PODCAST · arts
Myths and Legends
by Jason Weiser, Carissa Weiser, Nextpod
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
-
445: Indian folklore: Fake It 'Til You Make It
💪There's something powerful about confidence. Except that, if you're not actually powerful...or generous...or deadly, pretending to be those things can get you in a lot of trouble. Only if you get caught, though. Three stories from South India of people who are faking it. 😈 The Creature: Okuri...
-
444: Dwarves: Ortnit Wit
🗡️Ortnit has it all. The strength of twelve men. A secret, super lineage. A dwarven sword and unbreakable armor. The question is, what is he going to do with it? Start a war to try to date a princess? Start a war to try to date a princess! 😈 The Creature: Tarasque If it looks like a Bowser…
more -
443: Tricksters: Does Whatever A Spider Can
🕷️Spiders don't have tails, but this one has tales. Anansi is one of the most famous folklore tricksters in the world, but we'll see that behind every great trickster...is likely a trail of broken and/or angry people who want to get even. 😈 The Creature: Tsuchinoko People are crazy about this...
-
442: Greek Myths: The Poseidon Adventures
🔱It's Poseidon's turn. On the podcast. Not to be king of the gods. He's actually totally not mad that his little brother is king. Because Zeus isn't the king of him. But Poseidon does do everything his brother says. Not because Zeus told him to, though. He just planned to do it anyway, so no...
-
441: Celtic folklore: Deerly Beloved
🗡️If at first you don't succeed, die, die again. Ian's had a hard life. That life gets even more difficult when he falls in love with a woman who is (not-so-secretly) a deer. And who makes him eat her earwax. 😈 The Creature: The Charles Mill Lake Monster This week, the state of Ohio flexes its...
-
440: Monkey King: The Shakedown
🐒 Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, knows a demon shakedown when he sees it. And what's happening in this town, where people need to pay upwards of $30k (in 2026 USD) a year to a Buddha they never see? That's a shakedown. Does his master, the Tang Monk, believe him? Of course he doesn't. 😈 The...
-
439: Indian folklore: Guess I'll Die
✏️Gaṅgâdhara's astrologer dad has some bad news for his boy: he's going to die. Well, first he'll spend a decade in prison, and then die. Then things will get better? It's the story of the Soothsayer's Son. 😈 The Creature: Denpachi Kitsune Are you sure the best student in your school isn't a...
-
438: Maui: Whatever Happened to the Man Who Snared the Sun?
🏝️No one has seen or heard about Maui for quite some time Meanwhile, all these strange portents are leading disparate groups to a faraway island, all the while there are ominous tales spoken in whispers. It's probably ok, right? I mean, it's Maui. He's always looking out for us. Right? 😈 The...
-
437: Czech folklore: House of the Dragon
🍼 If your parent goes through the trouble of getting you superpowers... Kind of the least you can do is get them a new house. And fight all the dragons infesting that house. And get their increasingly specific and dangerous medical treatments for their very real and not made-up illnesses. 😈 The...
-
436: Korean folkore: Feet First
🪱Mr. Worm is getting married! That (not creepy) stranger is looking in your windows! Shin is driving tired! Five interconnected stories from Korean folklore about letting people know the real you. And 😈 The Creature: Duergar If you're at risk of being beaten up by the Duergar, no offense, but...
-
435: Medieval Knights: Fifty Shades of Graelent
⚔️Sir Graelent is too beautiful for his scruples At least that's what the queen thinks. Good thing she doesn't have the power to wreck his whole life if he doesn't love her. Oh, wait... 😈 The Creature: The Witkəś Sick bears eating dirt means you have to get your gunpowder boat, scarecrow, and…
more -
434: Norse Mythology: The Old Man and the Stick
🐐 Who knew packing so many epic Norse heroes into a single house could have such disastrous consequences? Not Odin, that's for sure. There's trouble brewing in Valhalla, and there's only one man who knows how to solve it: Skíði, the smartest famous man of our world, Midgard. But, has the world…
more -
433: Spanish folklore: Doña of the Dead
⛰️When the unthinkable happens, Doña must become something she doesn't even recognize to bring justice But, once she travels so far from herself, can she find her way home? This is the story of Doña Josefa Ramirez y Marmolejo. 😈 The Creature: Sheepsquatch Basically a Wampa from Star Wars that...
