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Hello and welcome to another week of stories! This week, Max is going to give us an origin for a story most of us know very well, and Janey is going to tell a Grimm story that is 99% sincere (and then the last sentence reminds us who we're dealing with.) We hope you enjoy!

PLEASE NOTE: Support for veterans in crisis: 

• National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 1-877-4AID-VET (1-877-424-3838)
• Veterans Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1, or text 838255

Janey’s Sources - Bearskin

• LOCATION: Germany
• “The Complete Grimm’s Brothers Fairy Tales” illustrated by Arthur Rackham 
• “The Body Keeps the Score” by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk  
• “Bearskin” on Wikipedia  
• National Coalition for Homeless Veterans info  
• History of PTSD in Veterans: from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs  

Max’s Sources - The Story of the Tooth Fairy

• LOCATION: United States
• “The Story of the Tooth Fairy” by Tom Paxton, illustrated by Robert Sauber https://archive.org/details/storyoftoothfair00paxt

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Hello! This week, Janey is going off topic to talk about a woman who not only survived a horrific plane crash at 17, but then also survived 11 days in the Amazon rainforest. 

If you follow our schedule, you'll no doubt notice that this week we were supposed to release a regular episode. Life got in the way, and we ended up not being able to record a regular episode in time. Thanks for listening anyway! We'll see you next week!

Sources:

• “How Teenager Juliane Koepcke survived a plane crash and solo 11-day trek out of the Amazon” by Rebecca Armitage for ABC News  
• “Juliane Koepcke: How I Survived a Plane Crash” for BBC News  
• MEMOIR: “When I fell from the Sky: The True Story of One Woman’s Miraculous Survival” by Juliane Koepcke  
• “Wings of Hope”, 1998 documentary by Werner Herzog  
• “Mama Cocha: The Sacred Mother of Waters” for Inca Medicine School  

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Welcome back to another magical week of Off Topics! Today, Janey is going to tell us the story of a hot nerd who tunneled his way under the streets of New York, Mole Man-style, to help commuters get to work. 

Sources:

• “Secret Subway: The Fascinating Tale of an Amazing Feat of Engineering” by Martin W. Sandler for National Geographic  
• “Alfred Ely Beach and His Wonderful Pneumatic Underground Railway” by Robert Daley for American Heritage (1961)  
• Biographical Info: Alfred Ely Beach, from The Linda Hall  
• Biographical Info: William “Boss” Tweed from Historical Society of the New York Courts  
• Biographical Info: Thomas Nast, from Illustration History 

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Hello and welcome back to another episode! Today we're telling two stories that remind of us one fundamental fact of life: Italians are weird, man. (Enjoy!)

Janey’s Sources - Cannetella 

• LOCATION: Italy 
• “Beauty and the Beast and Other Classic Fairy Tales” Barnes and Noble edition  
• Andrew Lang’s “The Gray Fairy Book”  
• “The Pentamerone (The Tale of Tales)” by Giambattista Basile  
• Full Basile version  

Max’s Sources - The Little Mouse with the Stinky Tail

• LOCATION: Palermo, Sicily
• "Catarina the Wise: and Other Wondrous Sicilian Folk and Fairy Tales" by Guiseppe Pitrè, edited by Jack Zipes 

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Welcome to another Off Topic season! This week, Janey is going to deep-dive into all the craziest things mega-pop star Katy Perry has ever done. From performing in yellow face to killing a nun, we're discussing all of it! Enjoy!

Sources:

• “Katie Perry vs Katy Perry: Australian designer wins trademark over popstar” by Lex Harvey and Angus Watson for CNN 
• “Why all the fuss over Katy Perry's geisha performance at the AMAs?” By Patricia Park for The Guardian 
• “Katy Perry Acknowledges Her Past Cultural Appropriations” by Madison Madeiros for Refinery29  
• JACL Statement on Katy Perry’s AMA performance  
• “'American Idol' contestant didn't love Katy Perry kissing him” by Lisa Respers France for CNN 
• “Katy Perry’s Convent Purchase Now Awaiting Vatican Approval” by Peter Kiefer for Hollywood Reporter 
• “Katy Perry tried to buy a convent. It ended with lawsuits, bankruptcy and a dead nun” Liran Friedmann for Ynet News.  
• “Son of Veteran In Lawsuit With Katy Perry Over $15 Million Montecito Mansion Lays Bare Toll of ‘Exhausting’ Case on His Ailing Father”, by Charlie Langston for Realtor.com (2025)  
• “Katy Perry’s Never Met an Elderly Person With Property She Didn’t Want to Bully” by Lauren Tousignant for Jezebel 
• “What we know about 85-year-old disabled veteran ordered to pay $1.8 million to Katy Perry” by Jen Thomas for Tyla 
• “KATY PERRY AND ORLANDO BLOOM’S MONTECITO MANSION WAR: NEUROLOGIST SAYS ‘LUDICROUS’ TO CONCLUDE HOME OWNER WAS DELIRIOUS” by Nancy Dillon for Vice 
• The PERRY Act  
• “Katy Perry Responds to Outrage Over Working With Dr. Luke by Saying New Album ‘Comes From Me’ and ‘My Experience’: ‘He Was One of Many Collaborators’” by Zack Sharf for Variety 
• “Katy Perry Defends Decision To Work With Controversial Producer Dr. Luke On New Album” by Conor Murray for Forbes 
• “Katy Perry Under Fire for Abortion Rights Tweet After Endorsing Rick Caruso” by Megan Cartwright for Newsweek 
• “Katy Perry and Lauren Sánchez jet off on a controversial trip to space. Why their ‘glam’ getaway isn’t a giant leap for womankind” by Leanne Delap for The Toronto Star 
• “Blue Origin faces backlash ahead of historic all-female spaceflight with Katy Perry” by Samantha Mathewson for space.com  
• “Why Is Blue Origin Facing Backlash? Inside the All-Female Space Trip's Controversy — and How Its Crew Is Responding” by Christopher Rudolph for People 
• “The Blue Origin flight showcased the utter defeat of American feminism” by Moira Donegan for The Guardian 
• “Katy Perry and Blue Origin's all-female rocket crew get Monse designer flight suits” by Tariq Malik for Space.com 
• Katy Perry’s HRC Gala speech  

