Grimm Reading

By Grimm ReadingSociety & Culture

Grimm Reading episodes

May 22, 2022 Little Red Riding Hood
It’s the series four finale so it’s time for a big bad story - join us round the fire for a rendition of the one, the only, Little Red Riding Hood (aka Little Red Cap)!
A young girl heads out from home to her grandmother’s - but en route she meets a wolf in the deep of the woods. After engaging in some polite small talk, the wolf weaves a dastardly plan to capture girl and granny alike. Will it end in delicious victory for the wolf? Or will Little Red Cap emerge triumphant in the end?
After the tale, we take a wild wild through “the story of the story” where we discover Red Riding Hood’s origins, and how the meaning of the tale changed over time. From werewolves to sausages to medieval fashion - this episode explores new, disturbing terrain as we grapple with the strange history of the famous little red girl.
This episode is Certified Grimm for adult themes and one use of offensive language and may not be suitable for all listeners.
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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko
Other Music: Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto In E minor, Op. 64 (Nathan Milstein, violin; Vienna Philharmonic, Claudio Abbado, cond. ) // Chopin's Preludes, Op. 28, in C major (performed by Géza Anda) // Debussy's La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin (performed by Janos Starker and Shigeo Neriki)
1 hr 6 min
May 08, 2022 Little Brother And Little Sister
Have you ever been so thirsty you’d risk turning into a tiger? Can you die from an overly hot bath? Is there a dark side of the moon? Discover the answers to all this and more in our latest episode on the Brothers Grimm story Little Brother and Little Sister.

When an evil witchy step-mother turns her step-son into a fawn, he and his sister move into a cottage together. But when the fawn boy is chased down by the king's huntsmen, the king decides to marry his sister and it looks like we're due a happily ever after. But the evil step-mother has other ideas...

After the story, we discuss the confusing relationship the tale has with Hansel and Gretel before exploring brothers and sisters in fairy tales where we find ourselves hearing the brilliant story Nennillo and Nennella by Giambattista Basile.

This episode is Certified Grimm and may not be suitable for all listeners.

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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko
Other Music: Brahms’ Rhapsody in G minor, op. 79 no. 2 performed by Martha Argerich // Brahms’ Tragische Ouvertüre performed by Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra // Brahms’ Waltz 11 performed by Martha Argerich

55 min
April 24, 2022 The Fox And The Geese
This time we read the final story from the first volume of the Grimms' fairy tales: The Fox and the Geese. A tale in which our trusty cunning fox may have taken on more than he bargained for...
After the story things get mega foxy as we hear two other stories - that's right, two! - where things don't turn up entirely roses for Reynard: "The Hare And The Fox" by Ludwig Bechstein, and "Beasts In A Pit" collected by Alexander Afanasyev.
And that's not all!
We also take the time to reintroduce Reynard the Fox (the archetypal trickster fox of Medieval epics), including his incredible connection Disney's Robin Hood. And finally we unveil a new section of the show, "Fox News", where we hear some shocking Kitsune news fresh out of Japan.
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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko
Other Music: Robert Schumann's Scenes from Childhood, Op. 15 - III. Blind Man's Buff // Chopin's Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 65 - II. Scherzo // Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.28 in A Major, Op.101 - III & IV.

53 min
April 10, 2022 Frau Trude
This time we read the shocking tale of Frau Trude. A young girl is enamoured with her neighbour Mrs. Trude. But her parents absolutely forbid her to go on a visit. Naturally, the young girl ignores her parents and before long we've got heads literally on fire among other bizarre happenings.
Will the girl escape or has curiosity killed the cat? Join us round the fire as we try to decipher this strange, dark little story. Our musings lead us once again face-to-face with Baba Yaga, before settling in for a brief history of witches and witchcraft - from it's ancient origins, to the early-modern European witch trials, as well as the development of the iconic witch of fiction.
This episode is Certified Grimm for adult content, and may not be suitable for all listeners.

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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko
Other Music: Prokofiev's Montagues & Capulets performed by Filarmónica Juvenil de Cámara de Bogotá // Beethoven's Sonatas No. 12 in A Major & 17. in D Minor performed by Paul Pitman
48 min
April 03, 2022 An Interview With Dr Jamie Tehrani On The Origins Of Fairy Tales
In this episode, we talk with Dr Jamie Tehrani of Durham University about his research into the origins of fairy tales.
In his 2016 paper, co-authored with Sara Graça da Silva, they took phylogenetic modeling techniques - borrowed from the world of evolutionary biology where they're used to trace genetic lineages - and put them to work tracing the origins of folk tales.

