(Sort of) The Story

By Janey and Max

Two best friends tell each other stories they heard and read that week (and also, you are here!)... more

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FAQs about (Sort of) The Story:

How many episodes does (Sort of) The Story have?

The podcast currently has 189 episodes available.

(Sort of) The Story episodes:

August 21, 2025161. Kickin' Boys (keeps the rheumatism away)
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On this week's episode, Janey is going to tell a story about a boy-kicker who got the last stomp, and Max is going to tell us about a little guy who gets his juice squeezed! (Some days writing these intros feels like a cosmic test....) Hope you enjoy!

Janey's Sources - Ragged Emperor
“The Bronze Cauldron: Myths and Legends of the World” by Geradline McCaughrean and Bee Wiley (Illustrator)
Wikipedia entry for "Yu the Great"

Max's Sources - Crooked Foot the Dwarf
LITTLE BOOK OF LATIN AMERICAN FOLKTALES
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...more
1h 17min
August 07, 2025160. Disco Hedgehog (let’s wrestle Grandma)
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Hello! We're back from summer break and excited to tell you two brand new stories! This week Max is going to tell us about a radioactive little guy who just wants to dance, and Janey is going to tell us about a man who chose to tickle the wrong round girl. Enjoy!

Janey's Sources - Three Strong Women
“Diane Goode’s Book of Giants and Little People”

Max's Sources - Disco Hedgehog
“Viktor and Rolf Fairy Tales”
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Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!)

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...more
1h 6min
July 04, 2025159. Latin American Stories RE-RELEASE (Abolish ICE)
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Hello! We hope you're having a good summer. Things have been crazy, and we just wanted to pop in from our summer break and leave you all a little love.
On July 4th, we donated $500 in the name of (Sort of) The Story to the American Civil Liberties Union. We love you, no matter where you're from.
Janey's Sources - The Wife Who Could Remove Her Head (from Episode 33)
"The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers and Other Gruesome Tales" by Jen Campbell (Illustrated by Adam de Souza)
Latin American Folktales: Stories from Hispanic and Indian Traditions by John Bierhorst
History of The Pipils
Max's Sources - Ix Chel (from Episode 13)
"Who Was the Mayan Goddess Ixchel?"
"Ixchel Mayan Goddess"
"A Legend of One Goddess"
"Ix Chel" from Gods and Goddesses
"IxChel and the Dragonflies" from Tres Cuentos Literary Podcast
"The Moon in the Well: Wisdom Tales to Transform Your Life, Family, and Community" by Erica Helen Meade
"The Mayan Pantheon: The Many Gods of the Maya" by Joshua J. Mark for World History Encyclopedia
ADDITIONAL Sources -
“Support for immigrant families targeted for deportation” from Immigrants Rising
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: Tools from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center
“I Have Rights” Red cards from ILRC (PRINT THESE)
Immigrants' Rights | American Civil Liberties Union
Support the show
Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account!

Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!)

Want more??
Visit our website!
Join our Patreon!
Shop the merch at TeePublic!

If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials!
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And email us at [email protected]
...more
1h 5min
May 22, 2025158. We’re the Hero Twins (why is there only one bed in this cave?)
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Hello and happy last-episode-before-summer-break! This week, Max is going to tell us a Mayan tale about two little scamps who learn the age-old lesson that ball IS life, and Janey is going to teach us to never trust Old Greg (but if you haven't learned that lesson by now, you might be doomed). We hope you enjoy!
PS, we are taking the month of June (and possibly July) off! This is absolutely necessary for us to rest and recharge after Hurricane Twilight Puppet Musical devastated our mental cities (does this bit work?) If you want more episodes, consider joining the Patreon at the $7 level! We have a ton of very fun bonus episodes up and ready to binge-- plus you get access to the Discord!
We love you, we'll miss you, and we thank you for listening! <3
Janey's Sources - The Soul Cages
Celtic Fairy Tales retold by Neil Philip
Free Text
“The Soul Cages: A Fake Folktale” from Writing in Margins
The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers by Jen Campbell

Max's Sources - The Tricks of Hunahpú and Xbalanqué
Full scan online of “The Enchanted Orchard, and other folktales of Central America” by Dorothy Sharp Carter

Support the show
Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account!

Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!)

Want more??
Visit our website!
Join our Patreon!
Shop the merch at TeePublic!

If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials!
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And email us at [email protected]
...more
1h 42min
May 08, 2025157. That's That Me Manchego (this princess has ADHD)
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Hello and welcome back! On this week's episode, Janey is going to tell us about a helpful little mouse who can do it all, and Max is going to tell us about a woman who prioritizes her needs over work (god FORBID a woman do something for herself every once in a while). Enjoy!

