The Fairy Tellers

#65 These Stories Are (not) for Children

Katrina and Geoff get sent questions about fairy tales and folklore fairly frequently and this year we want to focus on answering those questions. We're starting off the year by answering the question, "Are fairy tales for children? And what are the most important fairy tales to tell my children?" It isn't a quick answer, but using Katrina's background in Early Childhood Development and Geoff's unsuspecting son, we examine two stories from the Grimm Brothers' collection to examine this question.

Note: In this episode, Geoff says that Tuesday, February 2nd, 2022 has been declared as "Twosday." However, February 2nd is, in fact, a Wednesday. The good news is he misunderstood. Twosday is on February 22nd which IS a Tuesday. So not only does the pun stand but it is 25% more two to celebrate!

#64 The Grand Finale of The Thousand and One Nights

Katrina and Geoff finally get to the end of the 1001 Nights! Well, sort of. It's kind of a long story. Literally. But we finally finish out our year of tales from this incredible ever changing collection of stories. It all culminates with the tale of Ma'rouf the Cobbler (whose story might share common details with a tale we never discussed by most people know). Katrina and Geoff finish off the project by getting extremely meta about the framed narrative and discuss why these tales are still relevant today.

#63 Yuletide and the Tomte

Katrina and Geoff talk Tomte!  In a personal quest to reconnect with her cultural roots, Katrina started to explore Scandinavian folklore and was delighted to find Tomte eating her family's rice porridge. But what are Tomte and where do they come from? And what are they willing to do for a bowl of rice porridge with butter on top? Enjoy this winter time episode while Katrina and Geoff tell and retell you some things!

#62 Dream Divination | The Thousand and One Nights

Katrina and Geoff talk about dreams! This week we learn a new word, oneiromancy, the use of dreams to fortell the future, and use it as a vehicle to explore the difference between folk belief and religious mythology (and the very specific definition of myth used in the study of folklore). We cover a bunch of quick stories in this episode all related to dreams. First Katrina walks us through the Biblical story of Joseph who used the ability to interpret dreams to win the favor of the pharaoh. Then Geoff retells the (surprisingly kind of historical?) love story of "al-Mutawakkil and Mahbuba," from The Thousand and One Nights. And finally Katrina ends the episode with another tale from The Nights, "The Rich Man Who Lost and then Regained His Money." 

#61 Middle Eastern Cinderella Tales

Geoff and Katrina have been podcasting for two years! In this, slightly delayed, two year anniversary episode, Katrina and Geoff retell some more Cinderella tales. This time from the Middle East! In the process, we get a chance to look back on familiar themes and story elements from other tale types besides ATU 510A (the common grouping of "Cinderella" tales from cultures around the world). 

And here is a link to our interview with Folkwise's Dom and Daisy!

#60 Sindbad the Sailor | The Thousand and One Nights

Katrina and Geoff go sailing... seven times! That's right, we're getting into the Sindbad the Sailor cycles of stories from The Thousand and One Nights. Sindbad is one of those characters with massive name recognition throughout the western world but you'd be hard pressed to find someone who could actually tell you anything about his travels. Well after today YOU can be that someone. Also hear the surprisingly convoluted way that this ancient set of tales was added to The Thousand and One Nights surprisingly recently. Spoiler alert: It involves Fairy Tellers Frenemy #1, Antoine Galland. Because of course it does...

#59 Haunted Japan: Japanese Ghost Stories

Katrina and Geoff ain't afraid of no ghosts! In this episode, we kick off spooky season by diving into the world of Japanese ghosts. We explore what different types of ghost stories we tell say about us and our culture. And we learn that stories of ghosts hitching a ride in taxis are so common that basically every taxi driver in Japan expects to experience it for  themselves at least once.

This episode is also in partnership with Aloreing, who has created a podcast play list on Spotify that you can find here with other podcasts sharing spooky content for October.

#58 Harun al Rashid | Thousand and One Nights

Katrina and Geoff talk caliphs, real and imagined! In this episode, Katrina and Geoff retell the tale "Harun al-Rashid and the Second Caliph" from The Thousand and One Nights. But first Katrina tells us who Harun al-Rashid was in real life (along with a cast full of real characters). The Thousand and One Nights is filled with stories featuring Harun al-Rashid and looking back to the 8th and 9th centuries gives us a clearer understanding of why this Abbasid ruler is so important in the folk culture.

#57 Chu Cuoi the Moon Boy

Katrina and Geoff kick off the holiday season! That's right, the holidays are just around the corner, starting with the Mid Autumn Moon Festival, an immensely important holiday throughout eastern Asia. In celebration, Katrina retells a Vietnamese folktale brought to our attention by a listener suggestion. We also discuss another tale from Vietnam about why some people believe that they see the image of a very important rabbit on the moon.

#56 Wiles of Women | The Thousand and One Nights

Katrina and Geoff talk wily women (and vile viziers)! In this complex and in no way controversial cycle of tales within tales a king's seven viziers engage in a high stakes storytelling battle for the ages. On one side the viziers are trying to save the king's son from execution by convincing the king that women are not to be trusted. Meanwhile, a singing girl who has wrongly accused the king's son of making moves on her tries to get him killed with her own tales of cruel and distrustful men, especially scheming vizier. And boy oh boy do we get into the layers upon layers upon layers of meaning that can be taken by the way these tales interact with the overall frame story of The Nights.

