In preperation for the new tv-show, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, we present you a very scientific examination of himbos in ASOIAF. Spoiler alert: our boy Dunk (thicc as a castle wall) ranks highly.

Join us as we discuss what exactly constitutes a himbo, and talk about characters ranging from Qarl the Maid to Grenn and Gendry. As well as some who are absolutely not himbos, even if they fit some criteria... 

If you want to follow along with the ranking, here's the himbo ranking in full:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FsXoYDkqeZ9U8Js95UC9-2kmUs61bbdW/view?usp=drive_link

If you want to do your own ranking, here's a file you can download and fill out yourself: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xTbyax4x2jCFNOVNXVlEKeWIZqdZUyG4rgvOkgzuRuQ/edit?usp=drive_link

As mentioned in the episode - during the duration of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, we'll put out episodes discussion each episode for patreons. If you want to listen to those, or our previous episodes discussing LOTR, join our Patreon!

You can contact us at:

[email protected]

BlueSky

Instagram

Thank you to Matt Graham for the theme music with sounds from zapsplat.com!

In this episode we take you on a journey to meet very real people (à la Brandon Starks if he were a king or a hunter) who are saints and actual people who are saints (with or without boobies and visions) with a bonus festive saint and singing (no fire was started in the making of this episode).

We manage to parallel Septon Meribald and Gregor Clegan (and bonus Oedipus!) to the same saint, and also talk Pretty Meris, Melisandre, Mother Mole, Baelor the Blessed, Jeyne Poole and more. We even throw in how Valyria could have avoided the Doom. And cakes that are boob-shaped.

Join us on this trip and make this shortest day of the year if you're in the Northern Hemisphere longer (and bring extra light to it if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, and some cold because these candles are in Sweden)

Tell your friends and maybe your racist uncle who needs to be reminded borders are fake about us and leave us a flurry of stars and a review wherever you listen to this episode <3

You can also join us on Patreon and support our work + get some LOTR virgin read through reaction episodes in your ears (and even go as far as save the world!)

You can contact us at:

[email protected]

BlueSky

Thank you to Matt Graham for the theme music with sounds from zapsplat.com!

Content, sources and ressources:

Virginie talks about

- Saint Agatha of Sicily

https://www.vaticannews.va/fr/saint-du-jour/02/05/saint-agathe--vierge-et-martyre-de-catane.html

https://www.vaticanstate.va/fr/etat-et-gouvernement/notes-generales/saint-du-jour/1458-5-fevrier-sainte-agathe-martyre.html

Prière Eucharistique 1 https://www.bibliotheque-monastique.ch/bibliotheque/bibliotheque/prièreseuch/PREXEUCH.htm  

Deborah PUCCIO, « Sainte Agathe, les femmes et le chocolat », Clio [En ligne], 14 | 2001, mis en ligne le 03 juillet 2006, consulté le 12 décembre 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/clio/108 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/clio.108

- Saint Julien le Pauvre (Saint Julian the Poor)

well, it's a Parisian mashup of a number of Saint Julians so maybe read on Julian the Hospitaller. And check out the church when you're in Paris!

https://www.sjlp-paris.org/

Lo talks about:

-Saint Erik

https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/uppsaladomkyrka/erik-den-helige-och-andra-helgon

https://www.so-rummet.se/kategorier/erik-den-helige 

https://sok.riksarkivet.se/sbl/Mobil/Artikel/15396

-Saint Birgitta

https://www.sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/heliga-birgitta-medeltida-maktspelerska 

https://historiska.se/utforska-historien/kunskapsbank/heliga-birgitta-sveriges-mest-kanda-kvinna/ 

and bonus Saint Lucie and songs!

In this episode we talk about gender nonconforming people throughout history, and ASOIAF. We cover everyone from Joan of Arc, genderqueer Viking era people, possible trans saints, and a Polish gender criminal (of sorts). And we compare them to characters like Brienne of Tarth, Morna White Mask, Alleras the Sphinx, Arya Stark, Brave Danny Flint, and more. Join us as we discuss how the gender binary is fake and heteronormativity is bullshit!  

