PODCAST · comedy
Animal Magic
by j. SNODGRASS
Good-Natured Comedy about Animal Folklore, Biblical Silliness, and the Artificial Primate Habitat I call Home. What can ancient Animal Myths and Fables tell us about how to be Human in modern life? SNODGRASS is a college teacher, public speaker, and the author of Shakespeare’s Goddess, Genesis and the Rise of Civilization, and Chaos Chaos. More info at j-snodgrass.com
Episodes
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The Labyrinth (Ancient Symbol and a Greek Horror Story about Theseus and the Minotaur)
An Exploration of the Labyrinth from Many Angles: Prehistoric Fertility Symbol, Greek Monster-Myth, Medieval Pilgrimage and Modern Meditation. What were the Mysterious Ruins on the Island of Crete? And what does all this have to do with a young person's first heartbreak? By the Author of…
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Shakespeare's Shapeshifters: Bottom's Dream, Puck and Ariel (with Mason Winfield)
For this special episode I'm joined again by Mason Winfield, Western New York's Premier Paranormalist, to discuss Shakespearean faerie-lore, Bottom's Dream in Midsummer Night's Dream, and some differences between Puck and Ariel. This fall, Mason Winfield and I will be leading Haunted History…
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Birds of a Feather (The Evolution of the Bird, and some Touching Stories)
Recently someone told me some really incredible stories about her personal encounters with birds, and it got me wondering... What is a "bird"? How did this whole bird thing get started? Is it really true that birds with the same feathers flock better together?
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Stonehenge (The Mystery Revealed!)
In this Special Summer Episode... What else? The Mystery of Stonehenge. Shocking New Truths, which have lain Dormant for Decades in Dull, Dusty Archaeology Textbooks...Revealed!
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The Hydra (Is this Mythical Monster a Plant? Animal? River? Convent or Coven?)
Was it a plant, animal, mineral? Maybe a coven or a nunnery? In this special episode, we explore the Greek Myth of Heracles and the Hydra, and some fascinating theories on how this story came about. But first, a few thoughts on how mythical creatures develop through storytelling.
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Shakespeare's Shapeshifters: Falstaff, Puck, and the Golden Bough (with Mason Winfield)
To celebrate Shakespeare's Birthday, I'm joined by Mason Winfield, Western New York's Premier Paranormalist, to discuss Shakespearean faerie-lore, Falstaff's downfall in the Merry Wives of Windsor, and how it relates to the Classical Myth of Actaeon and Diana, and Sir James Frazer's book The…
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Demeter's Daughters in the Underworld (This Greek Myth is a Downer)
How might the ancient myth of Persephone's abduction have originated? And what lessons could we learn from it today? (Note: This episode didn't turn out to be very funny, so if you're unfamiliar with "Animal Magic" I recommend starting with something else. But for regular listeners I hope this…
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Something Else About Elephants (Ingredients and Indian Beliefs)
Are Elephants made of Milk? Or Eggs? Or both? And why don't they have wings anymore? How did Ganesha get his Distinctive Look? In this Episode, we'll search the Scriptures of India for Answers you can't find in a Biology Textbook.
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Something About Elephants (Classical Roman and Christian Beliefs)
Even after centuries of zoology, the Elephant remains defiantly mythical. In this episode, we'll explore some Classical Roman and Christian beliefs about this gentle giant.
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Hardware (Maybe the Machines Would Be Happier Without Us)
My car and my phone get along so well that I feel like a third wheel, and I often feel like they'd be happier without me. Am I an obstacle that the tools have to work around? I recently found this live recording of "Hardware" from 2021. Some things I said about hardware and software in 2021 now...
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The Boar's Head (A Creepy Cincinnati Christmas Tradition)
In this Very Special Holiday Episode, we'll Share Something Happily Forgotten, a Christmas Mystery long buried in the snow of the past. We'll also wonder why Pigs are the baddest animals in the Bible.
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Pigs on the Wing (A Pink Floyd Logo Breaks Free and Terrorizes an Orwellian Animal Farm)
On December 3rd, 1976, a 30-foot pig flew over England, disrupting air traffic and scaring the manure out of a rancher's cattle. In this special anniversary episode, we'll share the timeless tale of the photo-shoot for the Pink Floyd Animals album cover. And we'll consider what it may have to do...
