Lore

By Aaron Mahnke and Grim & Mild

Society & Culture History

What's Lore about?

Lore is a bi-weekly podcast (and upcoming TV show) about the dark historical tales that fuel our modern superstitions. Each episode explores the world of mysterious creatures, tragic events, and unusual places.

Because sometimes the truth is more frightening than fiction.

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LAST EPISODE

Episode 146: A Great Weight

07.06.2020

Humans have spent thousands of years building systems to keep us as safe as possible. But eventually, each of us will have to stop and rest, letting down our guard and opening ourselves up to perhaps our darkest and oldest ...

Lore episodes:

07.06.2020 Episode 146: A Great Weight Humans have spent thousands of years building systems to keep us as safe as possible. But eventually, each of us will have to stop and rest, letting down our guard and opening ourselves up to perhaps our darkest and oldest ...
06.22.2020 Episode 145: Invention Human ingenuity knows no bounds. Along with creating all manner of new technology, and ever more complex levels of knowledge, another thing we are good at inventing is ourselves. And sometimes that alteration can become the stuff of legend. ———————— ...
06.08.2020 Episode 144: Birds of Prey Folklore is often about danger and how we, as a community, might avoid it. But real life sometimes becomes a mirror of those fears, and leaves us wondering why no one saw it coming. ———————— This episode of Lore was ...
05.25.2020 Episode 143: Inside Information Some of the oldest and most popular parts of folklore are the ghost stories. Whether told around a campfire, or red about in the safety a well-lit room, they are always fun, and often chilling. But there’s so much more ...
05.11.2020 Episode 142: Reflections There’s a lot that science has explained away. Mysteries that left us cowering in fear. Events that challenged our feelings of security and control. But even after all that progress, there are still some unexplained stories that left to haunt ...
04.27.2020 Episode 141: Stains Humanity has always been very good at making the best of a bad situation. Either by burying the past, or at least by building distractions that take the focus off of it. But no matter how beautiful those distractions are, ...
04.13.2020 Episode 140: Potential We often speak in lofty terms about all that humans are capable of achieving, and much of that is true. But looking backward in time, we can also see moments when that potential has led to horrible tragedy. And we ...
03.30.2020 Episode 139: Heirloom The way we treat the past is a great lens into the character of humanity. Sometimes we elevate it, but all too often we work to bury it. And while the excuse might be to make room for the march ...
03.16.2020 Episode 138: Foresight Humanity has grown over the millennia by passing on knowledge through teachings and guides. Even today, how-to books are best-sellers, and people are more hungry than ever to learn and grow. But some lessons aren’t worth passing on, and in ...
03.02.2020 Episode 137: Elusive Our passion for solving incomplete puzzles is something that unites us as a culture. We will chase any mystery and dig into every single question we encounter. But that attraction might also put us in grave danger, if history is ...
02.17.2020 Episode 136: The Third Time Folklore is our legacy. We humans have carried it with us everywhere we’ve gone in the world, and it anchors us to our roots and our community. But it also does something else: it gives us a place to hide ...
02.03.2020 Episode 135: A Good Death We like it when things go according to plan. Even when it comes to death, we long to have some semblance of control over our path. So when those best-laid plans are disrupted by the unexpected, it’s only natural to ...
01.20.2020 Episode 134: Disturbing the Peace Episode 134: Disturbing the Peace There’s nothing more certain in life than death. No matter how rewarding or challenging our days on this planet might be, for as long as humans have been around, we’ve viewed death as something akin ...
01.06.2020 Episode 133: Proof Positive The human tendency to study the unknown—to dig deep and search for the bedrock of truth at the bottom of the mystery—is one of our most enduring qualities. But while that tenacity has helped scientists unlock much of our world, ...
12.23.2019 Episode 132: Puzzled We all love a good hiding place. Whether it’s the child who tucks the key to their diary under their pillow, or the parent who hides away the holiday gifts, humans have proven themselves to be fond of secret places. ...
12.09.2019 Episode 131: Sea of Change While the ocean represents opportunity and hope to a lot of people, it also holds more mystery than most of feel comfortable with. Yes, we’ve explored it in search of new lands and discoveries, but we’ve also lost so much ...
11.25.2019 Episode 130: In Plain Sight Before cell phones and internet access, learning about the world around us took a lot of time. Along the way, there would be gaps in our knowledge—holes that human cultures tended to fill with folklore. And while the creatures they ...
11.11.2019 Episode 129: Digging Deep The longer humans stay in one place, the more progress and community we seem to create. But at the same time, we bring our darkness with us, and over time it begins to stain a place with shadows of pain ...
10.28.2019 Episode 128: A Hole in the Head Most of our life is spent looking for things. Companionship, security, even our lost keys. But above all of that is our search for answers, and the way human beings have tried to find them has lead to all manner ...
10.21.2019 Episode 127: Tipping the Scales Episode 127: Tipping the Scales If you flip through the pages of history long enough, you’ll eventually run into stories about life out of balance, and how something—fate or chance or something otherworldly—has stepped in to make it right. In ...
10.14.2019 Episode 126: Aftershocks Some places in our world have a dark legacy. Prior failures. Shameful acts. Painful tragedy. Even though it all took place long before we arrived there, we can still feel the tremors of that darkness—and the stories about their source ...
10.07.2019 Episode 125: Paper Trails Everyone longs for someone. That special partner who can enter their life and make is something better, something more. And while dating has taken many forms over the years, nothing is like a good, old fashioned personal ad—or the people ...
09.30.2019 Episode 124: To Die For Everyone wants to look good. And while there’s nothing wrong with beauty, sometimes people have made sacrifices—both willing and unaware—in the pursuit of it. After looking through the pages of history, though, that hasn’t always been a good thing. ——————— ...
09.16.2019 Episode 123: Unnoticed Home might very well be what you make it, but it’s not always about beautiful decorations and comfortable furnishings. Sometimes the places we live take on elements of our own personality. Even after we’ve moved on, those pieces remain behind, ...
09.02.2019 Episode 122: The Shortest Straw Episode 122: The Shortest Straw Human nature has a number of powerful, universal characteristics. Our need for community. Our love of storytelling. Our seemingly infinite capacity to adapt and thrive. But some of the most terrifying events in history find ...
08.19.2019 Episode 121: Uninvited Guest Some threats to our safety and well-being are obvious and easy to spot from a mile away. Over the course of history, people have become very skilled at looking for danger and avoiding it. But some threats are more difficult ...
08.05.2019 Episode 120: Whistle While You Work Human ambition has led us to some amazing achievements, and taken us to unexplored places. But it has also lured us into places where there is a lot more fear and danger than we are used to, and the stories ...
07.22.2019 Episode 119: Evolution Some stories have been around for a very long time, and others are fairly new. One thing is certain, though: the tales we tell have a way of changing over time. But that doesn’t make them any less powerful—or any ...
07.08.2019 Episode 118: Ambition Some people have a fire inside them that drives them to do great things. New discoveries, breakthrough inventions, or astonishing accomplishments. But some have harnessed that passion for something darker, and they’re actions have left a painful mark on history. ...
06.24.2019 Episode 117: Bones Episode 117: Bones Everything is built upon something else. Whether it is a mighty fortress, a simple home, or the very lives of the people around us, there’s a foundation beneath everything. But don’t let that strong, smooth layer fool ...
06.10.2019 Episode 116: Something Blue No one likes to be sick, and yet it is one of the most dependable things in life. We will all, at some point, become ill, and when we do, the most important thing in our world will be recovery ...
05.27.2019 Episode 115: Perspective The way we explain the world around us is determined by the lens we view it through, especially when events sit outside the realm of the believable. And no better moment in time can illustrate that idea better than the ...
05.13.2019 Episode 114: The Gateway Most locations have an isolated history that is unique to them and only them. But some places have served as the entry point for a bigger idea and a larger impact on history as a whole. Sadly, that sort of ...
04.29.2019 Episode 113: Word of Mouth Throughout history, cultures around the world have explored the world of medicine in search of tools that can heal our bodies. We’ve used plants and minerals, of course, but the most powerful tool might also be the most taboo—and it’s ...
04.15.2019 Episode 112: Facets Of all the parts of life that we can depend on, one of the darkest parts is loss. That’s the trouble with being surrounded by mortal, fragile human beings; at some point, the people we love won’t be here anymore. ...
04.01.2019 Episode 111: Inside Job The deepest mysteries come from the places we haven’t fully explored, or where we lack the control that makes us feel safe. And yet one of the most universally mysterious places of all is closer than you might believe. It’s ...
03.18.2019 Episode 110: Crooked Not everything can be perfect. Even when there’s a clean slate and we’re given the resources and tools to make something great, humans have a way of building their flaws into it. And while there are many examples of locations ...
03.04.2019 Episode 109: Assumption There’s a lot in life we can count on. Death, taxes, the sunrise, and political turmoil--these are all guaranteed, safe bets. But outside that, everything else is an assumption. And sometimes we get it tragically, horribly wrong. * * * ...
02.18.2019 Episode 108: Debris Our oceans are some of the most remote regions on the planet. Because of that, people have filled that darkness and space with stories that reflect our common fears and deepest suspicious. Unfortunately, the pages of history offer less reason ...
02.04.2019 Episode 107: Sight Unseen We like to think we’ll see it coming. That we can plan ahead and prepare—even defend ourselves. But death comes in all shapes and sizes, sometimes so small and featureless that it slips through our carefully constructed defenses without us ...
01.21.2019 Episode 106: The Collection Humans have a tendency to collect things. From baseball cards to Twitter followers, we enjoy bringing everything into one place. But when that collection represents the very worst of humanity—both in how it’s managed and where it comes from—the act ...
01.07.2019 Episode 105: Layers We love to simplify things. Easy is better than complex, after all, and simple things are easy to understand. Sadly, though, the people around us are far from simple; they are complex and layered, with deep, hidden stories just waiting ...
12.21.2018 Episode 104: Anchored The ocean is very good at taking things from us, but we are equally skilled at not forgetting. Still, no matter how many stories we tell about lost ships and vanished loved ones, it will never bring them back. At ...
12.10.2018 Episode 103: Disappointment Humanity is fueled by hope. We hope for improvement, and dream of a day when things get better than they are right now. And for a very long time, there have been certain people who have taken advantage of that ...
11.26.2018 Episode 102: Devil in the Details Most of us live incredibly busy lives, and because of all that distraction, we tend to miss the little things. Whether it’s a forgotten birthday, or the small puddle of water beneath your water heater in the basement, not noticing ...
11.12.2018 Episode 101: Worn Away Like a well-loved pair of shoes, or those jeans you bought in college and never gave up on, some things become worn out over time. But when that thing is a physical location, eroded away by thousands of years of ...
10.29.2018 Episode 100: Home Sweet Home Every movement has a seed, that spark that sets the fire ablaze. But this spark is more than just a murder mystery, or a treasure hunt, or even a haunting unlike any other. This one is all three. Which may ...
10.22.2018 Episode 99: Out For Blood Each of us holds inside ourselves a precious cargo. It is the key to life, and a worthy sacrifice when important things are on the line. And yet it also sits at the center of some of our greatest fears. ...
10.15.2018 Episode 98: Never Alone When tragedy strikes and poor choices haunt us, sometimes the only thing we can do is move on and build on the ashes of the past. But there are places where that hasn’t worked out so well. In fact, sometimes ...
10.08.2018 Episode 97: Misplaced For thousands of years, humans have built rules and procedures for handling the various curveballs that life throws our way—and we place a lot of trust in those systems. Most of the time, it all works properly, but there are ...

