About this podcast
A comedy podcast that exposes the absurd side of folklore. Each week we read a story, fix plotholes and create new ones, and invent unintended connections between tales.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 600 episodes
- Episode 505: One Horse vs. Literally Everything in the World · 1 h 3 min · Episode 508This week on WTFolklore, we read "How the Raja’s Son Won the Princess Labam", which bestows upon us a dark burden: knowledge of a really, really cool stick we can never have.
- Episode 504: Where Crime Was First Hatched · 47 min · Episode 507Another Spooklore come and gone, we send it off this year with a reading of the Algonquin story, "The Girl-Chenoo" and certainly no other surprises whatsoever.
- Episode 503: Carl Sandburg’s Silent Hill · 42 min · Episode 506We've got something of a rarity for Spooklore this year: an honest-to-goodness, albeit short, unnerving story! This week, we read "The Ghost Village"
- Episode 502: Somewhere, an Apple Smiles · 1 h 10 min · Episode 505Spooklore 2026 continues with a Romani story simply titled "The Vampire". You'd be forgiven if you forget that halfway through it.
- Pathogen Brink · 1 h 14 minSpooklore 2026 begins with an important question: "What if Final Fantasy was Spooky?". 1998's "Parasite Eve" dared to answer that question, with a dubious grasp on the concept of…
- Episode 501: READY THE WOMAN CATAPULT! · 1 h 29 min · Episode 504Welcome to Season 2! Our inaugural story is "Cherry the Frog Bride", a Grimm tale that starts silly and becomes increasingly...well...Grimm.
- Episode 500: Running the Podcast in Admin Mode (AKA Alergic to Information) {AKA Animal Alphabet, 2nd Edition} · 1 h 42 min · Episode 503Episode 500
- Episode 499: I AM THE HORSE · 57 min · Episode 502This week, on the eve of episode 500, we read "The Baker's Apprentice", a story that serves as a tortured metaphor for the kingdom of Heaven, but works great as a metaphor for…
- Episode 498: The Kindly Wizard, Updog · 1 h 8 min · Episode 501This week, after a brief look at the stupid, stupid future of Golf, we journey to Scandinavia for the tale of "Wet George"
- Episode 497: The Moon is Full of Meat · 59 min · Episode 500What's the best way to chill out and relax after the 5-Part Epic of Sundiata? Well, I can think of several, but the one Carman CHOSE is to read a Rootabaga Tales double…
- Episode 496: At Last, I Have Told You About Sundiata (The Epic of Sundiata, Part 5) · 1 h 8 min · Episode 499Are we...are we free???
- Episode 495: A Breadcrumb Trail of Venerable Old Men (The Epic of Sundiata, Part 4) · 1 h 13 min · Episode 498Oh, hey, look at that...still talking about Sundiata this week!
- Episode 494: Might as Well be Spectacularly Wrong (The Epic of Sundiata, Part 3) · 1 h 2 min · Episode 497Think you've heard enough about Sundiata yet? Because I have terrible news...
- Episode 493: Responsible for 1/9th of a Baby (The Epic of Sundiata, Part 2) · 1 h 3 min · Episode 496This week, we FINALLY hear about Sundiata! Or Do We??? (We do).
- Episode 492: Some of Them are Djinn, All of Them are Bros (The Epic of Sundiata, Part 1) · 58 min · Episode 495TW: Brief description of marital SA between 51:38 and 52:00 After probably-months of teasing, it is time to begin another epic, this time "The Epic of Sundiata". And by "begin"…
- Episode 491: Everything Leads Back to Rock · 1 h 3 min · Episode 494Have you seen the movie "Her"? No? Go check out the trailer...okay, got it? Now you basically understand this week's story, "The Wonderful Stone". Except instead of Scarlet…
- Episode 490: A Miserable Soundscape of Love · 1 h 1 min · Episode 493This week we read "The Tale of Katcha and the Devil: The Story of a Clinging Vine", which is a story we can all agree we've never read before. 100% sure about that, as are you…
- Episode 489: The Fish are Extremely Armed · 1 h 14 min · Episode 492Enticed by Carman's cryptic clue of "Grandpa, Man-eating, Egg", we dive headfirst this week into "The Legend of Aji Saka". It for sure has each of those things in it.
