Storyline

When I found my late mother’s much-loved Nutcracker Suite volume recently, it was a wonderful reminder of the bedtime stories I adored as a child. Heroes, monsters, mermaids, magic, wizards and fairies were the order of the day in our home and in recent years I’ve discovered some wonderful podcasts that bring new perspective to these tales.

Myths and Legends was one of the first podcasts I ever subscribed to. Each episode revisits a legend, gives a quick overview of its origins and then brings the tale to life. The host, Jason, is incredibly entertaining and his hilarious quips add a modern twist to the ancient stories without at all disrespecting the source material. He loves these tales and it shines through each episode.

More recently I’ve added the Singing Bones to my list of favourite podcasts. Perth based writer and performer Claire Testoni, delves into the world of fairy tales and cleverly unravels their historical and cultural origins. She also interviews current artists and performers to explore the modern interpretations of these traditional tales.

I’d also highly recommend listening to best-selling author Kate Forsyth in conversation with Richard Fidler through the ABC website or Conversations podcast. Kate is an accredited master storyteller, has a doctorate in fairy tales from the University of Technology and her recent books Bitter Greens and The Beast’s Garden wonderfully retell the tradition fairy tales of Rapunzel and Beauty and the Beast respectively.

With all podcasts if you like what you hear, please consider supporting the makers by rating them on iTunes. Many also have either additional content available for a small fee ($5 per month membership for Myths and Legends or $5 shadow puppets from Singing Bones), or you can donate through their websites and help them continue to provide these wonderful podcasts for free.

Happy listening!