Janey's Sources - The Forest Bride
Full free text
Max's Sources - The Weaver Maiden and the Cowherd
“Myths of the World” by Padraic Colum
Summary of “The Cowherd and the Weaving Maid” variant
Summary of “The Weaver and the Cow Herdsman,” Korean variant
Summary of “The Legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl” variant
Support the show
Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account!

Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!)

Want more??
Visit our website!
Join our Patreon!
Shop the merch at TeePublic!

If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials!
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And email us at [email protected]
...more
1h 13min
April 24, 2025156. The Labyrinth was a Maze (Justice for Ariadne)
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Hello and happy Part 2 of our Mythology episode! This week Max is going to tell us the story of Theseus, Ariadne, and the Minotaur! Get ready to rage!

Max’s Sources - Theseus, Ariadne, the Minotaur, and the Labyrinth
Diffen.com - “Labyrinth vs. Maze”
Classical Kids’ summary of Theseus, Ariadne, and the Minotaur
Greek Mythology: The myth of Theseus and the Minotaur
Liverpool Museums, “Theseus and the Minotaur”
Knossos Palace, “The Myth of Theseus and the Minotaur”
The Metropolitan Museum, “Theseus, Hero of Athens”
Epoch Magazine, “Theseus and Ariadne in Naxian Identity”
Ancient Greece, “Theseus and the Minotaur”
Theoi, “Ariadne”
Cornell College, “Analysis of Ariadne and Theseus”
The Guardian, “In love’s labyrinth” by Charlotte Higgins
Myth Matters podcast, “Into the Labyrinth and the myth of Ariadne’s Thread”
Full free text of Catullus 64 in English and Latin
BONUS: Homeric Hymn to Demeter
Support the show
Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account!

Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!)

Want more??
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If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials!
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And email us at [email protected]
...more
2h 35min
April 10, 2025155. Justice for Medea (everybody wants a hot goth girlfriend until…)
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Hello! Our theme for the next two episodes is "mythology", and Janey is kicking us off with the Greek story of Jason and Medea. We're going to learn about the Argonaut-Boy Trip, how the gods screwed Medea over, and also discuss why we support women's wrongs. Hope you enjoy!

Sources:
The Voyage of Argo, Apollonius of Rhodes
Medea by Euripedes (Full play)
Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Medea and Jason: The Backstory, from the Metropolitan Opera
The Golden Fleece, from World History Encyclopedia
Support the show
Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account!

Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!)

Want more??
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Join our Patreon!
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If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials!
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And email us at [email protected]
...more
1h 35min
April 01, 2025 Gotcha!
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Happy April Fools Day, Loca! https://youtu.be/2CLzjKXzwB0?si=sLl_8Muj59M_p3N2
Support the show
Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account!

Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!)

Want more??
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And email us at [email protected]
...more
2min
March 27, 2025154. High Value Beans (here comes my story finger!)
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Hello and welcome to the end of March! This week, Max is going to change the way we think about Jack and the Beanstalk, and Janey is going to tell us about a magical kidnapping! (Business as usual!)

Janey's Sources - Jamie Freel and the Young Lady
Full Story
Max's Sources - Jack and the Beanstalk
Andrew Lang's "The Red Fairy Book"
Full free text of “Jack and the Beanstalk” from the Red Fairy Book
Article on the variations and roots of Jack and the Beanstalk
Support the show
Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account!

Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!)

Want more??
Visit our website!
Join our Patreon!
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If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials!
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And email us at [email protected]
...more
1h 31min
March 13, 2025153. Finn McCool and the Gang (and the OG Booktok girlie)
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Happy St. Patrick's Day! This week we're telling Irish stories! Janey is going to tell us about a man who runs away to fairy land, and Max is going to tell us about a woman who does the same! We hope you enjoy!

A note on spelling: Janey's story is about Finn McCool, which is how "Irish Folk and Fairy Tales" spells it. The traditional spelling is Fionn mac Cumhaill, but since we wanted to make the "Cool and the Gang" joke, we're sticking to the anglicized version.

Janey's Sources - The Birth and Death of Oísin
“Irish Folk and Fairy Tales” edited by J.K. Jackson
YOUTUBE VIDEO: “The Story of Tír na nÓg” by Folk Survival
P.J. Lynch Gallery illustrations
“Tír na nÓg: The Story of Niamh and Oisín” by Terri Murphy
Max's Sources - The Wooing of Becfola
Full free text of “The Wooing of Becfola” by James Stephens
Support the show
Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account!

Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!)

Want more??
Visit our website!
Join our Patreon!
Shop the merch at TeePublic!

If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials!
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And email us at [email protected]
...more
2h 17min

FAQs about (Sort of) The Story:

How many episodes does (Sort of) The Story have?

The podcast currently has 189 episodes available.