You can contact us at:

[email protected]

BlueSky

Thank you to Matt Graham for the theme music with sounds from zapsplat.com!

Content, sources and ressources:

Lo talks about Late Iron Age/Viking age archeology, Saint Marinos, and Wojciech of Poznán:

“Trans and Genderqueer Subjects in Medieval Hagiography” edited by Alicia Spencer-Hall & Blake Gutt (including chapters by M.W. Bychowski and Lee Colwill)

“Were there Transgender People in the Middle Ages?” - M.W. Bychowski

“Wojciech of Poznán and the Trans Archive, Poland, 1550-1561” by Anna Kłosowska (in “Trans historical: Gender plurality before the modern”, edited by Greta LeFleur, Masha Raskolnikov & Anna Kłosowska)

“Magic, Genderfluidity, and queer Vikings, ca. 750‐1050” - Jacob Bell

Virginie talks about Joan of Arc and Saint Eugene/Eugenia:

“Les genres fluides - De Jeanne d'Arc aux saintes trans” by Clovis Maillet

In this episode, your hosts take you once more to the delightful (or not) realm of political deaths. Some of them just stop being alive, some are murdered, some experience chop chop, but all men must die -kings, princes who are also kings, men who used to be kings, people who got rid of kings, people who didn't want to get rid of kings, people who are not monarchs too.

Also, Virginie needs to come clean: she said "kings" were banned from the streets of Paris but she meant "pigs" 😅 (also, as her voice testifies, she was sick and deserves a break. Same for that time she forgets a key word in a sentence but it still makes sense)

Tell your friends and even your enemies about this episode in real life and on social media, and if you liked what you hear, leave us a firework of stars and rave about us in a review on your podcast app of choice.

Also, check out our Patreon! Virginie reads LOTR for the first time and is currently finding Jesus, you do not* want to miss it! (*or maybe you do) (up to you!)

You can contact us at:

[email protected]

BlueSky

Thank you to Matt Graham for the theme music with sounds from zapsplat.com!

Content, sources and ressources:

Lo talks about the death of Dag Hammarskjöld, the murder of Anna Lindh and the successful conspiracy against Gustav III

https://www.sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/gustav-iii-skandaler-sexstrul-och-statskupper 

https://www.sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/en-konspiration-tar-form-mordet-pa-gustav-iii-del-1 

https://www.sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/attentatet-mordet-pa-gustav-iii-del-2 

https://www.sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/dod-och-vedergallning-mordet-pa-gustav-iii-del-3 

https://www.daghammarskjold.se/dag-hammarskjold/dag-hammarskjold/ 

https://www.sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/dag-hammarskjold-med-varlden-pa-sina-axlar 

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/nya-uppgifter-legoknekt-ska-ha-erkant-att-han-dodade-dag-hammarskjold 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Lindh 

https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/mijailovic-talar-ut-det-ar-dags-att-sanningen-kommer-fram/ 

Virginie talks about the death of Philippe de France and the French Revolution. She hated the exercise of concision about a whole goddam war fought inside and outside the country so resorted to videos for high school students and the like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzaKONz9RZI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0InXmR8U0Ic

In this episode, we talk about one of our absolute favourite characters: Wyman Manderly.

We analyse where he and his family stand in the North, how he is perceived and how he uses that, his sense of ethics, why we love him in spite of some... less savoury bits and we finally get to share artwork by the fantastic Hanieh @dr3adlady.bsky.social‬ (We'll share it on social media and on our Patreon, on a public post like all our public episodes)

We also talk about some of the cast around him and we have a great time doing all that!

Tell your friends and your favourite rat cook (Remy or otherwise) about it, and if you like what you hear, leave us a firework of stars and rave about us in a review on your podcast app of choice.

Also, check out our Patreon where you can become a subscriber and get our bonus episodes at the Boots level and up! Virginie reads LOTR for the first time ever, and we hear from our patrons that she's keen eyed for *stuff*

You can contact us at:

[email protected]

BlueSky

Instagram

Thank you to Matt Graham for the theme music with sounds from zapsplat.com!

