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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

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Hello, you dirty birds! On this very special "69" episode, we're doing a deep dive into historical love letters from two very specific historical men. First, Napoleon Bonaparte is going to teach us the meaning of "anxious attachment style", and then Max is going to read us James Joyce's love letters that are not for the faint of fart (ehem...heart...)

A million kisses!

J and M

Janey's Sources - Historical Love Letters

• LOCATION: France and Ireland
• “Napoleon’s Letters to Josephine” on Project Gutenberg (thanks, Steve!)
• “Napoleon Bonaparte” from History.com
• “The truth about Napoleon and Josephine’s marriage, divorce, and lasting legacy” by Nylah Iqbal Muhammad for Vox
• “Joséphine's letters to trusted Napoleon general to go on sale in Paris” by Maev Kennedy (2014) for The Guardian
• “James Joyce’s Love Letters” by Maria Popova for The Marginalian
• “James Joyce’s Love Letters to His “Dirty Little Fuckbird” by Nadja Spiegelman for The Paris Review

BONUS: "Love and Limerence" by Dorothy Tennov

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Hello and welcome back! This week Max is going to tell us about how wicked smart people from New Hampshire are, and Janey is going to tell us a very cathartic story that comes with the disclaimer "I swear I like my job". Sorry about our terrible accents! Enjoy!

Janey's Sources - Mmadipetsane

• LOCATION: Lesotho, South Africa
• “Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales”
• Full story (page 3)

Max's Sources - Three Times and Out

• LOCATION: New Hampshire
• “New England Bean-Pot: American Folk Stories to Read and to Tell” by Moritz A Jagendorf, illu by BA Botkin
• https://montvernonhistoricalsocietynewsletter.wordpress.com/2023/07/21/chasing-the-devils-tale/

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This week, Janey is going to bring us the final story in The Arabian Nights, about a man who just hates this baby... and Max is going to tell us that classic story of a nameless child finding God wandering around in the woods. Wonder what'll happen!

For those of you who are in the half of the world that's moving into winter, we hope you stay warm and cozy!

Janey's Sources - The Story of Codadad and His Brothers

• LOCATION: (possibly Turkey)
• “The Arabian Nights” illustrated by Earl Goodenow
• Full free story

Max's Sources - Little Fourteen

• LOCATION: France
• “Folktales of France” edited by Genevieve Massignon

Support the show

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