The Midnight Myth Podcast

It’s Year Six at Hogwarts, and while things may look somewhat back to normal at the School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, the Wizarding World is in chaos and turmoil. Join us as we take a dive into the Pensieve with Harry & Dumbledore, exploring the implications of the prophecy and the early life of Tom Riddle. We’ll discuss the concept of the Horcrux and its antecedents in Russian fairy tales...

We’re sliding down the back half of the Harry Potter series with Year Five at Hogwarts: Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix. Things get considerably darker for Harry and his wizard pals with the introduction of a sinister new villain in Dolores Umbridge and the interference of the Ministry of Magic at Hogwarts School. In this episode, we discuss how free societies can descend into Fascism,...

Year Four at Hogwarts brings us a tournament of epic proportions, another intricate mystery, and the return of the most powerful dark wizard of all time. In our discussion of Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire, we examine how this installment, right at the halfway point of the series, marks a pivotal turning point in Harry’s journey. It’s the moment when Harry—and the series—really leaves child...

It’s Year Three at Hogwarts, and things are taking a dark turn. Alfonso Cuaron takes over the director’s chair for Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban, infusing the series with new life and cinematic splendor in what many consider the strongest installment of the film franchise. We’re treated to a deep exploration of animal magic, from the culturally ubiquitous werewolf to the British folkl...

We’ve survived Year One at Hogwarts, but Year Two brings bigger monsters, darker secrets, and lots more mystery. Join us as we continue our journey through the eight Harry Potter films and flush ourselves down to the Chamber of Secrets. It’s our first introduction to notions of blood purity within the Wizarding World, and it solidifies the eerie magical connection between our hero, Harry, and his...

Take the first steps with us into a world of magic. Over the next eight weeks, we’ll be going one-by-one through all eight films in the Harry Potter series, following the Boy Who Lived through his years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry and his battle against the forces of evil. This week, we discuss Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001). Okay, maybe this isn’t the strongest...

28 days. 6 hours. 42 minutes. 12 seconds. That is when the world will end… according to Frank, the giant bunny rabbit. Closing out a run of spooky Halloween-themed episodes is the 2001 indie classic Donnie Darko. Is this film a muddled mess or an of-the-moment masterpiece? What can we make of the three seemingly conflicting threads that run through the movie—the science fiction, the vaguely religi...

It’s astounding. Time is fleeting. MADNESS takes its toll… But listen closely to this week’s podcast—a bonkers analysis of the Queen of Midnight Movies, the ultimate cult classic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show! We discuss the legacy of both the stage production and cinematic adaptation, how it spawned a true cult of devoted followers and a universal tradition of audience participation—going back t...

Warning: Major spoilers for Hereditary (2018) in this podcast! Don’t let us ruin this movie for you! The second installment of our spooky Halloween episode series swerves into tragic horror with Ari Aster’s 2018 directorial debut, Hereditary. An exquisite genre piece that unfolds into unexpected and deeply unsettling revelations, Hereditary may share even more in common with Greek tragedy than wit...

Yo-ho, a pirate’s life for me! Join us upon the high seas this week as we discuss perhaps the best film adaptation of a theme park ride, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Why do pirates hold such a sway over our romantic imagination? Is the image of pirates we think of in any way close to the historical reality? We’ll discuss the relatively short period of time known as the “...

Who could have imagined the impact that a simple story of domestic struggles and joys would have on the world? After more than seven film adaptations, numerous televisions adaptations, and countless versions for the stage, a new generation got its Little Women in 2019 with Greta Gerwig’s bold interpretation of the March Sisters’ story. In this episode, we’ll discuss the legacy of Little Women and...

If you could change your fate, would you? Step back with us into the misty Scottish Highlands through Pixar’s 2012 fairy tale Brave. Pixar’s first woman-led feature may look like a traditional fairy tale at first, but through clever meditations on destiny, free will, and community, it rings with truths that are incredibly modern. How do we restore women’s voices in patriarchal systems? How do we b...