- Episode 488: Detective Tardigrade is on the Case! · 1 h 1 min · Episode 491After reading a much-too-long epic (that really could've been boiled down to a single episode), we decided we needed a palette cleanser. For some reason, we also decided that…
- Episode 487: Suplex the Moon (The Story of Harap Alb, Part 3) · 1 h 7 min · Episode 490This week on WTFolklore, we finally conclude the epic known as "The Story of Harap Alb", with perhaps the most pitiful, confusing "Animal A-Team" we've yet encountered on the…
- Episode 486: The Wrong Eyes Blinking (The Story of Harap Alb, Part 2) · 1 h 5 min · Episode 489This week on WTFolklore, cooler heads prevail, and instead of alternating back and forth between epics, we pick up where we left off last time and read Chapters 2 and 3 of "The…
- Episode 485: Playing Bridge with the Boys in a Bear Suit (The Story of Harap Alb, Part 1) · 60 min · Episode 488This week on WTFolklore, we do what we've always done best: complain about commercials. Then we read Chapter 1 of "The Story of Harap Alb", which is itself titled "The…
- Episode 484: The Wizard of Teeth (The Trial of Lovers: The Maiden of Mátsaki and the Red Feather Part 3) · 1 h 25 min · Episode 487Even though it says "Part 3" in the title, we close out Part 2 of "The Trial of Lovers: The Maiden of Mátsaki and the Red Feather" this week, thus bringing an end to our tale of…
- Episode 483: Unanimous Vote from the Bug Council (The Trial of Lovers: The Maiden of Mátsaki and the Red Feather Part 2) · 56 min · Episode 486This week, we conclude at least Part 1 of The Trial of Lovers: The Maiden of Mátsaki and the Red Feather, having learned nothing about said Red Feather, but a surprising amount…
- Episode 482: Part 1 of Part 1 of ? (Part 1) · 48 min · Episode 485This week on WTFolklore, we begin an unexpectedly long journey into "The Trial of Lovers: The Maiden of Mátsaki and the Red Feather", a Zuñi Folktale that we've barely scratched…
- Episode 481: A Cow Could be a Bird · 53 min · Episode 484We're back to regularly scheduled antics after surviving d'Aulnoy again, this time to read "The Dun Cow", a story that would've fazed us a decade ago, but to which we now find…
- Episode 48O: The Benevolent Lack of Frog (The Benevolent Frog, Part 3) · 1 h 16 min · Episode 483We conclude our Journey through The Benevolent Frog, and come to the unanimous consensus: to improve the story, the frog must go.
- Episode 479: Intorducing "Nary Frog" (The Benevolent Frog, Part 2) · 1 h 3 min · Episode 482We continue our Journey through "The Benevolent Frog", and, unfortunately, this section DOES include a frog. Its benevolence, however, is up for debate.
- Episode 478: Prepare for War, Jeff (The Benevolent Frog, Part 1) · 58 min · Episode 481The time has come, once more. The clock has rolled over again, another year has passed, and to usher us into Year 11 of WTFolklore is none other than our dear, dear friend…
- Episode 477: The Terrible Burden of Human Consciousness · 58 min · Episode 480This week, after celebrating our own brand of "Big Game", we dive into one of the Four Great Folktales of China, "The Butterfly Lovers"
- Episode 476: Chekhov's Armory · 40 min · Episode 479A slightly-less-but-still-bite-sized episode of WTFolklore as the Whimbus continues to throw its tantrums on us. This time we crack open a tome that threatens to remain with us…
- Episode 475: Yet Another Win for Big Big Rock · 32 min · Episode 478It's a bite-sized episode this week on WTFolklore as we race against the sky to complete a recording. Not all of us made it...we read "Shippeitaro", a tale from Japan.
- Episode 474: A Very Divorceable Man · 1 h 19 min · Episode 477This week on WTFolklore we read "The Bad Mother", a Romani tale so chock-a-block full of chaotic magic, it may well be our Primordial Fairy Tale.
