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 168: Beyond the Pale

04.12.2021

Hope is a powerful emotion, and it has driven humans to do great things over the centuries. It’s also a key element of folklore, but the stories it gives rise to there are more than just inspiring—some of them can ...

Lore episodes:

04.12.2021 Episode 168: Beyond the Pale Hope is a powerful emotion, and it has driven humans to do great things over the centuries. It’s also a key element of folklore, but the stories it gives rise to there are more than just inspiring—some of them can ...
03.29.2021 Episode 167: Deviation Death is one of life’s certainties, and the final chapter in each of our stories. And yet throughout history, there have been reports of those who have broken the rules—and the brave few who rose to the challenge to stop ...
03.15.2021 Episode 166: Toxic For thousands of years, humans have used a tool of violence to control their enemies, advance their careers, and remove their problems. And the only thing more frightening than the tool itself are the stories about the people who use ...
03.01.2021 Episode 165: On the Line Some places seem to straddle the boundary between one world and another. It’s a feature than can often generate charm and beauty, but sometimes it creates darker things, as the history of these historic islands demonstrates so well. ———————— This ...
02.15.2021 Episode 164: Loyal Companion While animals have been our constant companions for thousands of years, one chapter of our long history together led to much more terrifying results. ———————— This episode of Lore was sponsored by: Squarespace: If you're passionate about it, show it ...
02.01.2021 Episode 163: Persistence It should come as no surprise that one of humanity’s greatest qualities is also the tool with which it has committed much darker tragedies. Even far from the wilds of the Old World, that legacy was never far behind. ———————— ...
01.18.2021 Episode 162: By Design In a world obsessed with fairytale endings, the most iconic type of setting for those stories turns out to also be home to some of the darkest histories around. ———————— This episode of Lore was sponsored by: The Great Courses ...
01.04.2021 Episode 161: Shell Game Folklore is often born in moments were answers and hope seem lost, and few situations like that have generated more stories than the crucible of human conflict. ———————— This episode of Lore was sponsored by: HelloFresh: Save time and frustration, ...
12.21.2020 Episode 160: Sleight of Hand One of the oldest beliefs in human history is also the root of countless stories in our collective folklore. But to understand the power of those tales, we need to understand the people who brought them to life. ———————— Episode ...
12.07.2020 Episode 159: Close By Episode 159: Close By Whether intentionally or by accident, the past has a way of slipping away, slowly vanishing beneath our feet. That doesn’t mean it’s gone forever, though. But before we seek unearth it, it would be wise to ...
11.23.2020 Episode 158: A Grain of Truth Oftentimes, the truth is right in front of us, made as plain as day and easy to access. But sometimes it’s lost, and the only way to track it down is through story. But as one island in the Pacific ...
11.09.2020 Episode 157: Hanging On One of the most common features of our legends and folklore is our dreams. And one of the most common dreams, across all the pages of history, is a desire that has haunted people since the dawn of time—a desire ...
10.26.2020 Episode 156: Bottled Up Humans are very good at making assumptions. But if we look a little deeper, our preconceived ideas about some of the most common bits of folklore won’t just change—they’ll transform into something terrifying. ——————————— Lore Resources: Episode Music: lorepodcast.com/music Episode ...
10.19.2020 Episode 155: Skin Deep Some stories are very familiar to us, but our understanding of them is only the tip of the iceberg. Even one of folklore’s most legendary creatures has roots that are almost forgotten today—roots that are both ancient and terrifying. ————————— ...
10.12.2020 Episode 154: Adding It Up Everywhere you go these days, there are superstitions. Many are modern, and not much more than clever word games or rhymes designed to help us remember things. But a few are older, with roots in a past that’s a bit ...
10.05.2020 Episode 153: Hold On Sometimes the past sticks around because we work hard to make sure it’s never forgotten. Other times, it stays with us because we refused to let it go. But in one American city, the past seems to have stuck around ...
09.28.2020 Episode 152: Follow the Leader Folklore is filled with stories that evolve over time, and while the originals are full of drama and fright, it’s in the evolution that they truly come to life. ———————— Lore Resources: Episode Music: lorepodcast.com/music Episode Sources: lorepodcast.com/sources Lore News: ...
09.14.2020 Episode 151: By the Book For a very long time, people have believed that our world is filled with magic. Secret knowledge and hidden truths that we can use to unlock power and privilege. It’s a belief that’s taken all shapes and forms, but there’s ...
08.31.2020 Episode 150: Addition History can be easy to brush aside or paint over, giving us the illusion of control. But just because we can’t see the past doesn’t mean it’s not there, active and powerful, working behind the scenes to remind us of ...
08.17.2020 Episode 149: Off Track History has proven just how good humans are at improving things, from weapons and tools to medicine and education. But some advancements come at a price, while creating some horrifying folklore in the process. ———————— Lore Resources: Episode Music: lorepodcast.com/music ...
08.03.2020 Episode 148: Predictable If history has shown us anything, it’s that humans are easily motivated by fear. Just what some of those fears have been, though, is more than a little frightening. ————————————— Lore Resources: Episode Music: lorepodcast.com/music Episode Sources: lorepodcast.com/sources Lore News: ...
07.20.2020 Episode 147: Contained Humans have long practiced the art of building walls and fortresses in an effort to gain control or find safety. But no place is safe from the danger we bring upon ourselves, and sometimes those tragedies stay right where they ...
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. ———————— Lore Resources: Episode Music: lorepodcast.com/music ...
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 ...

Older episodes

Lore

What's Lore about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Lore episodes:

Episode 168: Beyond the Pale

Episode 167: Deviation

Episode 166: Toxic

Episode 165: On the Line

Episode 164: Loyal Companion

Episode 163: Persistence

Episode 162: By Design

Episode 161: Shell Game

Episode 160: Sleight of Hand

Episode 159: Close By

Episode 158: A Grain of Truth

Episode 157: Hanging On

Episode 156: Bottled Up

Episode 155: Skin Deep

Episode 154: Adding It Up

Episode 153: Hold On

Episode 152: Follow the Leader

Episode 151: By the Book

Episode 150: Addition

Episode 149: Off Track

Episode 148: Predictable

Episode 147: Contained

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

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