiser
Arts Books History
en
Jason 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. 

Episodes (50)

416: Hans Christian Andersen: Humbugs

416: Hans Christian Andersen: Humbugs

August 27, 2025 44m Episode 416
🪲They're not so different🪲
One is the king of the world, and the other is a beetle. One wants to fight God, the other wants to wear golden horse shoes. When it comes to being completely arrogant and...
415: Aesop's Fables: Bray it Ain't So

415: Aesop's Fables: Bray it Ain't So

August 13, 2025 52m Episode 415
🫏One little rent-a-donkey, one big journey🫏
Actually he's a full-grown rental donkey but the journey is a big one because, when you're a poorly treated rental donkey and you have a chance to escape,...
414: Monkey King: Ham-bushed

414: Monkey King: Ham-bushed

July 30, 2025 48m Episode 414
🐷Sun Wukong is a bad friend🐷
But, to be fair, he never said he and Pigsy were friends...because you don't send your friends to dinner parties where everyone is trying to murder you.

😈 The Creature:...
413: European folklore: Justice

413: European folklore: Justice

July 16, 2025 54m Episode 413
🔔Ring the bell for justice🔔
Want justice? Ring the bell. Doesn't matter if you're a horse or a snake or a merchant or a peasant but if you're one of the latter two probably don't get caught ringing...
412: Indian folklore: Dicey

412: Indian folklore: Dicey

July 02, 2025 58m Episode 412
🎲Losing your kingdom in a game of dice🎲
The story of Nala and Damayanti is a tale of love, loss, and losing everything but your underwear because of your terrible decisions and then also your...
411: Celtic folklore: The Wake

411: Celtic folklore: The Wake

June 18, 2025 1h 2m Episode 411
⛵️Get lost at sea with Maelduin⛵️
All Maelduin wants to do is avenge his father's murder...with more murder. He should have listened to that wizard. Because he didn't, his trip just got a whole lot...
410: Japanese folklore: Provincial

410: Japanese folklore: Provincial

June 04, 2025 1h 5m Episode 410
⛩️Stories from the Japanese countryside⛩️
Five interconnected stories of purpose, meaning, justice, talking animals, the boss falling off a cliff, mushrooms, and travel hampers.

😈 **The Creature: The...
409: Reynard: Nasty, Brutish, and Short

409: Reynard: Nasty, Brutish, and Short

May 21, 2025 56m Episode 409
🦊 Reynard the fox hates meetings, too 🦊
Especially because at most of the meetings he's invited to, people usually try to kill and eat him. Today, we're back in the stories of Reynard the fox, with...
408: Knights of the Round Table: Hither and Thither

408: Knights of the Round Table: Hither and Thither

May 07, 2025 58m Episode 408
🏰When a knight says he'll be right back, he means it
Unless he dies. Or gets captured. Or just forgets about it, prompting his son to come looking for him in the land of wickedness...and also maybe...
407: West African folklore: Wiser

407: West African folklore: Wiser

April 23, 2025 44m Episode 407
🍼Have a budding tyrant? You need a snarky talking baby🍼

Yenga Naa is wiser than the chief. How do you know? Well, he named himself that...the moment he was born.

😈 The Creature: The Cornu
How do you...
406: Slavic folklore: Udder Nonsense

406: Slavic folklore: Udder Nonsense

April 09, 2025 57m Episode 406
🐄Baba Yaga, Dragons, Giant Talking Pigs🐄
We'll see what happens when a king who wants one son gets more than he bargained for: three sons, with the oddest one of all, the one capable of calming...
405: European legends: Ale to the King

405: European legends: Ale to the King

March 26, 2025 57m Episode 405
🍺Meet Cambrinus, things aren't going so well for him🍺
He's a peasant kid with a job that's going nowhere, a crush who doesn't love him back, and no one takes him seriously when he absolutely knocks it...
404: Monkey King: Not Found

404: Monkey King: Not Found

March 12, 2025 40m Episode 404
🤑 The Monkey King and friends are making money and staying in fancy hotels🤑
What is this that you heard about them being monks? What? No. That's ridiculous. They don't know why you thought that. So...
403: Norse sagas: Wormtongue

403: Norse sagas: Wormtongue

February 26, 2025 54m Episode 403
⚔️The plight of the Viking celebrity poet⚔️
Friends become enemies, enemies become friends, and none of what you actually say matters all that much...as long as you're famous.

😈 The creature: the...
402: Japanese folklore: Misconceptions

402: Japanese folklore: Misconceptions

February 12, 2025 54m Episode 402
🐸Love means never having to say I'm sorry (I poisoned you)"🐸
...or something like that. This Valentine's Day there are three love stories from Japan. On the first, a man moves on after becoming a...
401: Chinese Zodiac: Rat Race

401: Chinese Zodiac: Rat Race

January 29, 2025 40m Episode 401
🐀It's Race Day🐀
Today, we tell the story of how the animals in the Chinese Zodiac got their years: a race that's terrible for all involved.