Older episodes

Lore

What's Lore about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Lore episodes:

Episode 146: A Great Weight

Episode 145: Invention

Episode 144: Birds of Prey

Episode 143: Inside Information

Episode 142: Reflections

Episode 141: Stains

Episode 140: Potential

Episode 139: Heirloom

Episode 138: Foresight

Episode 137: Elusive

Episode 136: The Third Time

Episode 135: A Good Death

Episode 134: Disturbing the Peace

Episode 133: Proof Positive

Episode 132: Puzzled

Episode 131: Sea of Change

Episode 130: In Plain Sight

Episode 129: Digging Deep

Episode 128: A Hole in the Head

Episode 127: Tipping the Scales

Episode 126: Aftershocks

Episode 125: Paper Trails

Episode 124: To Die For

Episode 123: Unnoticed

Episode 122: The Shortest Straw

Episode 121: Uninvited Guest

Episode 120: Whistle While You Work

Episode 119: Evolution

Episode 118: Ambition

Episode 117: Bones

Episode 116: Something Blue

Episode 115: Perspective

Episode 114: The Gateway

Episode 113: Word of Mouth

Episode 112: Facets

Episode 111: Inside Job

Episode 110: Crooked

Episode 109: Assumption

Episode 108: Debris

Episode 107: Sight Unseen

Episode 106: The Collection

Episode 105: Layers

Episode 104: Anchored

Episode 103: Disappointment

Episode 102: Devil in the Details

Episode 101: Worn Away

Episode 100: Home Sweet Home

Episode 99: Out For Blood

Episode 98: Never Alone

Episode 97: Misplaced

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