What The Folklore?

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...

This week on WTFolklore after some brief forays into the worlds of toilets and Hallmark movies, which ARE different, we read The Cat that Walked by Himself , certainly for the first time ever. We learn some uncomfortable truths about the sitcoms that are our lives, and the marketing acumen of our feline friends. Suggested talking points: Pork and Apples, Hummingbird Lore from the Toilet Kings, Tri...

This week on WTFolklore we read The Fairies of the Waterfall, which inadvertently helps to clue us in on the diabolical modern-day machinations of the Fae. Suggested talking points: Vivid Nighttime Idea Hallucinations, A Big "We", Practical Laundry Math, Infrared Flags, Mandala Death Messenger, A Ham-Themed Year, Lorem Ipsum Lagoon,  If you'd like to support Carman's artistic endeavors, visit: htt...

We've made it to the spookiest day of the year! Enjoy our retelling of The Blacksmith's Stool: The Story of a Man Who Found That Death was Necessary Suggested talking points: GPS as a Statement Necklace, Freaky 2:30 to 4:30, Give the Stool a Chance, Forever Staycation, Spa Day in Space, Quarterly Ani-Devil Training, Diet-Death, Tinnitus of the Tongue If you'd like to support Carman's artistic ende...

This week for Spooklore, we learn about Herne the Hunter, a man so baller in life that it was inevitable he'd be just as baller in death.   Suggested talking points: Build-A-Backstory, Some of Us Have Brigands to Fight, The Most Recent Ghost, Just Lads Being Mates, Best at Woods, Best at Ghost If you'd like to support Carman's artistic endeavors, visit: https://www.patreon.com/carmandaartsthings I...

This week for Spooklore, we tell the tale of The Loss of Jacob Hurd, though in reality the tale is less about Jacob, and more about his own son's ghost-vengeance on his hassle of a father. Thanks to Dave for joining us again! Suggested talking points: Industrialized Curse Complex, Some Of These Words Are Just Vibes, The Girl-Child Iceberg, Dante's Inferno: Really Long Arms Edition, Bad Math and Br...

This week for Spooklore, we eventually get around to telling a Polish folktale, The Demon's Dance , but first we ask that you Descend into a societal horror with us. Thanks to Theo for joining us again! Suggested talking points: Plato's Cave of Corporatocracy, Knife: Mint in Box, High Mischief Tolerance, The Pope Store on Pope Island, Cutcotaku, An EpiPen Full of Sulfur, Eternal Chaperone of Demon...

Kicking off Spooklore once more is the return of the Journey West. Certainly not as body-horror-y as last years entry, but still enough Halloween flavor to whet the appetite. Suggested talking points: Herald of Mischief, The Ultimate Trick-Or-Treater, One Measly Murder, Pickled Horse, Dunkin' Infestation, Nature's Most Camaflouge Animal, Beanie Baby Martial Skills If you'd like to support Carman's...

This week on WTFolklore, we read The Riddle . That's something of a misnomer, as no riddles appear whatsoever. But there are plenty of personal anecdotes to be had. Suggested talking points: A Satisfying Scrunch, An Anecdote-Proof Life, Giant Dog Emporium, BYOBubble, Code Scheherazade, The Great Squander Games, The Sphynx Detox If you'd like to support Carman's artistic endeavors, visit: https://w...

This week WTFolklore reads Forest Bride: The Story of a Little Mouse Who Was a Princess, which very succinctly sums up what you should expect to hear about. In addition to more single-panel Facebook Comic Strip Audiobooks, of course. Suggested talking points: Maybe We're the Poops, Rank the Boys, Go Away My Sons, High-Stakes Parking Garage, Cheesecake Adjacent, Opinions on Barley, Lice For Rich-Pe...

This week on WTFolklore is the follow-up story to last week, titled How Ball Carrier Finished His Task, and, listen, we MAY have been a little overzealous in our endorsement of a certain witch last week... Suggested talking points: Museum Of Things You Walk On, The Age of Windbreakers, Pigeon Beats Wolf, The Speed of Couch, Bonked to Death, Cried an Egg, The Truckerverse If you'd like to support C...

This week on WTFolklore, we read the Unattributed Native American tale, The Ball Carrier and the Bad One , which features a confusing training montage, distressingly terrible plans, and a shocking sequel hook Suggested talking points: Escape from the Chaos Zone, A Pokeball for Children, Booster Pack of Wolves, Simply Shriek Until Things Get Better, A Number 6 Combo and a Plan If you'd like to supp...

This week WTFolklore reads the Icelandic tale, The Witch in the Stone Boat , after a brief return from a beloved segment. Suggested talking points: The Pungent Void, Celebrate by Suffering, Hot to Breathe, Boats are Binary, The Air is Thick with Scolding, Whisper and Bake Your Secrets, Troll-Shaped Bib, Full of Porridge and Dreams If you'd like to support Carman's artistic endeavors, visit: https:...

This week WTFolklore  concludes reading Prince Tity , and end up attending the most rancid-vibes party we've ever heard of. Suggested talking points: A Quick Jasper Fforde Endorsement, Two Birds with One War, Sadness-Horny Sickness, Eloquent Warmaking, Plot-Thread Picnic If you'd like to support Carman's artistic endeavors, visit: https://www.patreon.com/carmandaartsthings If you like our show, fi...

This week WTFolklore  begins reading Prince Tity , a French tale (not "that" France though), and meet a character we've been dreaming of our whole lives. Suggested talking points: Phrase of Woman, Merely and Oopsie, The Head-Lop-Off Pendulum, The Gucci Fairy, A Sentient Mist, King Divorced If you'd like to support Carman's artistic endeavors, visit: https://www.patreon.com/carmandaartsthings If yo...