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Hello and happy September! This week, Max will tell us a baffling tale about a beautiful woman who looks like a poop tooth (yes, you read that right), and Janey will talk about the benefits of wearing a shoe on your shoes. We hope you enjoy!

Janey’s Sources - Singeli’s Silver Slippers

• LOCATION: Sweden
• “The Giant Golden Book of Elves and Fairies”, stories and poems selected by Jane Werner, Illustrated by Garth Williams  

Max’s Sources - Dur Bibi Dur

• LOCATION: Pashto (Pakistan)
• “Heartstrings of the Khyber: A Collection of Pashto Folktales” collected by Shaherzaad Laila and Komal Salman  

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Hello and welcome to the podcast! This week, Janey is going to tell us a sweet little story about a monster that eats moons, and Max is going to tell us the worst story Janey has ever heard on this podcast. Text us your thoughts PLEASE. 

Janey’s Sources -  The Bakunawa and the Seven Moons

• LOCATION: Philippines
• “Dragon Myths and Legends: Tales of Adventure from Around the World” retold by Samantha Newman, illustrated by Katarzyna Doszla  
• BAKUNAWA and the SEVEN MOONS: The Original Bisaya Story (with translation and annotations), for The Aswang Project by Jordan Clark (2019) 
• Bakunawa wikipedia  

Max’s Sources - The Friends

• LOCATION: Lo-Yang, China
• “The Cloak of Dreams: Chinese Fairy Tales” presented by Bela Balázs with translation and introduction by Jack Zipes  

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Hello and welcome back from summer break!!! This week, Max is jumping back in with a story about an insane lizard-rock-woman who has a very nice dowry, and Janey tells a cautionary tale about the dangers of bulk trash-shopping. Enjoy!

Janey’s Sources -  The Wicked Fairy Wife

• LOCATION: Quebec (?)
• “The Wicked Fairy-Wife: A French Canadian Folktale” by Mary Alice Downie, illustrated by Kim Price  
• “The Son of Seven Queens: An Indian Fairy Tale” (Also told on Episode 127)  
• Read Janey's notes on Substack!

Max’s Sources - The Mistress of the Copper Mountain

• LOCATION: Polevskoy, Russia
• "Russian Magic Tales: From Pushkin to Platonov" edited by Robert Chandler https://bookshop.org/a/86350/9780141442235
• “The Mistress of the Copper Mountain” on Wikipedia 

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Welcome to our last episode before our summer break! This week, we're unlocking one of our favorite bonus episodes, released way back in August 2023. This week, Max is going to tell us all about a gambling princess with a pear problem, and Janey is going to tell a cautionary tale of choosing stupid names for your children.

If you think you'll miss us this July, consider this your sign to join the Patreon! No matter what, we hope you enjoy!

Janey’s Sources - Fairer-Than-A-Fairy

• Andrew Lang’s The Yellow Fairy Book  

Max’s Sources - The Cuirasser and the Horned Princess

• "Slavic Myths" edited by J. K. Jackson

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Hello and welcome to a monstrously themed episode! Today we are discussing werewolves and wendigos, and finally getting some much-needed insight into the Alabama White Thang from the Monster Ladies, Jessica Freeburg and Natalie Fowler. Enjoy!

Janey’s Sources - The Wendigo

• LOCATION: Minnesota, USA
• “Monsters of the Midwest” by Jessica Freeburg and Natalie Fowler  
• “ZHAUWUNO-GEEZHIGO-GAUBOW (Maisaninnine, Mesnawetheno) (Jack Fiddler),” by James R. Stevens in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 13, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed May 31, 2026,  
• “Columbus and Other Cannibals” by Jack D. Forbes  
• “Bury My Guilt in an Indian Burial Ground” by Jana Schmiedling for Medium  

Max’s Sources - The Georgia Werewolf

• LOCATION: Talbotton, Georgia, USA
• “Monsters of the South” by Jessica Freeburg and Natalie Fowler  
• “The Legend of the Georgia Werewolf Girl” by Jeffery Wells for Georgia Mysteries 
• “The Werewolf Girl of Georgia” by Wayne Miller for Werewolves.com  
• Find a Grave listing for Emily Isabella Burt  

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