In this episode, Geoff and Katrina issue two rare corrections. After falsely claiming in episode #123 that there isn't an ATU type 666, they set the record straight by apologizing for the terrible lie and righting their wrongs. With the tale of Hero and Leander, they show that everyone makes mistakes. Some mistakes (like tempting Fate) are worse than others but even Renaissance historians got things wrong and had to reverse course. They once thought that the story of Hero and Leander pre-dated Homer by mixing up two guys with the same name. Next, Geoff and Katrina apologize for mixing up two guys with the same first name. Giovanni Boccaccio and Giovanni Straparola were both Italian storytellers but were alive over a hundred years apart and the later recorded an ATU type 666 variant in his collection of tales that Katrina retells to finish off the episode. Will they banish themselves to a hut on an island to repent of their sins? Nope. So hopefully this episode is repentance enough.

In this episode, Katrina is back from another year of the American Folklore Conference. She talks about the fun of academic conferences and being around the same nerds that understand a good ATU type joke. In the course of some of that joking, Katrina ended up with a ribbon on her name tag that said ATU SIX SEVEN, which then prompted academics to ask her "What's ATU 67" which allowed her to take part in current slang that made her "cringe". So in honor of being cringe, Katrina and Geoff dive into this tale type, that takes us to Aesop Fables and also to Irish Folktales featuring fox being as clever as ever.

And for good measure, Geoff retells ATU 670, with a story from France. Come with us on our exploration of brainrot!

Content Warning: Suicide and Murder

In this episode, Geoff and Katrina discuss stories that look at the corrupting power of wealth. While doing an Instagram challenge in July, by Tish Black (author of Ebony, Blood, and Snow: New Stories from Old Tales), Katrina kept finding stories from around the world talking about how growing wealth can cause a degrading of the soul. They take three of those tales and retell them while discussing, Should a person be able to live an evil life as long as they read their bible? Would you love me if I was an evil CEO worm? Is there a way to live without causing harm? Are ghosts shadows of the scales of time collapsing in on themselves? And most importantly, how do demonic pots run on their little three legs?

We might not be philosophers but at least we aren't billionaires. 

In this episode, Geoff and Katrina talk about the upcoming "posthumous partnering" of Stephen King and Maurice Sendak in a children's book of Hansel and Gretel in September. The news of this collaboration reminded Katrina of another book Maurice Sendak did with a dead partner, Wilhelm Grimm. In the 1800's before the Grimm Brothers were a household name, Wilhelm penned a letter to Mili, which contained a tale. Over a hundred and fifty years later, that letter was sold at auction and then turned into a book with the art of Maurice Sendak.

In this episode, Geoff and Katrina delve into the world of King Louis XIV's French Salons. During this time period, many women of the nobility were meeting together in the salons and stretching their creative skills in storytelling and writing. While Charles Perrault was trying to prove that the French folktales carried as much weight as the myths of ancient Greece, his niece, Marie-Jeanne L'Heritier was hosting salons and crafting tales of her own. Geoff retells an ATU 480 tale by Charles Perrault and Katrina counters with a tale from Marie-Jeanne L'Heritier. And they both give a prayer of thanks for Jack Zipes saving the day with his excellent translations.

In this episode, Geoff shares that his son is currently having him read through ALL of the Grimm Brother's collection of tales. And while on this journey, his son has really gotten a kick out of some tales more than others. And Geoff shares one of those tales with us; the tale of Clever Gretel. Armed with a quick wit and a desire for good food and drink (and a pair of red shoes), Gretel is ready to take on the world...or at least, her employer. Then Katrina shares a story with the same tale type (ATU 1741), that came from Sir Richard Burton's "Thousand and One Nights". Listen through to see if everyone leaves with all of their body parts still attached.

In this episode, Geoff and Katrina fight to break their Mer-MAY curse by attempting to get an episode all about the most famous seductresses (or kidnappers) of the sea (or lakes). These little (or big) mermaids might come from different lands but they have one thing in common, they are man hungry. With three different tales, Katrina and Geoff take turns telling tales of female heroines, magic (or not magic) food, and daring escapes. And one rocking chair surfing great grandmother.

In this episode, Geoff and Katrina turn to a pair of tales from Ethiopia that illustrate how stories can talk about what we value without being overly didactic.

In this episode, Geoff and Katrina celebrate Shakespeare Day on April 23rd! Shakespeare employed folklore in his tales to connect his audience with the familiar while also reworking it enough to pull a new message into the forefront. Our patrons on Patreon picked out "All's Well That Ends Well" and Katrina enjoyed learning about a tale that was unfamiliar to her. And Geoff retold the tale of Catherine the Wise, another ATU 891 The Man Who Deserts His Wife tale type.  

Check out Shakespeare and the Folktale: An Anthology of Stories edited by Charlotte Artese

And listen to our recap of the Live Action Snow White on Not My Fantasy podcast.