“’To Be Cocky Is to Challenge the Norms’: The Impact of Bodynormativity on Bodily and Sexual Attraction in Relation to Being a Cripple.” -  Denise Malmberg

“Men and masculinities” - Stephen M Whitehead

“Masculinity, Competence, and Health: The Influence of Weight and Race on Social Perceptions of Men.” - Nell Mary Trautner, Samantha Kwan & Scott V Savage

“Lords Too Fat to Sit a Horse: Body Normativity and Masculinity in ASOIAF” - Lo

In this episode, your hosts and guest Ray, discuss what happens when different cultures meet, in ASOIAF and irl.

We discuss migration, culture clashes, prejudice, racism, colonialism, and more! Along the way we conclude that both Viserys Targaryen and Jorah Mormont are the worst (albeit in different ways), and that the Free Folk makes a good parallel to climate refugees. 

We also chat with our guest about his journey through both the ASOIAF fandom and life in general! 

Tell your friends and fandom acquintances about this episode, and if you liked what you hear, leave us a bunch of stars and write a review on your podcast app of choice.

Also, check out our Patreon where we publish exclusive bonus episodes for our beloved patrons: Virginie reads LOTR for the first time, and we just finished "The Fellowship of the Ring"!

You can contact Ray at:

@untitledray (on Instagram)

@untitledray.bsky.social (on Bluesky

You can contact us at:

[email protected]

BlueSky

Instagram

Thank you LittleWolfBird for the sound engineering, and thank you to Matt Graham for the theme music with sounds from zapsplat.com!

Content, sources and ressources that are not our own experiences:

Lo

”The Free Folk and Colonialism” (essay by Lo)

”Herrarna satte oss hit: om tvångsförflyttningarna i Sverige” / ”The Rocks Will Echo our Sorrow: The forced displacement of the Northern Sámi” - Elin Anna Labba

Map of Meänmaa

”Meänkieli – Grammatik, lärobok, historik, texter” - Bengt Pohjanen

"Tornedalingar i Sverige" - Forum för levande historia

”Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Tornedalians, Kvens and Lantalaiset.”

The song ”Donkey Kong” by Hooja.

Virginie

"The Great Replacement Theory Explained" - National Immigration Forum

"Forced migration or displacement" - Migration Data Portal

"Migration and human mobility - key figures" - Migration Data Portal

"Key migration terms" - IOM

"Climate change and displacement" - UNHCR

"Climate change and human mobility" - IOM

Climate change (search on IOM's website)

In this third episode of our series looking at the books, actually, we look at a neat trick GRRM uses for subtle storytelling: the blasons/sigils of the main Houses of the North, through the prism of semiotics -and specifically, the tools developed by the researcher, Greimas.

You don't know what semiotics are? Fair enough! Let us explain that it's the study of signs and symbols, and how they are used to create meaning, tell stories, communicate ideas. And that GRRM provides the keen-eyed reader with a prime example of how to use images well <3

We hope you like this episode as much as we enjoyed nerding out and making it!

Tell your friends and even your barista about it, and if you like what you hear, leave us a firework of stars and rave about us in a review on your podcast app of choice.

Also, check out our Patreon where you can become a member and get cool rewards such as our bonus episodes at the Boots level and up! Virginie reads LOTR for the first time ever, and has a lot of correct opinions (or so she has been told).

You can contact us at:

[email protected]

BlueSky

Thank you LittleWolfBird for the sound engineering, and thank you to Matt Graham for the theme music with sounds from zapsplat.com!

Sources and further reading:

http://www.signosemio.com/greimas/canonical-narrative-schema.asp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actantial_model

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotic_square

All men - and people in general - must die, but what happens afterwards? In this episode we discuss understandings of death, burial rituals, and the afterlife in ASOIAF and real life! Join us to learn about how the pop culture understanding of "Viking funerals" is somewhat inaccurate, but also how funeral processions for kings and nobles in ASOIAF are far less extra than they were in real-life France. 

