7 Fantastical podcasts on myths and legends
Seven podcasts on the historically supernatural
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1. Our Fake History
"[Heinrich Schliemann's] original plan to find Troy was to study Homer's descriptions of the city, and then to try to find a spot along the Turkish coast that roughly matched up." — Host Sebastian Major on the pioneer of archaeology
A look at Heinrich Schliemann, one of the first people to set out to discover the ancient city of Troy and prove that the Trojan War really happened.
2. Myths and Legends
"Should you find an evil, magical ring that promises doom and destruction to whomever owns it, you should definitely use it to propose marriage to a stranger." — Host Jason Weiser on the Saga of the Volsungs
In this dramatic retelling of the Norse legend of the Volsungs, Sigurd faces the fearsome dragon Fafnir.
3. Imaginary Worlds
"Hippies were going to protests with buttons that said 'Frodo Lives!'" — Eric Molinsky on the popularity of The Lord of the Rings
When J. R. R. Tolkien published his obscure novels, it took a special group of people who took Middle-earth very seriously to push this cult classic into the mainstream.
4. Singing Bones
"Stories of the remains of the murdered person speaking or singing their revenge, is one of the oldest and most universal of folk stories." — Host Clare Testoni on The Singing Bones
The provenance of one of the oldest legends ever, and the story after which this podcast itself is named.
5. Faculty of Horror
"A lot of my friends like to tell the plots of horror movies they'd seen as an urban legend." — Alex West on the Faculty of Horror
Two established film buffs discuss the connection between urban legends and horror movies.
6. Métis in Space
"Medicine men were often powerful magicians. Their manitous could be reborn at anytime in the past or the future by impregnating themselves in man, woman, or animal." — Métis in Space
Hosts Chelsea Vowel and Molly Swain review The Manitou, a 1978 horror film about a growing lump which happens to be the reincarnation of a 400-year-old demonic Native American spirit.
7. Trojan War: The Podcast
"If you don't invite discord, discord always crashes anyway." — Jeff Wright tells the story of the apple of discord, which led to the start of the Trojan War
Eris, the goddess of discord, shows up uninvited at a wedding with a deceptively innocent gift that will eventually lead to the start of the Trojan War.
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