The Folklore Podcast

Guest interviewer Becky Jones meets Dr Martin Shaw, mythologist and storyteller and the author of the book 'Smoke Hole', published by Chelsea Green Publishing. 'Smoke Hole' uses traditional folk tales as a metaphor on modern life. Martin is director of the Westcountry School of Myth and the interview looks at his work as a wilderness guide, the ways in which his writing provides commentary on the modern through mythology and much more. Click here to find out more about the Westcountry School of Myth Click here to watch the video version of this interview on our YouTube channel The Folklore Podcast Book Club is part of the Folklore Library and Archive. To support our work in preserving and making folklore resources available for future generations, please click here.

We celebrate the 100th episode of The Folklore Podcast with special guest Mary-Ann Ochota who joins us to discuss the theme of folklore in the landscape. We cover archaeology, anthropology, the importance of communal spaces and much more. Please visit our website at www.thefolklorepodcast.com where you will find a variety of ways to support all of The Folklore Podcast's projects and we move into our next 100 shows.

Guest book reviewer Hilary Wilson speaks with Thomas Honegger, the author of the book 'Introducing the Medieval Dragon', published by University of Wales Press. The book explores the characteristics of the medieval dragon and discusses the sometimes differing views found in the relevant medieval text-types. The book is available from the publisher here To support The Folklore Podcast in producing free content with access to the world's experts in the fields of folklore as well as maintaining folklore for the future through the Folklore Library and Archive, please visit our Patreon page or make a one-off donation here.

Charlotte Sophia Burne was a pioneering British Folklorist who was not only the first female president of The Folklore Society, but also undoubtedly the first female president of any learned society in the country. She was instrumental in the production of the second edition of 'The Handbook of Folklore' and her work on folklore in the county of Shropshire is still well respected today. Our guest Nicole Stout is a direct descendent of Charlotte and also the author of 'Unexpected Companions', a novel in which Charlotte features, using many words and events based on her life. Nicole discusses the life and career of Charlotte in this episode, which is part of our occasional series on great folklorists. To visit Nicole's website and find her book, please click here. The Folklore Library and Archive contains digitised copies of all the notebooks of Charlotte's which are known to still exist today. Click here to visit the website, where you will find them in the Document Archives. To support the work of The Folklore Podcast and The Folklore Library and Archive, please visit our Patreon page.

On this episode of The Folklore Podcast Book Club we talk with author Lizzie Fry about her fiction title 'The Coven' published by Sphere Books. The book is a global thriller, set in a world where witchcraft is real and the US president decrees that all witches must be imprisoned for their own safety - creating a world in which being female is only one step away from being criminal. To support the Folklore Podcast Network and help us to preserve and make available folklore resources for the future, please visit our Patreon page or make a small one-off donation on our website.

Guest reviewer for The Folklore Podcast Book Club, Hilary Wilson, interviews author David Castleton about his book 'Church Curiosities'. To support us in creating free content across The Folklore Podcast network, please click here David's book is available from the publisher at https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/church-... David's blog can be found at https://www.davidcastleton.net/ Watch the video of this interview at https://youtu.be/tsGqrgDym-A

We travel back to the 11th century to examine the use of erotic magic and the church's response to this in the form of penitential literature, with a particular focus on the writings of the bishop of the Holy Roman Empire, Burchard of Worms. Guest Larissa Lyth speaks about the types of magic employed, how women were viewed by the church at this time and the types of penance given for magical use. Please note this this episode discusses adult themes of a sexual nature and carries a content warning for abortion, and as such is not considered as suitable for children. To support us in providing free folklore content across the Folklore Podcast network, please visit our Patreon page.

We are joined by author Joanne Harris, on her second visit to The Folklore Podcast network. Joanne discusses her latest book 'Honeycomb' - a collection of 100 stories set amongst the world of fairy lore which had a very unusual method of writing. If you enjoy this episode please consider making a small donation to The Folklore Podcast on our website, or signing up to our Patreon page. Thank you

We talk with American author CM McGuire about her debut Young Adult novel 'Ironspark' which takes as its central theme an ongoing battle between humans and the fae folk, through a family connection going back years. The book uses ideas of existing fairy folklore to shape its narrative.

We speak with PhD researcher Karin Murray-Bergquist about her research into ghost ship stories off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, and her project which is plotting these onto a new digital map of the area. To view the map, visit Karin's MapHub page To contact Karin with stories, please email her at karin.murraybergquist@gmail.com You can view Karin's other projects on her website To support The Folklore Podcast and help our network to keep producing free content, please visit our Patreon page