Episodes for Younger Folks

Rags and Leaves

Is true love a matter of the heart, or of dumb luck? In this Sicilian tale a rose tossed from a balcony leads to cold winds, a creaking shack in the mountains and an endless cycle of dreams that can only be escaped by welcoming the most scraggly and unloved parts of our world to the feast.

Episode 53: Anansi and the Box of Stories

Stories shape the world, yet we have chosen corporations for our storytellers. In this episode we explore how to liberate ourselves from corporate storytelling, first through the Ashanti tale "Anansi and the Box of Stories," and then through a discussion with screenwriter, director and actor Brian Smolensky about his upcoming book Say Goodbye to Hollywood.

Episode 54: "The Oldest Boy" told by Walton Stanley

What do the gods and spirits of this world want from us? Climb into the sealskin boots of this question and journey away from your whalebone lodge into the depths, perhaps finding there an answer to the question of our place in the imagination of the world. A story from the far north told by Walton Stanley, followed by an interview with Jay Leeming.

Episode 49: King Powell and Lady Rhiannon (Mabinogion, First Branch)

Come take your place at the feast presided over by the otherworld queen Lady Rhiannon, where the spells of hunger and contentment send you out the door clutching a bag of limitless hunger which will teach you what true nourishment is. A Welsh tale for the uncatchable Queen within all of us!

Breville mini smart oven.

Valemon, the White Bear King

What happens when one of the lords of the animal world snuffles towards you carrying the golden wreath of eternity on his back? Find out what wind blows through this question once a young princess marries a bear and plunges into depths even her dreams forgot to tell her about.

Episode 50: "The Fox Woman" told by Danny Deardorff

The American storyteller Danny Deardorff (1952--2019) brought many stories flourishing up into the light of his wild voice. In this episode we explore his telling of "The Fox Woman," a Siberian tale of confinement and escape able to awaken the salt-taste of the infinite in our own animal souls.

Episodes for Younger Folks

Note: Please be aware that this list is highly subjective, and that if you have any doubts it's always best to first listen to the story yourself. That said, I've told all of these stories (in the versions below) to children ages six years old and up. Children deserve stories that wrestle with real life in all its complexity; it's the best education they can have.

Episodes for Younger Folks

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