The results seemed to prove that many fairy tale narratives can indeed be traced back several thousand years. But how exactly do these methods work? And can they really prove the existence of stories before the invention of writing?
We'd read the news articles and had a go at reading the paper, but we still didn't understand exactly how it worked. Fortunately, Dr Tehrani graciously offered up his time to explain how it was done. And we round things off with a fantastic story: The King And The Bishop.
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57 min
March 20, 2022 The Golden Bird
Join the king's youngest son on an adventure of a lifetime, as he seeks the mystical golden bird that's been pinching his dad's apples. Helped by a patient, omnipotent fox, the prince gets more than he bargained for when he deceives his way into a princess's bathing house.
Will he ever find the golden bird? And will his older brothers' jealously drive them to do the unthinkable? Find out in this week's story: The Golden Bird!

Dastardly deception, desperate decapitation, and omnipotent foxes - this story is a truly a grimm reading epic. After we've recovered, we discuss its relation to other stories in the Grimms' collection, as well as taking a brief trip to pronunciation corner before heading around the world, to see where this strange tale is found elsewhere and exploring its relation to the Firebird of slavic lore.
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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko
Other Music: Stravinsky's Firebird Suite - Final Hymn, performed by the Columbia Symphony Orchestra // Chopin's Etude Op. 10, no. 2 in A minor - 'Chromatique', performed by Edward Neeman.
1 hr 1 min
March 06, 2022 The Twelve Huntsmen
Twelve hunters, three lovers, and one sexist lion - join us for the Brothers Grimm story The Twelve Huntsmen!
A prince and princess are happily engaged. But when the prince’s dying father makes him promise to marry another, the princess is cast aside. Unperturbed, the princess gathers together twelve doppelgangers and gets the team employed as her ex's huntsmen. But when a magical sexist lion threatens to reveal her identity, she finds herself facing two impossible challenges.
Will the game be up? And what does the new bride think of all these shenanigans? Find out (or possibly don't find out) in this week's exciting Grimm tale.
After the story, we unpick the manifold plot holes before exploring the 'forgotten fiancé' trope in an erased Grimm tale called Prince Swan.
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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko
Other Music: Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 18 in E Flat Major 'The Hunt', Op. 31 no. 3 - II. performed by Paul Pitman // The Carnival of the Animals - XIII. The Swan (Solo piano version) performed by Markus Staab.
55 min
February 20, 2022 The Six Swans
When a king is forced to marry a witch’s daughter, his new bride turns her seven step sons into swans. Now it’s up to their only sister to undo the curse. But when her new husband condemns her to death for baby eating, it looks like all might be lost.
In fan favourite The Six Swans, we find magical yarn, star flowers, and a strip tease up a tree (no joke).
It’s the final installment in 'The Maiden Who Rescues Her Brothers' trilogy and after reading the story we discuss its place in the trilogy, before following its historical thread to the medieval story of The Swan Knight.
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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko
Other Music: Camille Saint-Saen's Carnival of the Animals, The Swan, performed by the Malmo Symphony Orchestra, Gabriel Schwabe on cello // Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Waltz, performed by the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, with conductor Dmitry Yablonsky.
54 min
February 08, 2022 Brother Lustig
In Brother Lustig, a discharged soldier is bankrupted by Saint Peter. The two then team up to start a venture bringing the dead back to life. But when Lustig eats an undercooked lamb's heart, St. Peter decides to go his own way. Will this mismatched pair ever make up? And how will St Peter keep Brother Lustig on the straight and narrow?

Find out in this epic buddy road caper, filled with haunted castles, undead princesses, and magical knapsacks.

After the tale, we try to unpick this piece of moral philosophical genius and discover how the story it connected to one of the oldest tales in human existence, The Smith And The Devil.

This episode is Certified Grimm and may not be suitable for all listeners.

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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko
Other Music: Camille Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre, Op. 40 Performed by University of Chicago Orchestra & Christoph Zbinden // Josef Suk's Serenade for strings in E flat major, Op. 6 Performed by Filharmonický orchestr Iwasaki
1 hr 13 min
January 23, 2022 The Summer And Winter Garden (Beauty And The Beast)
A surprise story this time - the Grimms' version of Beauty And The Beast!  Called ‘The Summer And Winter Garden’, join us on a breathtaking journey of kidnapping, heartache, and love against the odds.
In the deep of winter, a father’s most beautiful daughter asks him to bring back a rose from his work trip. When he takes a rose belonging to a hideous beast, the monster demands the man’s daughter in marriage - to which he agrees. Can the daughter escape this fate? Or will she perhaps see another side to this supposed beast?  
A powerful tale of inter-species love, this gargantuan episode is one of our longest yet so settle in for a biggie where we explore the meaning behind the tale, its French origins in the Salons of Paris, and its ancient roman cousin, Cupid And Psyche.

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Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko
Other Music: Dvořák's Slavonic Dances Op.72 No. 2: Allegretto Grazioso (Herbert von Karajan; Berliner Philharmoniker) // Mozart's Serenade in G, Eine kleine Nachtmusik // Chopin's Valse No. 6 in D flat major, Op. 64, No. 1 ('Minute' Waltz).
1 hr 23 min