😈 The Creature: Nian

Why you want to dress in red to avoid...
400: Celtic folklore: The Baddies

400: Celtic folklore: The Baddies

January 15, 2025 59m Episode 400
👸 Our princess is in another castle! 👸
Two stories from Ireland where it's unclear who the villain is...and how it might just be among the people we least suspect.

😈 The creature: le cheval Bayard

A...
399: Canadian folklore: Wild Night

399: Canadian folklore: Wild Night

December 31, 2024 36m Episode 399
🎉At a bad New Year's party?🎉
It has to be better than little Joe and Baptiste's New Years, in the frigid Canadian wilderness. But they're going to change that. By making a deal with the devil.

😈 The...
398: Nordic Christmas: In the Bleak Mid-winter

398: Nordic Christmas: In the Bleak Mid-winter

December 18, 2024 48m Episode 398
🌲Trolls, zombies, and evil housecats🌲
It must be Christmas in the Nordic countries. Today, a young officer is stuck in the city after being in a brief coma. At least there are some tales to keep him...
397: Monkey King: King of Hearts

397: Monkey King: King of Hearts

December 11, 2024 42m Episode 397
🐵Monkey and Co. are really hoping this city is different🐵
I mean, it has to be, right? Not every city can be full of monsters...can it? We're back in the Journey to the West with Sun Wukong, the...
396: Greek Myths: Hades, Too

396: Greek Myths: Hades, Too

December 04, 2024 49m Episode 396
💀Hades is taking the long way home💀
After dropping Persephone off in the world of the humans, Hades makes the long walk back down to his palace at the heart of his realms, giving us a tour of the...
395: Breton folklore: Darkest Knight

395: Breton folklore: Darkest Knight

November 27, 2024 54m Episode 395
🏰 Why maybe you should pass on dating that person with the dad who murders everyone trying to date them 🏰
The tale of Degarré is a story of knights, chivalry, violence, and grappling with what it...
394: Danish folklore: Heartless

394: Danish folklore: Heartless

November 20, 2024 42m Episode 394
🧙‍♂️How a Scientist Becomes a Wizard🧙‍♂️
Two stories from Denmark about people dealing with their neighbors in very different ways. One loves and accepts them. The other just wants to get away so he...
393: 1001 Nights: Let it Be(ak) (part 2 of 2)

393: 1001 Nights: Let it Be(ak) (part 2 of 2)

November 13, 2024 55m Episode 393
📝A Cavern Full of Snakes is apparently a Great Classroom📝
Hasib is still stuck in the room with the Queen of Serpents and twelve thousand snakes, and the QoS a story to tell. Two of them, actually....
392: 1001 Nights: The Unthinkable (part 1 of 2)

392: 1001 Nights: The Unthinkable (part 1 of 2)

November 06, 2024 47m Episode 392
🐍Hasib wants to avoid a freak library accident🐍
So he will avoid learning anything. Ever. This week, it's the story of Hasib and the Queen of Serpents, the snake woman with a cistern full of...
391: Japanese Horror: Handsome Bad Man

391: Japanese Horror: Handsome Bad Man

October 30, 2024 1h 10m Episode 391
👹If you can't be with the one you love...👹
Love the one you're with? What? No. Kill everyone in your way until you get what you want. This week: a ghost story from Japan about what happens when a...
390: Hans Christian Andersen: Swan Song

390: Hans Christian Andersen: Swan Song

October 23, 2024 52m Episode 390
🦢 Let them eat sand 🦢
A story from Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen about a witch who wants to take over the kingdom and the twelve kids who stand in her way. Just kidding, they have no idea...
Myths and Legends

389: Korean folklore: Star-crossed

October 16, 2024 56m Episode 389
🖤 The story of why you don't menace crows. Even if the people you're doing it to try to mess with are extremely annoying and lovey-dovey. Or, if you're single and looking, here's why you should...
Myths and Legends

388: Finnish folklore: Uh oh, Better Get Mikko!

October 09, 2024 42m Episode 388
The story of King Mighty Mikko, a young man who isn't a king or mighty, but he is Mikko, and maybe that's all he needs. Oh...and a very clever fox conman.

The creature is Vishap, who lives at the top...
Myths and Legends

387: Slavic Folklore: Kind of Forgot About Vengeance (part 2 of 2)

October 02, 2024 48m Episode 387
The conclusion of the story of Bova, where last episode we saw him ride out to battle alone against an army...but now he faces more danger delivering a letter and dressing up like an elderly man.

The...
Myths and Legends

386: Slavic Folklore: Really, Really, Ridiculously Good-looking (part 1 of 2)

September 25, 2024 41m Episode 386
The story of Bova, a hero from Slavic folklore, the beautiful beautiful man who is on a lifelong quest for vengeance. Against his mom.

The creature is the Vila (or Vile), a ghost with unfinished...
Myths and Legends

385: Aesop's Fables: On the Farm

September 18, 2024 40m Episode 385
More fables from Aesop about life on the farm and how, if someone stops by wearing your friend's skin...they might not be all that trustworthy.

