Legends retold

We all love a good story. Which is probably why we are so fascinated by myths and legends. Our cultures and histories have so many of them that it’s hard to know everything. But if you want a better understanding of some common folklore then there are some great podcasts that you can tune into. Here are some podcasts on the topic that we are currently in love with. From ancient Greek and Roman myths to Indian and Norse folktales, these make for some great story time.

Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby!

We might have heard many ancient Greek and Roman stories but all of these famous ancient Greek and Roman myths have always been told by men and have been centered on men. But not when Olivia Albert is retelling them. The host of Let’s Talk About Myths, Baby! and self proclaimed mythology nerd puts out episodes about the same ancient Greek and Roman myths adding a woman’s insight to the stories. She makes a point to be inclusive, respectful, and a little sarcastic in all of her episodes and has a relatable sense of humor that makes the podcast even more fun to listen to. The podcast is updated weekly and has over 80 episodes. Albert is also very interactive on social media and actually makes listener requested episodes every so often.

Myths and Legends

Think you know an ancient folklore well? We bet you will either be amazed or (more likely) horrified by the origin story for it that the hosts of Myths and Legends find. This is another weekly podcast that is based on ancient stories, folklore, and mythologies. In their 140+ episodes, the hosts of Myths and Legends have covered stories from all around the world. And instead of retelling these stories as they are, they put in a lot of effort to research the origins of the myths and keep track of how they have changed since then and incorporate all of that into their podcast episodes. This isn’t just your regular dose of myths and legends but it’s also great storytelling.

Fairytales of India

This podcast features all of the classic stories of kings, queens, gods involving lots of magic and drama that we grew up listening to. Started in early 2017, Fairytales of India is a weekly podcast that covers one Indian folklore or myth in each episode. In its 70 episodes, the podcast has covered famous stories including the birth and life of Lord Ganesh and Hanuman, the story of Harisharan, King Anangpal, Satyavan and Sabitri and the legend of Moti among many other stories. Although the hosts sometimes read out translations of these stories done by people over a century ago, they add in their own thoughts regarding some issues in the script to make it relevant in the present context.

Northern Myths Podcast

If you’re a fan of Thor, and want to learn more about Norse mythology, you should check out Northern Myths Podcast. Although the podcast has a lot of episodes dedicated to the subject, it isn’t entirely a Norse mythology podcast as it features folk stories from all northern European cultures. The episodes are incredibly detailed and the hosts do a good job at simplifying texts written by historians without missing the important tidbits. This podcast, started out in early 2018, has a total of 48 episodes till date and new episodes are out every week.

Spirits

If you’re into funny and weird mythologies, Spirits is the perfect podcast for you. Hosted by two long time best friends, Amanda McLoughlin and Julia Schifini, this podcast was created to talk about folklore, legends and myths from around the globe while sipping booze. Although the hosts know what they are talking about, the podcast is relatively lighter than other podcasts on this list and the dynamics between McLoughlin and Schifini makes the listening experience fun. Here they have episodes covering Norse myths, Greek and Roman myths, Hindu myths and myths from other cultures around the world as well. Spirits has a total of 134 episodes – some of which feature expert guest speakers – and is updated on a weekly basis. Every few months, they also put out special Urban Legends episodes where they read out emails (from listeners) consisting of a real life encounter with spirits that either they’ve experienced themselves or heard about from people around them.