Today, we continue our foray into Central Asia with yet another Cinderella story. Huzzah.

Except this one is not just a story, but actually a ritual to help women and girls achieve what they want. And... Anton ruined it because he's the one telling it (it's supposed to only be told by women or girls). We also talk about public executions... 'cause Lilly is like that. Zach is clearly not a fan.

This story involves toys (not like Toy Story toys, but circumcision/wedding ceremonies). If you know anything about those, let us know by emailing us at [email protected]. Also let us know what kind of public execution you'd go to. DM us on Instagram at lillytalksalot@ and whatsupanton@.

See you next time!

We are also continuing our partnership with Ana Luisa this Valentine's season. You can get yourself and your loved ones the perfect gift with up to 40% off. Check out Ana Luisa https://shop.analuisa.com/ispeakeng We know you'll LOVE them!

Link to the story:

https://culturalpropertynews.org/a-central-asian-cinderella-the-tale-of-bibi-seshambe/

Happy Lunar New Year!

Today, Zach and Anton listen to Lilly and her dad duke it out to see who tells the same story BETTER (kinda). This story is about bánh chưng and bánh tét, two Vietnamese savory rice cakes. Who created these cakes? How did these simple cakes beat the 17 other exotic dishes in Hell's Kitchen: Vietnam Edition? Tune in to find out!

Tell us who you thought told the story better! Email us at [email protected], or DM us on Instagram: @lillytalksalot and @whatsupanton. Until next time!

Link to the story:

http://www.lionbrand.com.au/blog/the-legend-of-the-rice-cake-banh-chung-and-banh-giay

Hey everyone!

In the first of two episodes focused on Central Asia (yes, they're Asian too!), Anton takes you to the land of the Uyghurs (also boycott China), where a black ogre (not racist) terrorizes the land by stealing all the young beautiful girls from a nameless city in the Taklamakan Desert. Black Shrek, however, faces a fate that will build his leg muscles for centuries to come, thanks to the wits of a student named Batur. What is said fate? Why is Mufasa in this episode? And what does the fox say? All shall be revealed when you smash that play button!

Let us know why you think Shrek is green by emailing us at [email protected]. Or you can DM us on Instagram at whatsupanton and lillytalksalot. Until next time!

We are also continuing our partnership with Ana Luisa this Valentine's season. You can get yourself and your loved ones the perfect gift with up to 40% off. Check out Ana Luisa https://shop.analuisa.com/ispeakeng We know you'll LOVE them!

Link to the story:

https://kashgar.com.au/blogs/tribal-culture/a-uyghur-fairy-tale-the-clever-young-man

We are back with more folk tales from Cambodia!

Just kidding. This episode is actually about Thai folk tales, but Anton can't seem to forget Cambodia and Xieng Mieng. As is now customary on this podcast, we are featuring a whirlwind of a Cinderella story that involves yet another gobi fish! After that is a story of why humans have sex whenever they want (clearly the favorite of this episode). Followed by a story of a good intentioned but ultimately a not-that-smart husband, a deceiving monkey, and a boy who ate too much... Lessons? Don't marry for love (according to Lilly).

We are also continuing our partnership with Ana Luisa this Valentine's season. You can get yourself and your loved ones the perfect gift with up to 40% off. Check out Ana Luisa https://shop.analuisa.com/ispeakeng I know you'll LOVE them!

Let us know if you want Xieng Mieng back by sending us an email at [email protected], or DMing us on Instagram at whatsupanton and lillytalksalot. Until next time!

Links to stories:

https://thesmartlocal.com/thailand/8-disturbing-thai-folklore/

https://www.escati.com/8-southern-thailand-folk-tales/

https://www.sirinyas-thailand.de/2015/08/09/a-thai-folk-tale-the-clever-monkey/

Hey everyone!