The creature is the Veo, a dragon you don't want to...
Myths and Legends

384: Turkish folklore: The Silent Princess

September 11, 2024 45m Episode 384
The story of the silent princess and the prince who definitely has been cursed by that strange woman in the street. He totally hasn't just psyched himself out thinking that if he doesn't meet the...
Myths and Legends

383: Monkey King: Food Fight (part 2 of 2)

September 04, 2024 43m Episode 383
Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, is dead. For real. He was eaten by a lion and is gone for good because we can all trust Pigsy because he's so honest and not looking for a reason to cut and run.

The...
Myths and Legends

382: Sun Wukong: A Good Death (part 1 of 2)

August 28, 2024 43m Episode 382
We're back in the story of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King and the Journey to the West, where Monkey goes undercover as a demon and defeats a whole army with a math equation.

The creature is Tsuchi-gumo,...
Myths and Legends

381: Japanese folklore: Lend Me Your Ears

August 21, 2024 39m Episode 381
Two stories from Japan about the stories we tell one another. On the first, it's a not-so-famous musician who gets a massive new audience for the legend he has been telling. For the second, it's a man...
Myths and Legends

380: British Legends: I Loathe that for You

August 14, 2024 34m Episode 380
The story of the laidly worm is all about the costs and benefits of kissing dragons on the mouth.

The creature is Topielec, and it might just make or break your video game franchise and/or...
Myths and Legends

379: Norse Sagas: Forsaken (part 2 of 2)

August 07, 2024 55m Episode 379
We finish up the story of Bard with that of his son, Gest, which includes bloody Christmas parties, fun new games for you and your friends will try* and what happens when you forsake everyone and...
Myths and Legends

378: Norse Sagas: Snowfell (part 1 of 2)

July 31, 2024 42m Episode 378
The first part of the story of Bard, a medieval Icelandic dad who goes full Batman.

The creature is Stallo. It's made of turf and magic, but it takes half your remaining life as soon as it's born, so...
Myths and Legends

377: 1001 Nights: Science and Geometry

July 17, 2024 42m Episode 377
A story from "One Thousand and One Nights" about three wondrous gifts: a clock, a security system, and a fake horse that can fly. Bet you can't guess which one wins the prize at the king's big science...
Myths and Legends

376: Danish folklore: Sweet Pea

July 10, 2024 44m Episode 376
Three stories from Denmark about learning from your mistakes. Or not learning, and donating six full bags of gold to the local thieves.

The creature is the swamfisk. It's horrible, horrible smell is...
Myths and Legends

375: Monkey King: The Eyes Have It

July 03, 2024 45m Episode 375
We're back in the story of the Monkey King and the Journey to the West where maybe this monastery is different and not haunted and infested with monsters? Maybe? Please? Also, we'll see if Xuanzang is...
Myths and Legends

374: European Fairy Tales: Mermaider (part 2 of 2)

June 26, 2024 48m Episode 374
Undine the water elemental has a soul. And an evil uncle. And a friend who is in love with her husband. And about a thousand family members who want to see that everything works out for her. Her...
Myths and Legends

373: European Fairy Tales: The Elements (part 1 of 2)

June 19, 2024 31m Episode 373
The story of Undine, by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, is a direct precursor to Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" and comes inspired by the soulless elemental creatures some alchemists...
Myths and Legends

372: Greek Myths: Things as they Are

June 12, 2024 44m Episode 372
The story of Demeter from Greek mythology is one of finding her place in the world. A world run by her terrible siblings, but it's ok. She's her own person and she can weather anything as long as she...
Myths and Legends

371: Flemish folklore: Stuck

June 05, 2024 41m Episode 371
Two stories from Flanders (the region of Belgium, not Homer Simpson's annoyingly nice neighbor) about people who are stuck. One is a married couple who wants their long awaited dream to come true. The...
Myths and Legends

370: Aesop's Fables: State of Nature

May 29, 2024 36m Episode 370
It's fable time on Myths and Legends...despite fables being neither myths nor legends... They're fun, though, and you might just learn some of the wisdom of the ancients, like how you should never...
Myths and Legends

369: Japanese folklore: Pilgrims

May 22, 2024 32m Episode 369
Two stories from Japan. On the first, a former samurai's wife is up to something and he's going to figure out what. On the second, we'll see that kindness matters most...but only if you're absolutely...
Myths and Legends

368: Indian Fairy Tales: Eye Love You

May 15, 2024 34m Episode 368
When your seven spouses all have the same dream on the same night and ask you not to do the thing they dreamt would lead to problems for all of you...maybe don't immediately do that thing.

The...
Myths and Legends

367: Irish folklore: Daft Monk

May 08, 2024 36m Episode 367
The madcap story of what happens when a monk decides he doesn't want to be a monk anymore. He wants to make way more money...as a poet.

Also, why it might be weird if you're eating several cows for...

About this Podcast

Copyright
2015-2024 Bardic Enterprises LLC, all rights reserved.
Language
en
Categories
Arts, Books, History, Fiction