The Midnight Myth Podcast

It’s a Midnight Myth Meditation disguised as a two-parter, carrying on from last week’s conversation around Big Fish. What is the difference between folklore and myth - if, like 18 and 28, there’s any difference at all? Are Edward Bloom’s stories myths or folktales? Does it matter? We’ll debate and discuss in this week’s bonus episode. — Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang,...

Here to separate fact from fiction, the man from the myth, we’re back with a long overdue discussion of Big Fish , Tim Burton’s 2003 ode to fathers and sons. We peel back the layers of this Southern Gothic fairy tale to uncover truths - objective and symbolic - mythic antecedents, and even more questions. Some Irish mythology, some Homeric epic… plus, the door is open to a second discussion, divin...

Fellow travelers on the path of the Beam, Wheel of Ka is back! On this episode Derek and Steve go to Colorado to the Overlook Hotel with Jack, Wendy and of course, little Danny Torrence. Yes my friends, this is the Wheel of Ka episode on Stephen King’s The Shining. One of his first books, it helped put King on the map as one of America’s greatest novelists. But what is this book about? How does it...

2022! What a year. Join the Midnight Myth for a special year-in-review, in which we discuss what we watched, what we loved, and what we learned. Some spoilers for Our Flag Means Death, White Lotus, and Andor. — Check out our merch store for Midnight Myth, Boomerangerang, Sleep & Sorcery and Wheel of Ka tees and totes! Learn more, view sources and inspiration, and sign up for e-mail updates at...

What makes a Christmas movie a Christmas movie? We'll try to answer that question through a lighthearted discussion of some of our favorite seasonal flicks. Exploring the sub-genres of Christmas comedies, Christmas horror, and feel-good family films, we'll pull out the connecting threads and notice unexpected similarities. Films discussed: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Elf Gremlins Krampus...

Welcome to the annual Midnight Myth Holiday Special! This year, we have singing Christmas-grams, narwhals, a throne of lies, and representatives from the four food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup! That’s right, we’re discussing ELF (2003), the instant Christmas classic starring Will Ferrell as the lovable Buddy. We’ll talk about the movie’s value nearly 20 years later, the histo...

What is canon, and why does it have such a hold on the hearts of fandoms? In this brief Midnight Myth conversation, we’ll meditate on the role of canonical judgment in our beloved pop culture franchises. With a particular eye toward The Rings of Power and Obi-Wan Kenobi, we’ll explore where the term “canon” comes from, and how we can liberate ourselves from its strictures in storytelling. — Check...

CW: discussion of pregnancy and infant loss, traumatic birth, suicide In this week’s episode, we’re revisiting Westeros and the seeds of a Targaryen civil war. HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon brings an overlooked era of medieval history and politics to the screen - and adds dragons! We’ll discuss our impressions of the series, its attitudes toward women in power, and its sometim...

Oh my god, we’re back again. It’s been a minute - huge life changes and all. But we’re determined to get behind the mics more in the coming months. This week, a new bonus series begins: Midnight Myth Meditations. These shorter, looser episodes will begin with a question. Something we want to meditate on with relation to our core subjects: history, mythology, philosophy, and pop culture. We’ll look...

Fellow travelers on the path of the Beam, Derek and Steve are back after a very very very long break having finally finished the Stephen King masterpiece, The Stand. As one of the King's books closest to The Dark Tower, say thank ya, The Stand offers a wealth of references, intertextual links to other King works, and a treasure trove of thoughts, reflections, and analysis. Derek and Steve pick up...

#SatanicSummer sends you out as sheep among the wolves, to the heart of Babylon! This week, we’re discussing the sinful delight that is 1997’s Devil’s Advocate. We’ll talk about the religious origin of Satan and theological efforts to explain free will (it’s a bitch!) Then, we’ll dive deep into Devil’s Advocate’s  greatest literary origins: Faust and Paradise Lost. At once a legal thriller, a...

#SatanicSummer continues with our roundup and discussion of Stranger Things Season 4. In this season, Netflix’s runaway hit introduced a monstrous new villain and lovable new side characters, and found interesting ways to reshape their formula. Meanwhile, it takes inspiration from the very real, very disturbing moral panic, known as the Satanic Panic, of 1980s America. We discuss the complexities...