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A Big Black Cloud Over Ohio (A Haunted Road-Trip to Witness Nick Cave)
The absolutely true story of a journey to witness Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds in concert, with some silly and supernatural surprises. This doesn't contain any music samples, but refers to "Jubilee Street" (I recommend the Copenhagen live version), "Tupelo," "Wild God," "Conversion" and "Into My Arms."
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Circe in the Odyssey (A Greek Mythical Wish who turns Chauvinist Pigs into Bacon))
In this "Season of the Witch" we'll be looking at the ancient myth of Circe, the Sorceress in The Odyssey. This Enchantress is dangerous (especially to chauvinist pigs) but also a savior who instructs Odysseus and his men about how to face the perils ahead. Times of terror can be times of...
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The Sirens' Song: A Heart Concert, and the Odyssey
A Heart concert got me thinking about Odysseus and the Sirens. And I wondered - what might the Sirens be saying if they were singing today?
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Creeps! (Insects in Egyptian, Chinese and Greek Mythology)
In this Controversial Episode, we'll explore Biblical Bugs, and Creepy-Crawlies of Egyptian, Chinese and Greek Mythology. Plus some personal recollections of that time I got stranded in the middle of the great Cincinnati Cicada Awakening of 1987.
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The Raven, the Fox, and the Rich Fool (Jesus said to Consider the Ravens...Why?)
How is a Raven like a Role-Model? In stories Jesus told, rich men come to bad ends, and apparently the fox and the raven know something we don't know about the divine plan. Regardless of heaven and hell, what might these parables tell us about life on earth?
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The Fluid Edge
All life on Earth is linked by water – every human, plant, and animal in the past, present, and future. That's a lot to think about when someone pees in the pool. Water is life, water can be death, and it shows up in the strangest places...
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Power: Bacteria, Billionaires and Blockbuster Action Stars of the 80s
Bacteria, billionaires and blockbuster action stars of the 80s – all are forms of power. In this episode, we await the most powerful being of all, the electrician, whose 5-minute appointment can eat an entire day from 8 to 4. But it gives plenty of time to wonder: what is "power?"
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The Trojan War and Euripides' Helen (Sample Chapters of WELCOME TO TRAGEDY)
I wrote a little book, Welcome to Tragedy: A Beginner's Guide to Greek Drama, with brief introductions to all of the surviving scripts by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides (plus three comedies by Aristophanes). I was fascinated by the variety of Greek drama, ranging beyond familiar definitions…
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Bonfire (Classic Fire Stories from Lethal Weapon, Ancient Greece, and Indigenous Americans)
Fire is like this pet we've been trying to adopt and domesticate for half a million years. But at heart, all fire is wildfire. In this episode, we'll be looking at some classic fire stories from Indigenous Americans, Ancient Greeks, and the Lethal Weapon film series.
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Leviathan (The Biblical Seamonster and the Battle of Bible and Biology)
One of the great mysteries of all Biblical Scripture is God's great battle with a sea-monster called Leviathan. Why did God have to mud-wrestle this beast? Was it killed and left out for the ravens, or is it still at large? And how might the grudge-match live on in modern courtrooms and classrooms?
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Robin Hood (Medieval Hero or Pagan Trickster?)
Was Robin Hood really a Medieval Knight, or was he some kind of Goat-legged trickster? And what did he have to do with Pagan Pole-dancing? [Note: This live recording has some microphone buzz, but it basically came out alright]
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The Easter Bunny Reveals All (Including the Origin of the Goddess Ostara's Hare)
In a candid moment, the Easter Bunny shares some personal recollections and ponders the... Well, you'll see. Or, in this case, hear.
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The Minotaur (David Bowie's Pants and the Myth of Theseus)
For some, the word "Labyrinth" conjures ancient visions of David Bowie with tight pants and puppets. The ancient Labyrinth was the lair of the man-eating Minotaur. We'll explore the myth of this monster, and the princess who masterminded its demise.
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Raised by Wolves (How Dogs Civilized Humanity, and the Meanest Thing Jesus Ever Said)
Adopting a new dog (a dingo-corgi) raises fascinating questions about the long history of human-canine cooperation. And there's this Gospel story where Jesus calls someone's daughter a dog - what's up with that?
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Lock, Livestock & Barrel (Abraham and Animal Cruelty in the Bible)
Abraham is remembered as a "good shepherd" - but did his sheep feel this way? In this episode, we'll explore how livestock herding has helped to shape human history. Alert: this episode does contain references to Biblical animal cruelty.