In this episode, Christine comes back and kicks Anton out of the podcast, and Lilly shares with us Korea's obsession with virgin ghosts and long things that are usually attached to people with XY chromosomes. Among the lessons learned are to be accepting of yourself, even if you have big donkey ears, to cough before you enter a bathroom, and to avoid getting a runny nose whenever possible... Don't ask. You don't want to know... or do you?

That being said, we have also partnered with Ana Luisa this Valentine's season. You can get yourself and your loved ones the perfect gift with up to 40% off. Check out Ana Luisa https://shop.analuisa.com/ispeakeng I know you’ll LOVE them!

As always, email us at [email protected] (bonus points if you tell us whether you would marry a chicken or an ostrich), and feel free to follow us on Instagram, Lilly at lillytalksalot, and Anton at whatsupanton. Happy New Year and until next time!

Links to stories:

The Crane Who Fell in Love With a Human

The King Has Donkey Ears

Origin of Cold

Haesindang Park

P.S. Anton did hate the audio shituation in the beginning of the episode.

Hey everyone! We're taking this time to celebrate our Mongolian heritage ('cause we're all related to Genghis Khan somehow, right?). Anton shares a few Mongolian tales that surely would've kept Genghis too entertained to be pillaging your villages. Basically, Anton is the modern day Scheherazade, but more handsome. (You can thank him later). Among these tales are how to convince a god that you've been wronged even though you basically foiled their plans, and a familiar tale about a turtle... minus the smelly arm pits.

We hope you enjoy them! If you have thoughts about these stories, send them to us at [email protected], or DM us on Instagram, lillytalksalot@ and whatsupanton@

References:

https://mongolianstore.com/folk-tales/

Are you scared? 'Cause we're back from the podcast graveyard. Wooooooo.

In this episode, Diana shares some spoopy Japanese urban legends that are sure to make you avoid bathrooms, avoid woman who ask you if they are beautiful, and dismembered torsos. Yeah, sorry not sorry about the vivid imagery. Additionally, we catch up with Diana who has some of her own nightmares IRL to share.

Lilly promises we'll get back on track, so check us out in two weeks for the next episode! Happy Halloween!

Any spoopy stories to share? Email them to us at [email protected]

You can follow Diana's Instagram @_diana.dang_, or find her on YouTube at youtube.com/user/TheWallflowerStyle, Anton @whatsupanton, and Lilly @lillytalksalot.

Xieng Mieng! We love Xieng Mieng so much, we decided to invite him onto our podcast. Unfortunately, he lost his voice recently, so Anton has decided to tell Xieng Mieng's Laotian stories on his behalf. But trust me, these are great stories. The Laotian people have a great sense of humor (email us if you can confirm this is true, [email protected]).

There's also a story that speaks poorly of men's armpits, much to Lilly's delight ('cause we all know how much she looooovees men).

Let us know if you love Xieng Mieng as much as we do. Here are the links to the folk tales, here, here, and here. You can reach out to Lilly and me on Instagram at @lillytalksalot and @whatsupanton, respectively.

Thumbnail art by @l.indatran

(Apologies for being late, we just had so much fun with Xieng Mieng, we lost track of time!)

Episode 4 is finally here after over 2 weeks! (Sorry everyone! I had a very very very, extremely busy 2 weeks... not in the US! Yay travel! - Lilly being impersonated by Anton).

In this episode, we are joined by Kevin and Christine who share their perspectives on a famous Vietnamese catfish who would be superbly good at karaoke (Truong Chi My Nuong). Frankly, we're not even sure what the lesson was in the story, or whether the dad in the story knew the origins of the jade, 'cause it was all just so strange... If you know, let us know at [email protected]. Also let us know if Lilly should stream video games on Twitch.

Speaking of Twitch, you can watch Kevin (and by extension Christine) stream games @thekevintran, or stalk him on Instagram @onlykevintran. You can slide into Lilly's Instagram DMs @lillytalksalot and follow Anton @whatsupanton.

Thumbnail art by @l.indatran