#55 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Spoiler Alert: If you don't want to have the end of The Green Knight spoiled for you, wait on this episode.

Katrina and Geoff get medieval! Many have wondered how Hollywood could take the 50 page poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and turn it into a 2 hour movie. Well buckle up, because we've taken that same poem and turned it into a 2 hour podcast! To start this episode, Katrina gives us a quick and dirty rundown of European history, and introduces us to the world of Arthurian legend (or as Geoff likes to call it, The Arthurian Literary Universe). Katrina then regales us with a retelling based on the absolutely BEAUTIFUL translation by none other than J.R.R. Tolkien. Afterwards, Geoff gives us a run down of differences between the poem and the recently released film, The Green Knight, starring Dev Patel. And our intrepid hosts discuss what these differences say about the cultural values of the 14th and 21st centuries respectively.

#54 The City of Brass | The Thousand and One Nights

Katrina and Geoff discuss death (again)! In this super-sized edition of our Thousand and One Nights series we dive deep into The City of Brass. What starts off as a quest to bring the caliph his very own jinni in a bottle takes a hard turn for the philosophical when the squad decides to detour through three increasingly creepy ruins of lost civilizations.

#53 The Taming of the Shrew

Katrina and Geoff talk Shakespeare! In this episode Katrina educates us on the tale type that was the basis of The Taming of the Shrew. Even though the tale type far predates Shakespeare's play, scholars straight up retconned the name to match his title because it was just that big of a deal! We discuss what Shakespeare changed and why and how the tradition of folklore adaptation continues to this day (or at least until the release of 10 Things I Hate About You in 1999).

Content Warning: Domestic and Psychological Abuse

Note: Katrina was recording in a different environment for this week so there is quite a bit of echo. I'll make sure she doesn't record while on the toilet going forward so it doesn't happen again!

#52 The Legend of the 47 Ronin

Katrina and Geoff talk samurai! In this episode, Geoff leads the discussion on the legend of the 47 Ronin (masterless samurai) and their quest to avenge the death of their lord. While this story is based on actual historical events, it has achieved a legendary status as it has captured the imagination of storytellers, novelists, playwrights and audiences in Japan and throughout the world and morphed into what we know today. We explore how the stories commonly told about the 47 Ronin compare to the actual historical event and why we think they differ.

CW: Discussion of self harm and suicide in the context of forced suicide as a form of execution.

#51 The Wolf and the Fox | The Thousand and One Nights

Geoff and Katrina talk animal tales in The Thousand and One Nights! In this episode we check in with King Shahryar and Scheherazade, when the king starts actively engaging with her stories and even begins making requests. And what kinds of stories do you think the most powerful man in all the land wants to hear? Stories about animals of course! And Scheherazade is happy to oblige. Katrina retells the story of The Wolf and the Fox. And lemme tell ya, this tale gives off MAJOR Aesop vibes as the two titular characters sling proverbs and poems at one another in an attempt to teach a lesson.

#50 Jack and the Beanstalk

Katrina and Geoff talk the best (or worst?) trade deal in the history of trade deals! That's right we're talking all about Jack tales. Who is Jack? Are all fairy tale Jacks ACTUALLY the same character? (Spoiler: No). And while you may have heard the story of Jack and Beanstalk from England, it's doubtful you've heard the tale of Jack and the Beantree from the Appalachian region of the United States. And in this episode, we tell both! 

#49 Julnar of the Sea | The Thousand and One Nights

Katrina and Geoff celebrate Mer-May! Making up for our oversight last year, we go all in with a mermaid tale from The Thousand and One Nights, "Julnar of the Sea." Besides the Nights, this story also appears in Tales of the Marvelous and News of the Strange, an older, raunchier, more racist, and "problematic" collection of tales from the Middle East that was translated into English for the first time in 2014. Before getting into the tale, Katrina gives us some back story into the history of this new collection. And then we dive into the odyssey that is the tale "Julnar of the Sea". 

Minisode: The Sorceress

In this minisode, Katrina retells her favorite Aesop Fable of all time: The Sorceress. Enjoy!

#48 Fox Tales | Instagram LIVE

Katrina and Geoff talk tricky foxes! This week, we dedicate an entire episode to our favorite Aesop Fable character, the fox. This sometimes lovable trickster is both clever and sneaky, and easily the most nuanced of Aesop's characters. While we are often encouraged to be smart like the fox, he also occasionally uses his intelligence to the detriment of others.

#47 Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves | The Thousand and One Nights

Katrina and Geoff back at it again! In this episode we continue our discussion of The Thousand and One Nights by delving deep into the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. While this tale has some major name recognition, I would bet several dinars that most people don't actually know what it is about (I know I didn't). Katrina retells the "orphan tale" of Ali Baba which includes a much overlooked character.  But first! Geoff retells a story from the Grimm Brothers' collection that is clearly inspired by Ali Baba but inexplicably ends halfway through the tale!