Spill the Mead

This is an episode of paranoia, jealousy, desperation, and self-fulfilling-God-given-prophecy. This is the story of King Saul and the Witch of Endor. What could have led the first king of Israel to the decision to visit a necromancer (that he himself banished)? Was it a mistake or a sin? Where is the line? Don't ask Saul, he has no idea. Stay tuned for a VERY happy ending with Betsy, where we shar...

Well, our girl did it. She became part of that power couple, and they joined forces, had lots of babies, and lived happily ever after: the end. Nope. It’s so much more than that. We’re talking her new husband and ex-husband meeting face to face, her sons starting a literal rebellion against their father the king, and being a prisoner for literal years… the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine is not for t...

Well HoneyBees, it's time. After literal YEARS of waiting, Chris Riley is FINALLY giving us the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Blessed day. In part one, we discuss the origins of Eleanor (the name and the woman) and her life through her first marriage. So you know, just becoming the queen of France, the Crusade, the pirate kidnapping, and the INSANE rumors started about this women. And this is jus...

The Madams of the Wild West were some of the richest people in the entire country. In this episode, we explore what life would have been like for "soiled doves" of the gold rush era. The west was lawless and DANGEROUS. These women were brave, intelligent, and just as hard (no pun intended) as the men. We not only look at what life would have been like for the Good-Time-Girl in the Old West, but th...

Come one, come all... Come big, come small... Just come, come for Folktales. Three absolute BANGERS for this week from all over the world, AND WITH A NEW FORMAT. So listen up! Story 1: The Knight of Fishes - Spain Listen, don't get attached to the cobbler in the beginning, but DO get ready for an EPIC tale featuring 2 hot twins (hiiiiii....) What do you name your fish-knight? We went with Lance Ba...

We are sure you know the story of Snow White. The fairest in the land, crazy step-mom, seven short kings and a prince who fell in love with a corpse. But you haven’t heard Coco read you the Brother’s Grimm version, and you don’t want to miss it. . We start with a brief history of the Snow White story, discussing several different versions from different countries, even an origin story (dubiously)...

The prophecies (PLURAL) foretold it all. And he believed it. And then... he made them ALL believe it. Not only does Madi tell you the story of how "The Lonely One" united the Hawaiian Islands in one lifetime (and ALL OF THE DRAMA that brings... you have no idea), but we also talk about Hawaiian warfare, the return of an ancient Hawaiian artifact, AND Hawaiian burial practices. Kamehameha was a for...

Once upon a time, 2 c*nts sat down to read some folktales from around the world. These are these stories: Tale 1: Tanuki's Gold (Japan) A tanuki is a Japanese racoon dog that shape shifts from time to time and brings good fortune. Now we will say, the one in this story doesn't necessarily shape shift (that we know of anyways) but he does bring fortune and most importantly. FRIENDSHIP! This one is...

In our [record breaking length] finale of the Anne Boleyn series, we try to understand how Anne felt in those final days of life… The emotional torture she went through is not for the faint of heart, so TRIGGER WARNING for sensitive content. Madi spills her heart and soul out in this one. From the trip to the tower to her final words, we experience the fragility and eventual breakdown of the human...

Don’t believe pop culture when it tells you Anne did nothing as Queen. She was on a MISSION. Three in fact: 1.) Poverty Relief 2.) Religious Reform 3.) Educational Advances THIS was the reign of Anne Boleyn. And you will learn all about what she did specifically in each of these areas in this MASSIVE EPISODE! She was a FORCE. And that’s the REAL reason they ’d her. Join our Patreon for extra conte...

Remember me when you do pray… That Part 3 is here, oh what a day! Eat your Wheaties HoneyBees. The fight is ON. And this BATTLE is going to put Anne Boleyn to the TEST for literal years. In part 3, we cover so much information it seems as impossible as a commoner uprooting the beloved Queen of England. Topics include but are not AT ALL limited to: -books of hours -the English Sweat -the fall of Wo...

Congratulations HoneyBees, you’ve made it to Part 2 In this episode, we dispel ONE MAJOR LIE about Anne Boleyn, and it’s debatably the BIGGEST LIE put forth in her story: AnNe BoLEyN SEduCeD HeNRy tO bEcOMe QuEeN FoR tHe POWER AND GLORY AND WORLD DOMINATION!!!!!!! False. False false false, so false it hurts. Would YOU be brave enough to turn down the king of England? How long would you hold out be...

