Folk-Told Folk-Tales

Julianna and Sabryna make their love of Will Smith known as they discuss Men in Black and Independence Day. These are survivor stories and alien debates galore. From abductions to probing, these are some close, and some decidedly not so close, encounters of the third kind!

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With conversations about Raya, Pokemon & Jurassic Park, this episode is about dragons from all times of media and all over the world. Learn about how every culture has either a good or a bad version of dragons and why water snakes are so prevalent in Asia but not in Europe. And shout out to Matt for the suggestion!

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In honor of the Olympics, we are doing some stories about the Olympics in Greek mythology- and also some fun facts! Julianna gushes over the new Olympic sports (i.e. skateboarding, karate & surfing) and attempts to lead the episode herself as Sabryna takes a break. Also did you know that Apollo was good at… everything? The origins of the Olympics are definitely not as straightforward as they seem.

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To keep on keeping on with the history of Greek myths, Julianna and Sabryna go over what happened during the Age of Man/Bronze Age and the Age of Heroes. Listen to the adventures of Jason and the Golden Fleece as well as the horrors of Medea and her murdered sons. Men, heroes, demigods… it’s all going on in this episode!

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In these cute & creepy South American myths, Julianna goes over the tale of Saci Perere as Sabryna divulges the secret of finding the perfect partner with Cuba’s tale of the Beautiful Cockroach. Some fun, some scary, all historically sacred bits of folklore!

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Delving into the 2nd age of Greek mythology, Julianna and Bryna make their way through the histories, and many downfalls, of the gods and of humanity. With the many tales of Atlas holding the heavens and Pandora opening the forbidden jar, this episode is about the do’s, and mostly don'ts, of Greek lore.

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Honoring those who have fought for American freedom, Julianna and Sabryna go back to U.S. folktales with the stories of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. Listen as they discuss American heroes, Lake Scargo, calf-ox romances, and the beauty and mysticism of Niagara Falls.

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Sabryna and Julianna go back to basics with the creation of Mount Olympus and the Titans themselves. Who’s the Earth Mother? Who’s responsible for raising Zeus? These questions will be answered as Sabryna tells the origin of the Greek mythological world and Julianna goes into detail about some very odd Titan deities.

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Haitian loa Baron Samedi and his wife, Maman Brigitte, make an appearance in this episode, just like they did in the tv show American Gods. Sabryna talks about the ridiculous wildfowl, Coquecigrue; making plenty of Harry Potter references along the way. Meanwhile Julianna gets into the intersection of Celtic, Irish, and the Marvel  Cinematic Universe’s folklore.

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What’s your star sign? First up, the tale of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury; including Phaethon and his catastrophic ride in the sun chariot. Then, Sabryna goes through the 12 zodiac signs as they correlate to Greek gods (with a guest appearance from Kali the Hindu goddess).

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This is the “pick-me-up” of the day as Julianna and Sabryna talk about some of the more joyful Greek deities. From a goddess who made spring return to a parable about true eternal peace, this episode is the break from violence, bloodshed, and Zeus that everyone truly needs.

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We’re back for more with letters K through P! Julianna and Sabryna make plenty of jokes about the phallic-feasting-fish: Oxyrhynchus. They also take plenty of detours as Sabryna discovers the real reason that swimming was a classist act in ancient Egypt.

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The Bacchae and Prometheus Bound are told in a modern-ish voice as Julianna and Sabryna judge Dionysus and share their pyromaniac sides. From fire-theft to incubated “thigh babies”, these are some classic plays to help you ace that lit test next week!

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Letters A through J of the Western alphabet help us get to know some of the Egyptian gods. Julianna makes introductions to Bast and Amen-Ra as Sabryna talks about Hathor, goddess of love, childbirth, and… drunkenness?

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Polyamorous, gender-fluid, intersex, and bisexual identified people included here! Unfortunately, the myths aren’t always positive, but it’s always a great reminder that the LGBT community has been around forever. Listen as Julianna talks about Aristophane’s Symposium on bi, straight, and gay love while Sabryna tells the bloody tale of Adgistis the nonbinary Greek god.

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Delving into the animals behind the chinese annual zodiac, Sabryna discusses just how she (and Julianna) got to be such stubborn oxen. Julianna tells the stories of Garlic and Shallots (the Indonesian “Cinderella story”) and the Filipino moon-eater “Bakunawa”.

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Who is Epimetheus? Was there another “war” god besides Ares? This week, Julianna and Sabryna talk about the lesser known greek deities. Complete with the god of afterthought, the goddess of sight, and, the very timely, goddess of hygiene. Just remember to wash your hands before, during and after this episode!

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Cheer or fear? Belsnickel is here! These are some of the scariest, meanest, and surprisingly most neutral winter holiday characters. Sabryna and Julianna discuss the terrifying Krampus, cannibalist scarecrow, and, a giant cat that eats anyone who hasn’t received clothes as a Christmas gift. So make sure to always give your loved ones some socks for the holidays (just to be safe)!

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The Maccabees, Befana, and even St. Nicholas make an appearance in this special holiday episode! Julianna does her best to tell the story of how the menorah was successfully lit for 8 days in Greece while Sabryna journeys over to Italy for some more light-hearted holiday tales. Although this is the “nice list”, there are still beheadings and kidnappings galore

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Week 2 of  Greek mythology! Since we think there just hasn’t been enough of the gods/goddesses lately, Sabryna and Julianna each take one interesting myth. Artemis, Athena, Zeus, and Poseidon are featured throughout, but it’s really all about the goddesses this week. With an LGBT relationship (sort of) and friendly competition, these are some of the most, and least, well-known myths.