Spartans! What is your profession? As we continue exploring historical fiction, this week’s episode is a deep dive into Zack Snyder’s 2006 adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel 300. Based on the historical Battle of Thermopylae, in which 300 Spartan soldiers laid down their lives against a massive force of the Persian army, 300 is in some ways a surprisingly accurate—and often problematic—pre...

All things, even the Beams, serve the Tower. Did you think this podcast would be any different? Derek and Steve have started the Wheel of Ka over, in a way. This bonus episode has your Ka-Tet returned, this time reading the wonderful Stephen King novel, Salem’s Lot. After Derek and Steve completed The Dark Tower read through, we recognized that our journey through King’s writings has only begun. W...

Who lives, who dies, who tells your story… The question of “who tells your story” echoes throughout the Broadway sensation Hamilton: An American Musical, a blockbuster portrayal of a forgotten figure in American history. This week on the Midnight Myth, we dive deep into Lin-Manuel Miranda’s powerful piece of theatrical Americana in a surprise second investigation into the roles and responsibilitie...

They may take our lives, but they can never take… our podcast! This week on the Midnight Myth, come with us to a distant land and a distant past, when a cruel pagan ruled England, and a kilt-wearing, face-painted band of untrained rebels beat back those tyrannical invaders. A time when princesses traveled to enemy territory to negotiate with war leaders, only to fall in love with a larger-than-lif...

What threatening shadows lie within the deep? For millennia, mankind has wrestled with the mysteries and perils of our oceans. With 80% of the world’s oceans still uncharted, it’s easy to understand why we tell stories about monsters lurking beneath the surface. Today, we’re discussing the ultimate modern realization of those fears—Stephen Spielberg’s 1975 classic Jaws. We’ll look back to the anci...

After five weeks of discussing iconic science fiction films and television— 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Rick & Morty Season 4 —we’re back with a no-holds-barred discussion of the connecting themes and striking variation within the genre. Starting with a (very) brief history of sci-fi, from its ancient roots to its flourishing i...

After an eventful couple of weeks, we’re back in the studio with the conclusion of our mini episode series on science fiction film and television. This week, we’re getting schwifty with insights from Season 4 of Adult Swim’s Rick & Morty . Through the particular lens of Season Four, Episode Six: Never-Ricking Morty (you know, the one with the Story Train), we’ll explore what it means to be pos...

We’re back. In the fourth installment of our science fiction mini-series, we’re taking on another iconic sequel (and finally succumbing to the lure of James Cameron) by covering 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The sci-fi-action-blockbuster that spawned some of cinema’s most quotable moments also deals in massive questions of human responsibility, technology, destiny, and compassion. We’ll discu...

“Do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is very cold in space.” That’s right, friends, for the first time in our three years of podcasting, we are heading where no man has gone before and taking on the beloved Star Trek franchise with a deep dive into 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Considered the best of the Star Trek films, The Wrath...

As we continue careening through the vacuum of space in our mini-series on sci-fi classics, we’re picked up by the commercial ship the Nostromo. A strange creature lurks on board… This week, we’re discussing Ridley Scott’s 1979 horror/science fiction mashup ALIEN. We’ll explore the ancient themes that resonate from Greek mythology into this modern masterpiece, and we’ll discuss how the persistent...

Open the pod bay doors and join us beyond the infinite as we dive deep into Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 science fiction classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. In this first part of a mini-series on sci-fi in movies and television, we’re starting with what many consider the greatest science fiction film ever made (and we don’t disagree). We’ll explore some of the myriad readings of this ambiguous and powerful p...

Just when you thought the Wheel of Ka was over, and after 7 books of re-reads and discussion about Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, Derek and Steve return with the coda. We sat and reflected on the time, and gunslinger-esque dedication it took to complete our side project, and realized we had just one more episode of the Path of the Beam. In an interview style bonus, Derek asks Steve several questio...

I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore. Skip with us down the Yellow Brick Road in this long-overdue discussion of the 1939 MGM classic The Wizard of Oz. As the concluding subject of our five-part series on nostalgic films, we’ll explore the template Wizard sets out for the other films in our series— Back to the Future, Hook, Beetlejuice, and E.T. Why is The Wizard of Oz so baked into the co...