Tell your friends and even your enemies about this episode, and if you liked what you hear, leave us a firework of stars and rave about us in a review on your podcast app of choice.

Also, check out our Patreon where we publish exclusive bonus episodes for our beloved patrons: Virginie reads LOTR for the first time!

You can contact us at:

[email protected]

BlueSky

Instagram

Thank you LittleWolfBird for the sound engineering, and thank you to Matt Graham for the theme music with sounds from zapsplat.com!

Content, sources and ressources:

Lo:

Norse funeral (Wikipedia)

Kult och ritualer (Historiska museet)

Levande och döda (Historiska museet)

Hästen i den fornnordiska tron (SO-rummet)

Fornnordisk tro och asatro (SO-rummet)

Valhalla & Other Afterlives in Norse Mythology (Jessica Suess)

“The Queerly Departed: Narratives of Veneration in the Burials of Late Iron Age Scandinavia” (Lee Colwill, in “Trans and Genderqueer Subjects of Medieval Hagiography” eds. Alicia Spencer-Hall & Blake Gutt)

Virginie:

Dictionnaire du Moyen Âge (C. Gauvard, A. de Libera, M. Zink)

Passionnément Moyen Âge -plaidoyer pour le petit peuple (Claude Gauvard)

Jean-Claude Schmitt in La Mort et ses au-delà, sous la direction de Maurice Godelier

Les Funérailles royales de Henri IV (1610) (Gillet) 

Conclave : comment se déroule l’élection d’un Pape ?

Tongan funerals (Wikipedia)

In this second episode of our series looking at the books, in an extremely shocking twist of event (not), we are analysing Brienne!

We're talking gender, the patriarchy, transphobia, toxic gender norms, heresy and Podrick Payne, Hyle Hunt and Jaime Lannister get a mention. So do Cercei and Catelyn, for different reasons.

We hope you like this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!

Tell your friends and even your barista about it, and if you like what you hear, leave us a firework of stars and rave about us in a review on your podcast app of choice.

Also, check out our Patreon where you can become a member and get cool rewards such as our bonus episodes at the Boots level and up! Virginie reads LOTR for the first time ever, and everything is WWI (except when it's Star Wars) (something like that)

You can contact us at:

[email protected]

BlueSky

Thank you LittleWolfBird for the sound engineering, and thank you to Matt Graham for the theme music with sounds from zapsplat.com!

Sources/further reading:

-”A Brief Trans History” by Lohttps://lothelynx.wordpress.com/2021/11/24/a-brief-trans-history/ 

Your hosts and guest Abi ( @szegfu.bsky.social ) take you on a trip around the world and across time to learn more about George's favourite topic, probably: food!

We discuss having to adapt to a new food culture in real life, like Catelyn and Tyrion as well as Areo Hotah and Ser Arys do in the books, what people eat in the North(s), what spices were found in medieval European kitchens, how to preserve food when you don't have a fridge or an ice cell (or even if you have one), how to recreate Joffrey's wedding feast but make it actually extravagant and how amazing it is to learn Hungarian with curses.

Tell your friends and your favourite chef about this episode, and if you liked what you hear, leave us an oodle of stars and sing an ode about us in a review on your podcast app of choice.

Also, check out our Patreon where we publish exclusive bonus episodes for our beloved patrons: Virginie reads LOTR for the first time, you do not* want to miss it! (*or maybe you do) (up to you!). She has thoughts on foods there, too.

You can contact us at:

[email protected]

BlueSky

Instagram

Thank you LittleWolfBird for the sound engineering, and thank you to Matt Graham for the theme music with sounds from zapsplat.com!

Content, sources and ressources that are not our own experiences:

Lo:

-  https://www.samer.se/mat

Virginie

- Dictionnaire du Moyen Âge, C. Gauvard, A. de Libera, M. Zink

- Les Plaisir au Moyen Âge, Jean Verdon