-
432: Japanese folklore: Sword it Out
🍜Samurai Pirates, Stabby Sumo Wrestlers, and Punchable Oni Are the consequences of Jiuyemon's actions. We all make mistakes. Too many of the samurai Jiuyemon's mistakes involved killing people with a sword while drunk, though. While the heat dies down, he needs to start a new life in exile. As a...
-
431: Turkish folklore: These Dreams
✨Cobbler Ahmet just wants to fix shoes✨ But his wife wants those sweet, sweet bath reservations, so it looks like he's going to go be the Chief Astrologer to the Sultan. The only problem(s)? He doesn't like astrology, doesn't know how to do it, and starts out by selling his astrology by the side…
more -
430: Finnish folklore: Worn Out
✏️Osmo is a pretty solid sketch artist✏️ He’s not drawing a criminal, though. He’s drawing his sister, whose only crime is stealing the prince’s heart. And also maybe trying to escape the prison of the sea king, but that comes later. 😈 The Creature: The Jurua Just when you thought it was safe to...
-
429: Slavic folklore: The Devilkin Made Me Do It
👞Goria the shoemaker has a bad boss👞 Is his boss the devil? Literally...well, no. Is the devil that Goria meets in a bar actually better than his boss? 100% yes. 😈 The Creature: Jack-in-Irons A creature who made it a bad thing to walk around threatening people with a spiky club and wearing…
more -
428: Monkey King: The Pride
🐺Inside each of us there are two wolves. They are named 'Shifty' and 'Freaky'.🐺 Which one wins? Well it doesn't matter because they're both demons so maybe try to starve both of them out. Or spit in their faces and steal their name tags, like Sun Wukong does. No wrong answers because, in the...
-
427: Norse Legends: Wither or Not
🧙♀️So, you think your stepmom might be a sorceress🧙♀️ Common problem. Well, common for fairy tales, at least. But, have you thought that she might not like you putting her in a box and deciding what she is before you even get to know her? It's something you might want to think about.…
more -
426: 1001 Nights: Djinning Up Some Trouble
🧞♂️Trying to meet the love of your life? Maybe ask for help from two genies trying to kill each other.🧞♂️ Even if you're not trying to meet the love of your life or, like the characters in today's story, actively trying to avoid meeting the love of your life because you really don't want to...
-
425: Flemish legends: A Night Out
🧌We've all been there.🧌 You spend a night out with friends, hanging out in the dark forest, crashing an ogre party and making dog friends. The only problem? You were out past curfew. Oh, and you came in through the chimney and absolutely trashed your parents' house. 😈 The Creature: Jud The...
-
424: Irish legends: Out of Time
🦌Oh, deer.🦌 No, really, the love of your life might just be a deer...or, well, a human in the form of a deer. Just ask your two cousins who are also your best friends and your literal dogs. They'll lead you right to her. This is the story of Oisín in Tir na nÓg from Irish folklore. 😈 The...
-
423: Japanese folkore: The Illusionists
👹Something is lurking in the forest temple👹 While the country outside is rocked by the changes in the world, a village grapples with the idea that a monster of a land that's nearly gone still lurks in their midst. 😈 The Creature: Boraro Watch out or he'll turn you into a human Capri-Sun ---...
-
422: Scottish folklore: Witchful Thinking
🧙♂️So you've decided to steal from a witch or wizard🧙♀️ Are you sure about that? If you are, you might want to think about what you're going to do more than the characters in today's stories from Scotland and Norway. Especially if, like them, you end up stealing way more than you bargained…
more -
421: Viking Legends: Famous
🔥All the Viking warriors' hearts burn with love for Nítíða🔥 And also the rest of them is on fire as well because that's what happens when you try to kidnap a maiden-king. 😈 The Creatures: Henkie The henkie is dancing with itself. When it's not watching you sleep, that is. --- Links: 📚️ All of...
-
420: Korean Grim Reaper: Saja Boys
⚰️It's Halloween⚰️ What do you do when death comes for you? Well, the characters in today's stories have a lot of ideas, and they're surprisingly successful. The problem? Death works on a much, much longer timeline. 😈 The Creatures: Bulgasari Why you don't feed your rice monster metal needles....
-
419: Slavic folklore: Bad Heir Day
Ivan fights wizards and monsters and Baba Yaga with a music streaming subscription What do you get when your daughters have been kidnapped by a sleezy cloud and your son not only spends all of his days jamming with his self-playing harp, but DOESN'T want to tear the heads off his friends? You...