Wouldst thou like to live deliciously? Join us – and special guest Jeff Lippman of Garden of Doom – for a special episode on Robert Eggers’ feature-length directorial debut, The Witch: A New England Folk Tale (2015). It’s the  story of a 17th century Puritan family cast to the edges of the wilderness, where they’re met with misery and ordeals at the hands of an evil presence in the wood. Turn...

Death is only the beginning… Dear listeners, we have a treat for you today! An epic centuries in the making - we’re thrilled to join forces once again with an adventurer, scholar, podcaster extraordinaire: Em from Verbal Diorama! Even better, we’re teaming up to cover the 1999 action adventure blockbuster The Mummy. One part ancient love story, one part classic monster flick, one part Indiana Jone...

We bring you this episode for the glory of our beloved company, in deference to Kier. We’re back! With a breakdown of one of the year’s most puzzling, thrilling, and mind-boggling new shows, Severance . This show has everything: Kafkaesque bureaucratic nightmare; Humorist drama inspired by Hippocratic medicine; late capitalism; academic buffoonery; wellness horror; and ritualistic workplace waffle...

From the Godfather to the grandfather of modern cinema… This week, we’re taking on another epic American classic, considering one of—if not the finest film ever made: Citizen Kane. From the technical cinematic innovations of young director Orson Welles to the timeless tale of a media magnate turned political hopeful, Citizen Kane proves painfully resonant with the world of today. We explore the tw...

The Midnight Myth is proud to present our 200th episode spectacular - covering Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 classic The Godfather. In its 50th anniversary year, the underworld epic still burns with outstanding technical achievement and searing tragedy. With arguably career-best performances from its leading cast, rich cinematography, and a gripping story of the American Dream won and lost, The Godf...

Welcome to Episode two hund— just kidding! We’re kicking off the lead-up to our big Episode 200 Spectacular with a reading of listener-submitted questions. You sent us your questions, we pondered, and we're ready to share how the sausage is made here at the Midnight Myth. Come along for our thoughts on Egyptian mythology, American Pie(?), Stephen King, working parenthood, and other out-there topic...

In the beginning… Join us for a podcast 7,000 years in the making, as we take on Marvel’s Eternals (2021)… for the second time in a few weeks - Check out our review of Eternals alongside the incomparable Geek Salad here. It’s a film teeming with history, mythology, and philosophy - the energy cocktail that powers our podcast. We discuss the mythological counterparts for the characters and artifact...

Coming in spring of 2022, Sleep & Sorcery is a folklore and fantasy-inspired sleep series from the co-creator of The Midnight Myth Podcast. Step across the threshold into a world of myth and magic, where you can safely drift off into a deep and comfortable sleep. Sleep & Sorcery is one part bedtime story, one part guided meditation, and one part dreamy adventure. My name is Laurel, and I’l...

Drawers! Floors! Doors! Let’s go! Come with us to Casa Madrigal, the magical casita that sits in the heart of a wondrous Colombian community. After spending weeks with “Surface Pressure” and “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” buzzing in our heads, we’re discussing Disney’s 2021 animated smash Encanto, and the myriad ways it evolves the studio’s offerings. Drawing inspiration from the beautiful landscape,...

Whether you wear blue robes or red, serve the White Cloaks or the Aes Sedai, or follow the way of the leaf, you’re welcome at our fire for this week’s discussion of Amazon Prime’s The Wheel of Time, based on the books by Robert Jordan. We explore religious, mythological, and philosophical traditions that subscribe to a cyclical cosmology (a “wheel of time”) and contemplate the implications on the...

Derek and Laurel are back, and on the eve of 2021 ending and 2022 beginning they look back on the last year and ask about how living life as new parents in a pandemic challenged, changed, and evolved their relationship to contemporary story telling. As The Midnight Myth gets close to two years since having attending a movie in a theater, what themes connect the experience of interacting with media...

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! For lo, I bring you tidings of a great podcast. We’re thrilled to be back in the studio with a 2021 Christmas Spectacular. This year, we’ll use the 1965 classic A Charlie Brown Christmas to explore the sweeping history of Christmas traditions like the Christmas tree, pageants, and ritual media consumption. From ancient pagan festivals to medieval mystery plays, from W...

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 u...