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Everyone’s favorite gods to hate (other than Zeus and Hera, of course) are Demeter and Dionysus. Sure, we know that they’re responsible for wine and grains, but is there more to them? Yes! A lot more than we’d probably wanted to know… But now you can too, as Sabryna tells interesting tales of Demeter and Julianna does her best not to gag at the stories of Dionysus

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Julianna, despite speaking fluent Spanish, struggles throughout the tale of Indigenous Venezulan goddess Maria Lionza. Sabryna tells the very strange story of Chilean water and earth snakes. With lots of pop culture references (including old Tumblr memes), this is a goofy, but informative, episode on Latin American mythology.

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Sabryna conquers her fear of spiders with the tale of the weaver Arachne and Julianna makes far too many comments on eating horses. There’s wine/god-induced hallucinations, man-eating sea turtles, and, you probably didn’t guess it, plenty of people getting kicked off of large cliffs. This is the weirdest Greek episode to date!

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It’s the day Julianna, Sabryna, & all of you listeners, have been waiting for… Halloween! Who doesn’t love a good scary story? (Especially if it’s released one day earlier than regular episodes). Julianna dips her toes into some not so well known history with Bloody Mary, and Sabryna mixes some true crime with folktales with a short report on the “Slenderman Attempted Murder” of 2014.

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While omitting the more rated R aspects of their folklore, Sabryna talks about the succubi. There are, of course,  plenty of references to the tv show Lost Girl throughout. Julianna then tells the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. She speculates that Ichabod Crane’s fate is more than meets the eye. Gunpowder, the horse, is by far her favorite character.

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Julianna opens with the tale of Grecian Anthesteria; the old-school equivalent of All Souls Day. Sabryna goes on to  explain the Roman holidays of Feralia and Lemuria. From how Halloween costumes came to be, to how trick-or-treating originated, both Julianna and Sabryna discuss just how Halloween came to be in ancient times.

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Sabryna relives her childhood via the Prince of Egypt film as Folk-Told Folk-Tales covers their first ever Egyptian episode! From Isis and the creation of the mummy to Set and some weird feline fetishes, Sabryna cracks plenty of jokes while Julianna learns about Egyptian myths like she was never taught in school. Another first is Julianna’s retelling of Japanese folklore. In her intermediate Japanese, she talks about the boy born from a peach and the moon maiden.

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The episode you’ve all been waiting for… queer mythology! As queer hosts with queer listeners, we’ve made it a priority to cover these, albeit tragic, stories. While Sabryna tells the revenge-ridden story of the gay/bi lovers Apollo and Hyacinth, Julianna gushes over the romance of Patroclus and Achilles.

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Today we have the honor (Mulan pun intended) to collab with the nerdy and awesome L. R. Camacho from @quarantineseasonpodcast! With plenty of conversation about the animated Disney movie, Sabryna, Julianna, and L. R. discuss the role of women and honor in China. Julianna reads the entirety of the Ballad of Hua Mulan while Sabryna goes over the (possibly) historical nuances of Mulan.

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Yes, the title is a Wizards of Waverly Place reference because  we’re  90s kids and truly can’t help our Disney Channel references. This week, Julianna and Sabryna get a head start on Halloween by talking about werewolves and vampires and their origins.  This is a pretty gory one, so we recommend not eating during the episode. But if you’re looking for tips on how to stay dead (instead of becoming a vampire) or how to avoid werewolves, check this out and let us know your favorite pop culture vampires and werewolves!

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Excited for our first ever collab with Stressed, Depressed, and Anxious! We’ve linked their info down below and please make sure to check out our other episode with them on their podcast. To follow the theme of their pod, Julianna and Sabryna will be telling the Cherokee tale of the two wolves. While the white wolf is positivity and light, the black wolf is negativity and darkness. It turns out, however, that things aren’t so cut and dry with this Native American legend. And, if you are able, please remember to support Cherokee-led organizations and small businesses at this time.

As per her sister’s request, Julianna tells the story of how the red rose came to be. That is, unfortunately, a story fraught with jealousy and weird family dynamics. You may know the name Adonis, but you may NOT know about the love triangle between Adonis, Persephone, and Aphrodite. As per her own request, Sabryna sings her way through the tragic tale of Eurydice and Orpheus.

Sabryna is thrilled to discuss two of her favorite, unfortunately imaginary, animals, dragons and phoenixes. The story of the Teumessian Fox may seem underwhelming at first glance, but Julianna discusses paradoxes, constellations and unsung greek heroes with as much excitement as Sabryna does her venomous hydras. Whether you’re an animal lover or afraid of anything scaly, feathery, or furry, give this episode a listen and imagine that it’s you on Pegasus’ back or under the Phoenix’s wing.

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Did you know that pink dolphins’ pinkness are actually just scar tissue? Did you know that you could be a werewolf for just 101 days? This week, Julianna delves into her own Brazilian culture with the botos cor de rosa and the Iara, while Sabryna discusses the loup-garou that resides in French-Canadian swamplands. Introducing a segment we call “Netherworld News”! Here we’ll talk about recent events surrounding these old-school myths.

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