- Episode 473: Extremely, Rigorously Peer-Reviewed Hypnotist · 1 h 0 min · Episode 476We return in 2026, kicking things off with two short tales, one from Hans Christian Andersen, the other a Grimm, with the sliveriest of slivers for connective tissue to one…
- Episode 472: Ancient Chinese Old Spice Commercial · 1 h 1 min · Episode 475We cut it VERY CLOSE this year, but it wouldn't be a WTFolklore Year without dipping in to another chapter of The Journey West. Thanks to Dave, Jayson, Matt and Melissa for all…
- Episode 471: The Purge, but for Plumbers · 1 h 6 min · Episode 474After a quiet December of very little posting, we've returned with a gift for the holidays as we read "The Wooden Shoes of Little Wolff".
- Episode 470: Wine, Horse, and Husband Insurance · 1 h 0 min · Episode 473"Content Warning: The story this week revolves around the central plot point of a dog's death." This week on WTFolklore, we read "The Dog and the Sparrow", another Grimm tale…
- Episode 469: The Corn is a Metaphor for Corn · 57 min · Episode 472This week on WTFolklore, we read "The Lambikin", originally an Indian story, retold as an Irish story, that we then wrestle into the shape of a Thanksgiving story.
- Episode 468: The Five-Second-Rule for Poison · 1 h 1 min · Episode 471This week on WTFolklore, we read "Vukub-Cakix", a Mayan tale that purports to be about "Twin Hero-Wizards". We purport they are neither.
- Episode 467: Two Birds, One Stone, and Also One is a Cat · 1 h 0 min · Episode 470It's back to business-as-usual this week on WTFolklore as we re-calibrate our fairy tale senses with some good ol' fashion eastern european fare, "The Glass Mountain", which…
- Episode 466: Thanks for the Sandwiches, My Whole Family Died · 51 min · Episode 469DISCLAIMER: Gordie lost about half of his audio recording this week, so we had to improvise. See if you can guess the parts that got re-recorded! Spooklore 2025 draws to a close…
- Episode 465: Bed Bath & Unnamed Dread · 50 min · Episode 468Spooklore 2025 continues this week, with a bit of a twist. Rather than continually avoiding every instance of a "This is a THING, and here are it's SCARY FEATURES" type stories…
- Episode 464: The Joann Fabrics Power Vacuum · 58 min · Episode 467Spooklore begins in earnest this week, as we read what may well be the earliest-recorded Found Footage ghost story, "The Haunting of Athenodorus", or as we elected to call it…
- Episode 463: The Legend of Pork City · 1 h 14 min · Episode 466On what is TECHNICALLY the first Spooklore installment of the year...we got a little distracted. Thankfully, our spooky instincts kicked in and we accidentally turn "The Vision…
- Episode 462: Give us Uppies, or Give us Death! · 49 min · Episode 465This week we return to our good friend Carl Sandburg for a Rootabega-adjacent story, "The Haystack Cricket, and How Things Are Different Up in the Moon Towns". If you like random…
- Episode 461: So Now You're a 12-Headed Dragon: A User's Guide (with T. Kingfisher) · 1 h 44 min · Episode 464We are joined this week by very special guest T. Kingfisher! We had to call in back-up to wade our way through "Princess Miranda and Prince Hero", a Polish tale featuring…
- Episode 460: David Blaine Eats 40 Cows · 1 h 2 min · Episode 463After talking about some crucial current events (read: Stuart Little Lore), we dive into "The Little Purse with Two Half-Pennies", a Romanian tale with some stunning revelations…
- Episode 459: Freaky Friday'd with a Corpse · 54 min · Episode 462This week on What the Folklore, we read FOUR different explanations for where the heck all these god-dang mosquitos came from. As is our want, we take a more...buffet approach to…
- Episode 458: All Cherry Men are Weird Guys, But Not Every Weird Guy is a Cherry Man · 47 min · Episode 461This week on What the Folklore, we read two different stories, "The Eye Juggler" and "Gobbleknoll", which inadvertently creates our most Body Horror-oreinted episode yet! It's…
- Episode 457: I’m Not Constipated, I’m WISHING · 54 min · Episode 460This week on What the Folklore, we read "The Nodding Tiger", a Chinese story that introduces us to the humble beginnings of a beloved friend.
