Fun, bizarre, insightful, and weird stories from folklore.
Check out the show
Listen to individual episodes, explore discussion posts, and see pictures, art, and maps from the stories.
11-Japanese Fairy Tales: Key Details (Urashima Taro, The Boy Who Drew Cats)
These 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 [...]
10B-Hercules: Labor Intensive
Finishing 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. [...]
10A-Hercules: Going into Labor
The 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 [...]
9-Dogs and Wolves: Generations (Fenrir, The Black Dog, Dog King of Denmark, Gelert)
Instead 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 [...]
8-Merlin: Call of the Wyllt
A 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 [...]
7-Little Mermaid: Cry with the Saints
The 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 [...]
Membership has its benefits
Merch!
We have a store where you can pick up t-shirts, posters, stickers, buttons, and more!
Check it out at https://shop.nextpod.com
People
Carissa Weiser
Co-creator
Carissa is a former audiology professor with a background in psychoacoustics, linguistics, and creative writing. She loves her family, photography, tennis season, and riding horses.
Jason Weiser
Co-creator
Jason is a former hospital researcher with a background in English literature and narrative theory. He's a big fan of his wife and child, hiking, Batman, and cake (the dessert, but the band's ok, too).
Say Hi!