What The Folklore?

Due to recording this week on World Chocolate Day, we of course had to check in on how Willy Wonka's retirement is going. After that brief aside, we read The King of Love, who in a shocking twist, is none of those words. Check out Gordie's new Kickstarter! Suggested talking points: A Circle of Bread, Willy Wonka's Retirement, A Surprising Dearth of Bodily Fluids, 65% Dead, Ye Olde Wii, Loambender...

"It was never corn you feared, my child. It was destiny that frightened you." Check out Gordie's new Kickstarter! Suggested talking points: Interpretive Threats, A Benadryl Situation, A Cruel and Dangerous World of Endless Picnics, Princesses Priced to Move, Animal Sopranos, Baba Does as Yaga Wants If you'd like to support Carman's artistic endeavors, visit: https://www.patreon.com/carmandaartsthi...

This week on WTFolklore, we read My Mother is a Cat. Who knew there was such a plethora of moms out there ripe for the picking, if you just had the courage to ask them to be your mom instead of your current mom, who is a cat. Check out Gordie's new Kickstarter! Suggested talking points: Technically Functioning, Toilet Is Forever, The Segue Klaxon, Mom Rescue Shelter, A Little Sun that Walks Around...

We tackle another Chromatic Dwarf story this week, The Little Gray Man, from Andrew Lang's Fairy Books. It takes some unexpected twists, landing us squarely in the realms of DOUBLE FICTION. Check out Gordie's new Kickstarter! Suggested talking points: Happy World Sea Turtle Day, House+, Plotmosphere, Lotto Tickets in the Leaves, Extra-Dimensional Wizard Castle Full of Princesses, Monthly Nun Calen...

This week we cover the tale of Dapplegrim, the only named character in his story. And rightly so, as he's the most terrifying horse to ever live. Check out Gordie's new Kickstarter! Suggested talking points: Accidental Estate Sale, Schrödinger's Vacuum, Investing in a Future Brag, The Money Laundromat, Addicted to Milk, Rad By Association, Echoes of Paul Revere, History's First Pokémon Battle If y...

After her daring escape from what is almost certainly a fae-managed Kroger, Carman regales us with the story of The Serpent Prince, which claims to come from Italy, but...well you be the judge. Check out Gordie's new Kickstarter! Suggested talking points: Entreprenordie, The Insatiable Desire to Punk Everything, Fairy Ring Grocery Store, Foxpower Engine, Unflation, The Extended Shoeniverse, Monarc...

This week we, and by extension you, are treated to The Epic Farts of General Pumpkin. I dunno what else you want from me on this one, it's all on the tin. Suggested talking points: The Rabbit-to-Bear Pipeline, Sit Down and Enjoy the Gas-Humor, Pumpkin Popeye, The Last Fartbender, Flatulent Forest Gump, Fartial Arts, General Pumpkin's Pumpkin Cookbook If you'd like to support Carman's artistic ende...

We return to the welcoming, warm blanket of Fairytalez With a Z Dot Com to read about The Half-Chick, an Origin Story that really didn't need to be.  Suggested talking points: Load-Bearing Cereal, Chicken Broth Nightcap, Just a Hint of Feather, Soliciting Help From the Ground, Victor Hugo's Dark Souls If you'd like to support Carman's artistic endeavors, visit: https://www.patreon.com/carmandaarts...

Well, this seems familiar...

This week on WTFolklore, we turn our attention to The Toad Woman, a Native American tale of unrecorded origin. With a name like that you'd figure she'd be pretty interesting, but, uh, there are a number of other intriguing entities this week as well. Suggested talking points: The Original Team Rocket, Too Hot for Poe, Old Lady Moccasin Pit Crew, Healthsome Crime-Juice, Night Meat is the Bad Meat,...

This week on WTFolklore, we read The Goose Girl at the Well, A Grimm Brothers' tale that has absolutely nothing to do with any previously mentioned Goose-Women on our program.  Apologies for any audio hiccups, we had some very strange glitches this week that I've cleaned up the best I can.   Suggested talking points: An Hour of Consciousness, Dragon Ball Z Chipmunk Disease, A Woman At Home with he...

Looks like them anime boys are at it again!

This week on WTFolklore, we read Nani Daughter of Nani, A Palestinian story who's title omits a FASCINATING detail about said character. You'll have to listen in to find out for yourself. Suggested talking points: Decorative Digital Monkey, The Algorithm Used to be a Guy, Rock-Pocket Memory Palace, An Ill-Fated Cereal Promotion, Prehensile Rapunzel, Natural-Born Forgetter, A Mattress for Every Emo...