Well HoneyBees... the time has come. The Anne Boleyn series has arrived. In part 1 of 5, we dispel two lies; first that Thomas Boleyn "pimped out his daughter to the king of England" and second the lie that Anne lived fLiRtAtiOuSLy in France. We instead set the REAL scene: The young daughter (how young? We don't know, please tell us your thoughts!) of an already successful diplomat lands a prestig...

We are sure you know the story of Cinderella. Beautiful servant girl, fairy godmother, handsome prince, and tiny dainty feet - obviously. But you haven’t heard Coco read you the Brother’s Grimm version, and you don’t want to miss it. . We start with a brief history of the Cinderella story, and we bet you can’t guess where the first recorded version comes from! Then we dive right into a very differ...

Let us start off by saying: that Spill the Mead CoHost and Armored Combat World Champion Taylor Jones retracts EVERY STATEMENT ever made about him being on this boat… a claim he has made MANY MANY TIMES. But after hearing this story, we totally understand not wanting to be affiliated with this bunch because good-Greek-gods these boys are exhausting • This story should be called Hercules and the Go...

Folktales Worldwide: Tales from Vikings & Portugal 14 PRINCES TOTAL IN THIS EPISODE! It’s a lot. A LOT. But hear us out! Story 1 from our Viking book: The Giant With No Heart In His Body The good news is the main characters name is Boots! The bad news is that Boots is pretty rude. But nonetheless he’s on quest and we’re rooting for him. This story has so many twists and turns that you really j...

What does it take to make the (arguably) greatest archaeological discovery of all time? Grit. Tenacity. Patience. Money money money, skill with a paintbrush, and the ghost of the past calling your name… so not even that much, really. Listen as Coco spills the hot Egyptian tea on beige-boy Howard Carter, his rich bro benefactor Lord Carnarvon, some dude named Winlock, and the nameless (true heroes)...

Ready for a story of love and devotion between a king and his queen? In this episode Chris Riley gives us a huge helping of romance in the telling of Plantagenet King Edward I and his lovely Queen, Eleanor of Castile. . Courtly love is one thing, true love is quite another - and this couple was definitely in love. Listen as Chris tells Madi all the sweet (and sometimes sensual) details. No, suckin...

THIS WEEKS FOLKTALES ARE SO GOOD! We promise you that. So put that in your nail and nail it. Or however the saying goes. • Story 1: The Origin of Magellan Clouds Here’s the story of the most passive aggressive village chief ever, and the journey to his snapping point. Spoiler alert, it’s lizard people. So. • Story 2: The Clever Weaver The classic tale of you almost had an easy day at work. But the...

How does a shepherd, slinger, son of a Jesse, and a harpist, dropped in the middle of a battle with Goliath on the battlefield armed with rocks and valor, grow up to be a hero and a ruler?. Okay, read that again but this time in Hamilton. (That’s enough Broadway Coco) In this episode, Coco spills all the hot biblical tea on David and Saul, David and Michal, David and Bathsheba, David and Uriah, Da...

Slinging information straight into your face today at speeds of up to 100mph (IF you're expert ancient slinger, that is). Today's episode is in honor of the release of House of David on Amazon Prime, where slinging is going to be featured in a cinematic fashion and Madi's little happy slinging heart is SO FULL. We will talk about the vastly underdiscussed topic of ancient slinging, and how it impa...

In this special Folktales episode, we decided to give you something different in the form of FIVE stories that we read to you for the first time on the spot! and ngl, they are a little… middle-fingery. But hey, that’s the dice you roll when you play the game of folktales Story 1: Domingo’s Cat In this one, we find a fiscal feline who is both a work horse and giver. The cat can talk, has a magic ho...

Once upon a time in the 9th century… It was dark and cold and scary, and we wanted out… but from it… emerged… the concept of the proto-knight and his unchecked, unbridled violence From there evolved the concept of chivalry, and from that courtly love How?? You’ll just have to listen! Be ready to learn A TON in this episode, in true Chris Riley fashion! STAY TUNED FOR AN ABSOLUTELY INSANE FRESH CUP...

So you guys remember that time France tried to colonize Mexico and like… did it? Yeah us either, but you’re gonna learn today! Join us for a unique Spill the Mead episode where a GUEST host, and friend of Madi’s Lindsey Olson tells us a bit about this WILD event in history they often gets swept under the rug! We learn the TRUTH about Cinco de Mayo and we learn about the hard consequences of runnin...

Welcome to Banter-ville USA, population Madi, Gabby, and you. We do eventually get to Folktales though, and they go like this: Story 1 | Chinese New Year: here's a nice quick, straightforward one, we genuinely have no idea why we were so confused... but this is the story of the origin of Chinese New Year celebrations! You can expect a problematic (albeit only once a year) monster, a "newcomer", an...