Creator and host of The Folklore Podcast Mark Norman is joined by highly regarded musician Einar Selvik, founder of the band Wardruna, to discuss Old Norse music - how it was created and what it meant to the people who played and listened. Einar is one of the world's leading experts in this field and his work is regularly accessed by scholars the world over. We also feature some music from the Wardruna back catalogue.

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Audio only version of the original You Tube interview for episode 3 of the Folklore Podcast Book Club.

Podcast host Mark Norman discusses the book 'Medieval Folk Tales for Children', published by The History Press, with the author Dave Tonge.

Dave also performs one of the tales from the book.

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Season 6 of The Folklore Podcast kicks off with a special feature length interview.

Lecturer and historian Dr Thomas Waters discusses some of the research which comprises his book 'Cursed Britain - a history of witchcraft and black magic in modern times'. Having spent 12 years trawling the case records in order to write this book, Thomas discusses some fascinating aspects of witchcraft belief and accusation which took place far later in our history than we might at first think.

The conversation also looks at some of the famous practitioners and researchers in the field and covers both tragic and positive events in our history.

This episode carries a content warning for its discussion of modern day witchcraft and abuse cases.

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Tracey and Mark Norman discuss the book Lanny, by Max Porter, published by Faber and Faber. This is an audio version of an episode originally filmed for YouTube. To see the original please visit www.youtube.com/FolklorePodcast and choose the Book Club playlist.

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In the final episode of Season 5 of The Folklore Podcast, released on December 31st, 2020, we are joined by Swedish folklorist Tommy Kuusela to discuss the unique divinatory ritual of the Year Walk, which traditionally took place on this date. We also cover some of the Swedish forest spirits which may be encountered whilst undertaking the walk.

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Folk song holds a vital place within everybody's culture. From political songs to work songs, lyrics record our feelings, our traditions and, of course, our stories across the ages. In the episode of the podcast, folk singers and writers Sandra Kerr and John Faulkner talk about their thoughts on the subject, developed over many years from their early careers being taught by such names as Lonnie Donegan and Peggy Seeger to university lecturing and 21st century performances. Plus, of course, we discuss the children's TV classic Bagpuss and its use of folk song and influence on culture even today - Sandra and John having written all the music and songs for this, as well as voicing Madeleine the Rag Doll and Gabriel the Toad.

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Due to listener demand, we are releasing audio only versions of the Folklore Podcast Book Club, which is originally made for YouTube.

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast Book Club, author and storyteller Tom Phillips discusses his book 'Forest Folk Tales for Children'.

Tom's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TomtheTaleTeller

Tom's Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TaleTellerTom

Tom's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj2-...

Storytelling Cafe: https://worldstorytellingcafe.com/tom...

Mark Norman, the creator of The Folklore Podcast presents an investigation into the legend of the White Bird of the Oxenhams - a death portent said to be attached to a family in Devon which spanned many hundreds of years.

This episode was written by Tracey and Mark Norman.

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Japanese culture and folklore is very distinctive, but not always as dissimilar from our own as we might think in the West. Podcast creator and host Mark Norman is joined by bestselling author Natasha Pulley to discuss the culture represented in two of her books - The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and The Lost Future of Pepperharrow - and Japanese ritual and belief more generally.

The episode is closed by a track from musical guests Foxtails Brigade, who took the internet by storm recently with their unique video for the track 'My Favourite Things'.

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A free ghost story for Halloween. "The Diary of Mr Poynter" by MR James. Performed by Circle of Spears Productions.

Learn more about the performers at www.circleofspears.com

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