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The Carolina-dog (A Free Sample Chapter of "Chaos Chaos")
Piling chili and coleslaw onto a hotdog sure is food for thought, inspiring questions like "what is 'food'?" And "if you are what you eat - what am I?" This is a sample chapter of the book "Chaos Chaos," a collection of comical personal recollections, silly bits of history, and some idiotic...
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Naysayers (Balaam's Ass, the Talking Donkey in the Bible)
How did a donkey become the only animal prophet in the Bible? And how did horses change the lives of Indigenous Americans of the Great Plains?
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Hibernating (That Time Michael Threw Carrots at the Bear, Plus Biblical and Native American Legends)
A bear visits our campsite at Allegany State Park. Michael nearly learns a valuable lesson. A Biblical prophet's baldness summons the ursine species into existence. And we learn what happens when a bear refuses to dance like a chicken.
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Groundhog Day Special (Pagan Origins of a Preposterous Holiday)
What's the Lifespan of your Average Magical Groundhog? Why is his February message so important? And how does Groundhog Day relate to Ancient Systems of Spring Predictions?
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"Great Snakes!" (Biblical Snake Stories - Silly and Sexist)
A Comical Glance at the Talking Serpent of Eden, Snake-Handling Churches, and some of the Silliest Snake-stories of the Bible. Plus: Before the Garden of Eden story got so famous (and poisonous) - what did the locals of Israel actually like about Women, Snakes and Trees?
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Here Be Dragons (Lord of the Rings and Dragon-Lore from Greece, China, and Central America)
Watching the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings with my Kids I wonder - What's Humanity's great Fascination with Dragons? Where does the word come from, and what kind of Dragon-lore (good, bad, and ugly) might we find in Greek, Mayan and Chinese Mythology? And what might our long Multicultural…
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Everything All of the Time (4 Kids + Clean House = Impossible)
How did the Human Species Survive in the Chaos of the Jungle?
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For the Birds (The Unfortunate Turtledoves at Jesus' Bris, and an Indigenous American Trickster))
How did a Native American Raven bring light to the world? What happened to the Cratchit family goose in A Christmas Carol? And why did two Turtledoves have to die when Jesus was born?
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Your Smiling Face (James Taylor's Eyebrows)
In this very special episode, the featured creature is James Taylor (or, more specifically, his eyebrows).
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Two By Two (Noah's Ark, the Zoo, and a Streetcar Named Desire)
What's the first thing Noah did when the Ark landed? Can elephant sounds be translated into English? And why do I have to live in an artificial primate habitat?
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Fish Story (James Bond, Jonah, and the Whale)
Why does James Bond look so silly under water? Was Jonah swallowed by a fish or a whale? And how big can a fish story get?
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Holy Cow (Viking Mythology and the Biblical Golden Calf)
If you and I buy milk from the same grocery story, and it comes from the same cow - does that make us siblings? What's the difference between a Sacred Cow and a Golden Calf? And how could a cow have resolved the cosmic conflicts in Viking Mythology?
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Rabbit on the Moon (Aztec, Chinese and Indigenous American Storytelling)
Why is the Easter Bunny male? And how does he lay eggs? The ancient Aztecs and Chinese agree there's a rabbit on the moon. How did it get there? And how do all these rabbits survive on the streets of Buffalo?
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Good-Natured Comedy about Animal Folklore, Biblical Silliness, and the Artificial Primate Habitat I call Home. What can ancient Animal Myths and Fables tell us about how to be Human in modern life?
SNODGRASS is a college teacher, public speaker, and the author of Shakespeare’s Goddess, Genesis and the Rise of Civilization, and Chaos Chaos. More info at j-snodgrass.com
HOSTED BY
j. SNODGRASS
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Animal Magic have?
Animal Magic currently has 40 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Animal Magic about?
Good-Natured Comedy about Animal Folklore, Biblical Silliness, and the Artificial Primate Habitat I call Home. What can ancient Animal Myths and Fables tell us about how to be Human in modern life? SNODGRASS is a college teacher, public speaker, and the author of Shakespeare’s Goddess, Genesis and...
How often does Animal Magic release new episodes?
Animal Magic has 40 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Animal Magic?
You can listen to Animal Magic on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Animal Magic?
Animal Magic is created and hosted by j. SNODGRASS.
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