The Midnight Myth Podcast

I must not fear. Fear is mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings you a new Midnight Myth episode! We haven’t stopped thinking about Denis Villeneuve’s spectacular vision of Frank Herbert’s Dune for the past few weeks. Join us on Arrakis to debrief some of the historical and religious inspiration for the Dune-iverse, meditations on the purpose of mythology (is it a helpful framework for understanding our world, or a tool of the powerful to manipulate the masses?), and reflections on the bleakness of the story’s outlook. We’ll visit the Sassanid Persian Empire and a 1980s conference on nuclear semiotics along the way.

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Surprise, and happy Hallo-Wednesday! We made it into the studio for a very special edition of our Perfect Movie Gauntlet. As we continue to test our criteria for the Perfect Movie (evaluating on the basis of dimensions like Timelessness, Technical Achievement, etc…), we’ve made a few tweaks to determine the Perfect Spooky Movie! Listen to find out if your fall faves—like Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas—can pass the ultimate test.

Send us your contenders, or tell us why we’re wrong! We’ll head back to the lab to continue refining our formula…

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Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

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The Midnight Myth returns out of a sense of duty to our listeners, inner virtue, and faith in the podcasting empire. This week, we are discussing Derek’s all-time favorite movie, and a springboard for in-depth discussions of historical fiction—Ridley Scott’s 2000 smash-hit Gladiator. We take a journey through Greco-Roman conceptions of the afterlife, interrogate the historical liberties taken by the film, and question the impact of the Roman Empire on the modern world. Learn about the connections between Maximus and the early Roman dictator Cincinnatus (who also heavily influences an important American historical figure), the Stoic philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, the damnation of Commodus’s memory, and so much more…

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Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

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We’re back, fellow travelers, and we’re just racing along the path of the Beam! We have begun the massive undertaking that it Stephen King’s The Stand - and this episode will cover just the first 230 pages of the epic tome. These 230 pages contain multitudes (if you know, you know!) How do empires fall? What lies ahead after the world moves on? And how does the first act of The Stand relate to The Dark Tower? Join us for a stimulating discussion… and for the love of god, get vaccinated.

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Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

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Fellow travelers on the path of the Beam, Wheel of Ka returns with another episode, covering The Mist. This Wheel of Ka takes us to a small New England lake town. When a powerful storm knocks out the power, a strange mist descends on the town. David and his son Billy go to the market when the mist comes and the monsters who live within it. This short novel delves deep into human nature as David attempts to reconcile with what is more dangerous, the monsters who live in the mist or the monsters his neighbors become as they are trapped inside the market? As always, we discuss how this book relates to Stephen King’s masterpiece, The Dark Tower, say thank ya sai!

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Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com

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If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

Looking to be regaled with some marvel, myth, or tale? Look no further, for the Midnight Myth is back with some bonus material covering David Lowery’s epic Arthurian fantasy The Green Knight. Adapted from, and in conversation with, the 14th century poetic masterpiece Sir Gawain & the Green Knight, the film takes viewers on a surreal and deliberate quest with some unexpected turns along the way. In this bonus episode, Laurel discusses some of the way in which The Green Knight transforms the source material, making broader intertextual connections with the Arthurian legend. Who is St. Winifred, and why does she make an appearance in the film? What is this new take on Gawain saying about honor? Meditations on these questions and more lie before you…

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This is the blog post I referenced about Gawain and The Lord of the Rings.

Here is our episode on Bran Stark, which discusses, among other things, talking heads in folklore and mythology.

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Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com

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If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

We’re back, and we’re burdened with glorious purpose! On the heels of the Disney Plus series Loki, we’re looking back at the God of Mischief’s marvelous run in the MCU thus far. How did a trickster from Norse mythology become the most beloved comic book movie villain, then become an antihero, then transform into a true hero? To answer that question, we have to look at the trickster archetype in both ancient mythology and contemporary psychoanalysis. And if the Timekeepers will allow it, a conversation about the virtues of chaotic freedom in the face of authoritarianism seems in order. Dance while you still can!

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Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com

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An old and disinterested king, a young and dashing prince, the heir to the throne, a beautiful queen raising her son to be kind, generous, and brave, and when the queen gives birth to a second son, the cruel maligned court magician Flagg starts his machinations to undo the peaceful realm of Delain.

The name Flagg should be familiar to fans of Stephen King, as it pops up again and again. Almost as if the nemesis of all that is good rides some sort of wheel—like the Wheel of Ka. That’s right, Derek and Steve are back at again, discussing Stephen King’s fantasy epic The Eyes of the Dragon. As young Thomas peers through the eyes of his father’s greatest trophy, the slain dragon, we peer through King’s eyes and ponder where this narrative sits along our path of the beam, the path to the Dark Tower. Say thank ya.

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Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com

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If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!

What do you do when someone enters your home, mistaking you for someone with the same name, and defiles your rug—the one that really tied the room together? Do you take the path of anger? Get mixed up in an intricate and complex investigation? Or embrace a new philosophy that allows you to move on? This week, we’re discussing the 1998 Coen Brothers’ classic The Big Lebowski: a film that openly discusses the philosophy of nihilism, deals in a heady mix of Eastern and Western philosophy, and does so through the language of American cinematic genres like the Western and film noir.

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Support us at www.patreon.com/midnightmyth

Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, and Wheel of Ka tees and totes!

Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at www.midnightmyth.com

Twitter

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If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen!