Before They Were Live

Josh and Michial wrap up the story of King Umar and his family--and much to their surprise, the loose ends get tied up. 

This month, Josh and Michial discuss the first half of a Sheherazadean tale so long it's basically a mid-length novel, "King Umar ibn-Nu'man and His Family." It's got everything from old ladies farting to holy wars to philosophical disquisitions, and we're talking about it all! Join us!

Josh and Michial take another break from  1001 Nights  to talk about  Zootopia 2 --which they're surprised to find out they liked!

Josh and Michial are back to the  1001 Nights , talking about two of their favorite stories so far: "Nur al-Din and Anis al-Jalis" and "Ghayim al-Ayyub, the Slave of Love." 

Josh and Michial are back, and talking about...oh. Moana 2. 

Josh and Michial are back to talk about five stories from the  1001 Nights , and also to talk irrelevantly about how they met, college radio, and not getting paid by concert promoters. 

Josh and Michial are back to talk about five stories from the first nineteen nights: - Prologue - "The Vizier and the Sage Duban" - "The Envier and the Envied" - "The Eldest Lady's Story" - "The Doorkeeper's Story"

This month (a little late) we finish up our brief series on Kipling's  Just-So Stories . Good news: We've got a lot more to say about the back half of the book, including detours into C.S. Lewis's  Experiment in Criticism and Jacques Derrida's  Dissemination . Bad news: a lot of what we have to say is about "How the Alphabet Was Made," a little-loved story. Stay tuned until the end to hear what ou...

We're back with a new (albeit short) series on Rudyard Kipling's  Just-So Stories . Listen as we talk about the first six stories in this collection and muse a bit on why they don't bear scrutiny as well as fairy tales. 

We're back, with our seventh and final episode on Grimms' Fairy Tales. We'll be talking about the following ten stories, some of which are truly and gloriously bizarre: Puss in Boots Princess Mousekin The Blacksmith and the Devil  The Soldier and the Carpenter The Pea Test The Robber and His Sons The Winter Rose The Celebration of the Underground Creatures The Princess in the Coffin and the Sentry...

Josh and Michial take a sloth-driven break from the Grimms and talk about the 62nd full-length Disney animated feature, 2023's  Wish . Spoiler alert: It's not as bad as everyone said it is, but it certainly doesn't instill us with any faith in the company.  We also announce our next book series! 

Josh and Michial are here to talk about some of their favorite of Grimms' fairy tales. Along the way they'll discuss how to make yourself annoying at parties: The Life Span The Master Thief The Drummer The Grave Mound The Crystal Ball The Boots of Buffalo Leather Poverty and Humility Lead to Heaven The Three Green Twigs

Josh and Michial are back, intact, and ready to discuss these ten Grimms' fairy tales: The Iron Stove One Eye, Two Eyes, and Three Eyes The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes The Six Servants The White Bride and the Black Bride The Donkey The Turnip The Stolen Pennies Snow White and Rose Red The Glass Coffin Plus, hear about the only real argument they've ever gotten into!

Helene has intervened, and we need to beg off for another month. 

We're back at long last, Michial having fished his book out of one of his many moving boxes. Today we'll discuss the following stories: The Gnome The Water of Life Bearskin The Wren and the Bear The Two Travelers Hans My Hedgehog The Bright Sun Will Bring It to Light The Three Army Surgeons Join us next month when we talk about the following ten stories: The Iron Stove One Eye, Two Eyes and Three...

This time we are reasonably sure we'll be back September 5.

We'll (hopefully) be back August 1!

Josh and Michial are back to talk about seven Grimms' fairy tales, none of which we'd ever read before: The Golden Bird The Two Brothers The Twelve Huntsmen The Three Sons of Fortune The Wolf and the Fox Brother Lustig The Goose Girl  Come and find out what happens when you put a spinning wheel in the room with a woman pretending to be a man! Next month, we'll be discussing the following eight sto...

Josh and Michial discuss nine more Grimms' fairy tales: - The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs - The Maiden without Hands - The Magic Table, the Golden Donkey, and the Club in the Sack - Thumbling - The Elves - The Juniper Tree - The Six Swans  - King Thrushbeard - Sweetheart Roland We'll be back the first week in June with another episode, on the following stories: - The Golden Bird - The Two Br...

We keep promising, and we keep failing to deliver. But we will be back next week with more Grimms' Fairy Tales!

Our next Grimms' episode is going to have to be delayed for a month because of scheduling issues--we apologize! But we'll be talking about the following stories: The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs The Maiden without Hands The Magic Table (etc.) Thumbling The Elves The Juniper Tree The Six Swans King Thrushbeard Sweetheart Roland See you in May!

Josh and Michial return to talk about nine of Grimms' fairy tales: The Companionship of the Cat and the Mouse ( Katze und Maus in Gesellschaft ) A Tale of the Boy Who Went Forth to Find Out What Fear Was ( Märchen von einem, der auszog das Fürchten zu lernen ) The Marvelous Minstrel ( Der wunderliche Spielmann ) The Three Little Gnomes in the Woods ( Die drei Männlein im Walde ) The Three Spinners...

It's been a while, and it'll be a little longer, but Josh and Michial will be back on March 7 with the first in their series of episodes on Grimm's Fairy Tales. In March, they'll be discussing: The Companionship of the Cat and the Mouse A Tale About a Boy Who Went Out to Learn What Fear Was The Marvelous Minstrel The Three Spinners The Three Little Gnomes The Three Snake Leaves The Fisherman and H...

Josh and Michial are back for their last awards episode, featuring their Five Tiers of Movies lists! Listen as they shock and horrify each other with their choices. 

Josh and Michial are back for another round of canon wrap-up, including questions on love, best messages, heroes and heroines, Disney legends, and more!