-
418: French stories: Our Son, Ourson, the Bear
🐻Ourson is a Beary Good Guy🐻 Sorry, I couldn't resist, but he is actually a good guy. He isn't a bear though. He just looks like one to people who have probably never seen a bear, because he's kind of just a very hairy kid. He's like that because his mom kicked a toad that wasn't a toad and the...
-
417: Guy of Warwick: Don't Be That Guy
🛡️This Guy?🛡️ This guy is Guy of Warwick, and he's your guy. But only if you need someone to be the best guy in the world at fighting and killing. It's just too bad Guy hates being that guy. 😈 The Creature: Freybug and the Barguest Two black dogs who might give you wounds that will never heal,...
-
416: Hans Christian Andersen: Humbugs
🪲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 insufferable, though, they have more in common than you might think. It's two fairy tales of…
more -
415: Aesop's Fables: Bray it Ain't So
🫏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, you take it. Then, spend the rest of the time trying to get back to captivity because the world…
more -
414: Monkey King: Ham-bushed
🐷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: Each Tened A horse committed to justice. If the punishment for every crime was searing thigh…
more -
413: European folklore: Justice
🔔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 the bell of justice. King Charlemagne puts of a bell of justice and consequences ensue. 😈 The...
-
412: Indian folklore: Dicey
🎲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 underwear. 😈 The Creature: Drekavac The creature is the Drekavac, and it's many things to many people....
-
411: Celtic folklore: The Wake
⛵️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 longer. And stranger. 😈 The Creature: The Donestre The lion headed stranger who will eat you…
more -
410: Japanese folklore: Provincial
⛩️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 Dinny Mara The Dinny Mara is a friendly merman who wants to rehabilitate the reputation of water...
-
409: Reynard: Nasty, Brutish, and Short
🦊 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 sick kings, superpowered storks, and Isengrim the wolf trying to not constantly get skinned…
more -
408: Knights of the Round Table: Hither and Thither
🏰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 saving Camelot in the process? It's the story of Sir Morien. 😈 The Creature: The Kaichigo All…
more -
407: West African folklore: Wiser
🍼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 torment sinners without getting your hands dirty? The cornu, that's how. --- Links 🎧 Connect...
-
406: Slavic folklore: Udder Nonsense
🐄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 dragons (when he's not slaying them) and outsmarting giant evil pigs (when he's not slaying them),...
-
405: European legends: Ale to the King
🍺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 out of the park playing the viola. If only he knew he was destined to be legendary King of…
more -
404: Monkey King: Not Found
🤑 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 weird. They are horse traders who trade horses while they pass through this city that murders...
-
403: Norse sagas: Wormtongue
⚔️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 cicada It's not a creature at all. Just a normal bug...or maybe that's what Zeus wants you to think?...
-
402: Japanese folklore: Misconceptions
🐸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 widower (kind of), on the second, two frogs fall out of love...with a place, and on the third, the...
-
401: Chinese Zodiac: Rat Race
🐀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 long, unpleasant runs on New Year's Day, though any run in January or February (or in general)…
more -
400: Celtic folklore: The Baddies
👸 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 horse who just wants to make you feel bad about your riding ability...and also destroy your...
-
399: Canadian folklore: Wild Night
🎉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 creature: The Yale The Yale, or the Centicore, is a super goat who's super famous despite not...
-
398: Nordic Christmas: In the Bleak Mid-winter
🌲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 company. 😈 The Creature: Frau Gauden The creature this week wants to give you that dog you…
more -
397: Monkey King: King of Hearts
🐵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 Monkey King. 😈 The Creature: Cacus A half spider man that does whatever a spider can. Providing...
-
396: Greek Myths: Hades, Too
💀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 greek underworld and all the things that creep within. 😈 The Creature: Bwca An elf-like creature...
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
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.
HOSTED BY
Jason Weiser, Carissa Weiser, Nextpod
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Myths and Legends have?
Myths and Legends currently has 542 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Myths and Legends about?
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...
How often does Myths and Legends release new episodes?
Myths and Legends releases new episodes frequently with a large back catalog of 542 episodes. Check the episode list for recent publication dates.
Where can I listen to Myths and Legends?
You can listen to Myths and Legends 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 Myths and Legends?
Myths and Legends is created and hosted by Jason Weiser, Carissa Weiser, Nextpod.
URL copied to clipboard!