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Cowabunga, everybody! This week, Janey is going to tell us about a disloyal knight with a surprising secret, and Max is going to tell us an alien invasion story that teaches us all a powerful lesson (don't trust a man just because he says he's a doctor...) Enjoy!

Janey's Sources: Bradamante

• LOCATION: France
• Not One Damsel in Distress: World Folktales for Strong Girls by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Susan Guevara.
• @DwarfismHistory on Instagram
• "The Story Of 'Orlando Furioso’" NPR. February 2009.
• “Orlando Furioso, Canto IV” on Yesterweird
• Bradamante on Wikipedia
• Ruggiero on Wikipedia
• “The Road to Middle Earth: How J.R.R. Tolkien Created a New Mythology” by Tom Shippey

Max’s Sources - The Tale of Flying Saucers

• LOCATION: California
• “American Folkore and Legends”, John J. and Potter Marcatante

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Hello and happy spoooOOOOookyy March! This week, we're bringing out our scariest Irish tales to impress Andi and Feliz, the hosts of the "You Two Scare Me" podcast! First, Max is going to break the glass ceiling of headless horsePEOPLE, and then Janey's going to remind us all of the most important rule of horror: children. are. scary.

We hope you enjoy!

Sources:

• Check out the You Two Scare Me Podcast!
• Listen to their episode on The Irish Banshee

Janey’s Sources - The Case of the Leannabh Sidhe

• LOCATION: England
• Fearsome Fairies: Haunted Tales of the Fae, edited by Elizabeth Dearnley

Max’s Sources - The Dullahan

• LOCATION: Ireland
• Full free text of “The Good Woman”
• “The Dullahan” by Ghost City Tours
• “The Headless Horseman” by Irish Myths
• “The Dullahan” by The Irish Place

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Hello and welcome to another episode! This week Janey is going to tell us about a man who will go to great lengths to get his boss laid, and Max is going to tell us about an old man's fears! Enjoy!

Janey’s Sources - The Tibetan Envoy

• LOCATION: Tibet
• “The Spring of Butterflies and Other Chinese Folk Tales”, translated by He Liyi, edited by Neil Philp
• “Story of Songtsan Gambo and Princess WengCheng” by Yangkyi, for Tibet Vista

Max’s Sources -

• LOCATION:

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Hello and welcome to yet another week of life! This week, Max is going to tell us the dangers of letting a good story languish on the shelf, and Janey is going to tell us about some real sillies. We hope you enjoy this shorty-baby-cutie episode!

Janey’s Sources - The Three Sillies

• LOCATION: England
• “Favorite Folktales from Around the World” edited by Jane Yolen

Max’s Sources - The Story Bag

• LOCATION: Korea
• Full free text of “The Story Bag” The story bag; a collection of Korean folk tales : Kim, So-un, 1907-1981

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Hello and happy Thursday! This week, Max is going to tell us a story about a salty sea-scrub whose wife deserves better, and Janey is going to tell us about a Rasputin-baby who can never die! (No one said these episode descriptions had to be helpful. Janey just gets to write whatever she wants in here! Watch this-- Pie 'a la mode' is stupid thing to call it, since "a la mode" doesn't mean "add ice cream", it just means "is trendy now". It should be called "Pies-cream", because it rhymes.)

ANYWAY WE HOPE YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE!

Janey’s Sources - Morena-Y-A-Letsatsi, or the Sun Chief

• LOCATION: Lesotho, South Africa
• "African Myths and Tales: Epic Tales" with forward by Kwadwo Osei-Nyame Jr.
• Full Free Tale

Max’s Sources - The Droll of the Mermaid

• LOCATION: Cornwall, England
• “The Watkins Book of English Folktales” by Neil Philip
• Full free text of “The Droll of the Mermaid” by William Bottrell, as told by Uncle Anthony James

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Hello everyone! This week we're catching ya'll up on some life stuff and saying goodbye to an old friend. Then Max is going to tell us a horror story about an eye-catching beauty in the woods, and Janey is going to teach us all the proper comeback to someone telling you you're "too much".

We hope you enjoy!

Janey’s Sources - The Little Girl with a Big Voice

• LOCATION: South Africa
• “Tales of the Night Sky: Stories of Stars from Around the World”, retold by Corinna Keefe, illustrated by Gaby Verdooren
• “African Ethnoastronomy” (Some stories behind South African constellation folklore)
• “If You’ve Ever Been Told that You’re ‘Too Much’, Read This”, an article by Annie Wright

Max’s Sources - The Rose Beauty

• LOCATION: Turkey
• “Turkish Folktales” edited by Jake Jackson
• Full free text of “The Rose Beauty”

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HELLO! Today we have an amazing guest, the Cosbrarian herself-- LIZ GOTAUCO! Liz is the creator behind the series "F*cked Up Fairytales with Liz", and the author of the hilarious book inspired by the series!

This week Max and Janey tell stories from her book, and she tells us a story about vengeful fairies and the danger of telling bad jokes (yes, we take this personally.)

We hope you enjoy!

BUY THE BOOK: "F*cked Up Fairy Tales" by Liz Gotauco

Janey’s Sources - The Flayed Old Woman

• LOCATION: Italy
• “The Tale of Tales” full book (by Giambattista Basille), free source

Max’s Sources - The Buzzard Husband

• LOCATION: Guatemala
• “The Mythology of Mexico and South America” by John Bierhorst
• "9 Fascinating Vulture Facts" from 4vultures.org
• Vulture Facts from Wildlife Center
• MORE VULTURE FACTS from Desert Museum

Liz's Sources - Sweet Pea and Sweet William

• LOCATION: England
• "Sweet Pea and Sweet William" FULL STORY
• "Tales From Beyond the Rainbow" by Pete Jordi Wood (@realbasicwitch)
• Jeana Jorgenson (folklorist) @jeanadances on instagram
• "Fairy Tales from Folk Lore" from Wilber Hershel Williams
• "Skin deep" translated by Nancy Canepa
• "Latin American Folktales" edited by John Bierhorst (Liz's source for "The Buzzard Husband")

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Hello and welcome to our LAST episode of 2025! On this episode, Max is going to tell us a story about a girl who can see the important things (like what kind of belt you're wearing), and Janey is going to tell us why Rapunzel should have been a man.

We hope you've had a wonderful year, and that 2026 only goes up!

Janey’s Sources - The Three Fates

• LOCATION: Egypt
• “Fairy Tales of the Orient” by Pearl S. Buck

Max’s Sources - The Invisible One

• LOCATION: Micmac Territory (~New England and southeastern Canada)
• “Algonquin Legends” by Charles G. Leland - full free text online

Support the show

Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account!

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If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials!
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