This week we read The Enchanted Ring. No, not that one, the other one, from Russia. This obviously means we had to infuse it with some timely, seasonal holiday flair of our own. Suggested talking points: Blarney Day, Peasant is a Mindset, An Island in a Sea of Reasoning, Ruble-to-Dog Exchange Rate, Master Ninja Carpenters, There Are No Mysteries in this Land, The Perfect Ding-Dong If you'd like to...

This week we read The Tiger King's Gift. No, not that one, the other one, from India. We actually meet a trinity of animal kings, so we encourage you to tag yourself among them. Suggested talking points: Time Crime, Enter the Month Zone, A More Wholesome Rage, A Well for Men, Living the Death Stranding Life, Terms of Genie Services, Inflation on the Value of Human Souls If you'd like to support Ca...

This week we read The Bird Catcher, from Serbia. It features either the very best or the very worst agent of Project Birdfall. We'll let you decide which. CONTENT WARNING: Infrequent, but repeated mentions of domestic violence. Suggested talking points: BYONut, Bird Concerts are Canceled, Ruining Lives For Fun, The Senile-o-Meter, Redefining Mischief, Soaked in Protein-Rich Horse Sweat If you'd li...

This week we read The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep, another banger from Hans Christian Andersen. It doesn't do much to disrupt it's own status quo by the end, but boy are there some twists along the way. Suggested talking points: A Proud Line of Highly Skilled Dishwashers, Big Hoof: Sasquatch of the South, Peppers That Learn English, Invest In Squirrel, Hans Christian Anderson's Toy Story, Ri...

This week WTFolklore reads The Story of the Old Man Who Made Withered Trees to Flower, a Japanese  story that demonstrates the perils of being TOO nice to someone, and the perils of being TOO stupid for niceness to be done unto you. Suggested talking points: The Baby-to-Grandparent Pipeline, The Job of Dog is Win Food, Cool Prank, Planet Earth, The Infinite Good Boy, Trickle-Up Namenomics, Leonard...

This week we read The Flower Queen's Daughter, which transitions naturally from a PSA about egg consumption protocols to a Ye Olde retelling of Scott Pilgrim. Suggested talking points: Redemption Arc University, The AI-niverse, An Exercise in Broken Promises, Karate Fighting a Ditch, Midnight Egg Demands, Prince Grindset, Cordially Captured, Even More Egg Nonsense, Tom and Jerry Cave Paintings If...

This week WTFolklore reads two tales of similar structure, The Apples of Pregnancy and The Three Princesses and the Unclean Spirit. Turns out when you get your boys from apples, they ain't normal boys no more. But they ARE very capable infants. Suggested talking points: I Miss Boat, A Non-Stop Flood of Tom and Jerry Content, One Punch Jr., A Very Mysterious Way to Kill a Man, Fish Kinks, A Buzzsaw...

We have arrived at what is definitely our 400th episode (excluding a bunch of additional recordings that simply don't count). Such a momentous occasion requires a momentous surprise. Thanks to (lil') Geri for joining us! Suggested talking points: Fallen Carpet Paladin, Corn Wearing a Bib, The Bedtime Onion Threshold, The Blobfish of Phrases, Uncle Conference, You're Just Having a Stroke, Dear, Nee...

This week we read The Plague Omen, a Polish tale that, on one hand, is about 4 years too late, but on the other, probably wouldn't have changed much if we're honest. Suggested talking points: Flex the Germs Off, Tummy Dentist, A Secret Auction With Yourself, Stank-Free Tales, Requiescat in Fauci, Can't Go Back to the Rat Shack If you'd like to support Carman's artistic endeavors, visit: https://ww...

WTFolklore kicks off 2024 by reading Tsuru no Ongaeshi and several of it's variants, giving you a veritable zodiac wheel of animal wives to choose from!  Suggested talking points: The Gradual Descent Towards Something, The Most Secret Best Known Folktale Award, A Grab-Bag of Human Parts, Posture Correcting Underpants, Furry Waifu Starter Kit, Eyes Full of Milk If you'd like to support Carman's art...

Rounding out the year 2023, we read the two wintery tales, The Little Girl and the Winter Whirlwinds and The Yule Buck and the Girl , to jam-pack as much WTFolklore in as we can before the holidays. You'll also learn an awful lot about Kellogg's cereal. Suggested talking points: Not an Ideal Wolverine, Pac-Man Fitness Tape, Smash Glass if Bugs and Duck, Grind 4 Grind, Kellogg is the Yule Gandhi, T...

This week on WTFolklore we read the Brazillian tale, Why the Sea Moans , which is obviously a well-known phenomenon and not just a made up excuse to tell another bizarre Cinderella-like. Suggested talking points: December Ants, Zynnergy with a Z, Tim Slurry, Return of the Math Corner, The Ocean Learns to Annunciate, Politely Ghosting a Princess, Handsome Has Expired If you'd like to support Carman...