Mythic U

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Join hosts Karen Foglesong and Erin Branham as we discuss the enduring significance of fairy tales. We explore how fairy tales differ from myths, and delve into their dream-like quality and non-linear narrative. As always, we take a Jungian look, especially through the work of Maria von Franz who emphasized fairy tales as a path of indi...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Join us as we take a look at the mythic metaphorical goodness of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We discuss the hoped for, then canceled, Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, directed by Chloe Zhao. After our disappointment of that terrible news we take a look at the original Buffy series' cultural impact, including its influence on other se...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Join us as we explore the ethical dilemma of enjoying art created by people who have done bad things. We discuss the tension we experienced after we had recorded an episode on The Sandman by Neil Gaiman and then discovering serious allegations about Gaiman from several women. The conversation delves into the concept of the "great a...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Join us as we discuss Lord Ganesha, a popular Hindu deity known for his role in removing obstacles. We explore the history and diverse myths of Ganesha's origins, his widespread worship across Asia, and his significance in Hinduism. Ganesha's stories, including his birth, his battle with Shiva, and his broken tusk, are examine...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Join hosts Karen Foglesong and Erin Branham as we discuss the quote by Francis Weller, "The work of the mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by them." We explore the balance between grief and gratitude, and how grief keeps the heart fluid and soft, enabling compassion...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Hosts Karen Foglesong and Erin Branham discuss the beliefs about money in our culture. We look at the history of money, how various religions have dealt with wealth and wealth inequality, and provide contexts for our listeners to examine their own beliefs about money and material success. 9 Gods and Goddesses of Wealth and Prosperity fr...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Join us as we discuss the concept of "torture culture," exploring why humans inflict pain on each other and themselves. From schadenfreude and laughing at friends falling down to the banality of evil, we take a look at where the human capacity to do harm (and enjoy it!) comes from. We explore the division in America and the co...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Join us as we discuss Clarissa Pinkola Estes' "Women Who Run with the Wolves," emphasizing its depth in Jungian psychology and storytelling. We explore the feminine perspective in myths, using Baba Yaga as an example of a reinterpreted heroine. The conversation delves into the historical and cultural significance of wildn...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Join hosts Karen Foglesong and Erin Branham as we discuss the origins of the field of comparative mythology, from Frazier's Golden Bough to post-modernist critiques of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. We explore how modernist and post-modernist ideas have impacted the study of the world's religions, mythologies and philosophies...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Join hosts Karen Foglesong and Erin Branham as we discuss the mythological significance of snakes, and their dual symbolism of life and death. We explore various cultural perspectives, including Chinese mythology where snakes represent power and transformation, and Hindu mythology where snakes are both protective and deceptive. The conv...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Artificial Intelligence is everywhere now, available for your use and possibly coming for your job! Karen and Erin discuss the hefty moral implications of AI for humans - and for the artificial intelligence itself. The discussion ranges from AI art in competitions to the Church of AI to (of course) Star Trek, the Borg, and Commander Dat...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Erin Branham and Karen Foglesong interview Shannon Gaulding, a film and television producer, about her personal mythology. Shannon discusses the importance of self-created stories in defining one's identity and the role of mythology in entertainment. She shares her journey from a chaotic family background to finding self-love and s...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Welcome to a discussion about the nature of conspiracy theories, looking at their symbolic and mythic roots. What are conspiracy theories and why do people believe them? What do conspiracy theories have to do with personal mythology?  The conversation delves into the motivations behind belief in conspiracy theories, and the history of c...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Join us as we discuss divination and its role in illuminating life's hidden significance and personal challenges. We explore divination's historical context, noting its ancient origins and modern relevance. Then we go deep on astrology, Myers-Briggs, and tarot, highlighting their Jungian origins and how they use symbolic arche...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Join us as we discuss a couple of fundamental social myths of Western culture: the ideas of progress and the Golden Age. We take a look at the historical sources of these myths and how they ripple through our culture today. We explore the complexities of time and progress, looking to challenge the linear mythology that underpins Western...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Join us for a fun romp through the Magic Store and the works of the genius artist of play, Jim Henson. Puppets were dismissed as mere children's entertainment until Jim Henson took the art form to unforeseen levels with the affectionate anarchy of the Muppets. We explore Henson's philosophy of difference, creativity and play!...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. We take a deep dive into the fluidity of myth across place and time using Demeter and Dionysus as examples. While lesser known in our age, these two powerful gods once had thousands upon thousands of worshippers across the ancient Mediterranean. We explore their varied cults and the diverse versions of their myths. We want to hear from...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Join us for a deep dive into the Greek and Roman pantheons. We look at the Classical Gods as archetypes and discuss how they have come down to us as literature versus how they were worshipped and thought about in the ancient world. SHOW NOTES Theoi.com - excellent resource on the original written and visual works of the Greek Pantheon U...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Whether you know it or not, you already have a personal mythology. It is made up of stories - stories of your place of birth, your family, your religion or spirituality (or lack thereof), your own lived experiences. Examining these tales can teach you a lot about yourself - and give you the agency to realign your stories to more fully r...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Join us for our first Modern Mythic Tales, where we look at contemporary works of art for their mythic and symbolic meaning. Today's Modern Mythic Tale is Bull Durham, a movie about America's other favorite pastime (SEX!). Released in 1988 and enjoying its 35th anniversary this year, Bull Durham was voted the best sports movie...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Dreams speak in the language of mythology - symbols. Join us to learn how your dreams are your unconscious mind speaking to your conscious mind, how to interpret dreams in the Jungian fashion to illuminate the most powerful symbols in your own psyche. The Red Book of Carl C. Jung: It’s Origins and Influences - Library of Congress Carl J...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. What horrors lurk in our own psyches? Each of us carries an Ego - and our Shadow. Join us as we discuss what the Shadow is, how it operates in each of us, in groups, and in society at large - from the Satanic Panic to Aliens and Darth Vader. Embracing the Shadow: Carl Jung - Orion Philosophy Carl Jung and the Shadow: The Ultimate Guide...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. We live in the God gap, when old mythologies are breaking down for many, and new mythologies have yet to emerge. Humans need mythology so much, though, that we'll get quite creative in making things work as mythology - even movies, tv, and book series! This episode we take a look at how participation in fandom meets the needs of so...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. Symbols speak straight to the unconscious part of our mind and some of the most powerful symbols we deem to be Archetypes. In this episode we explore the many definitions and uses of Archetypes, from psychology to advertising, and how they are related to the quest for wholeness. Carl Jung’s Archetypes - a brief overview of Jung’s theory...

We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us a text. The renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell described 4 functions of mythology - here we describe each function and flip them to examine how mythologies meet the needs of our souls. In conversation we consider how institutional mythologies such as organized religions may or may not still be successful in meeting our soul's needs and h...