(Sort of) The Story

Janey and Max

Two best friends tell each other stories they heard and read that week (and also, you are here!)

1 Listener

All episodes

Best episodes

Top 10 (Sort of) The Story Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best (Sort of) The Story episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to (Sort of) The Story for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite (Sort of) The Story episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

150. Flummoxed! (do you speak German?)

(Sort of) The Story

01/30/25 • 108 min

Send us a text

Hello and welcome to our very special LIVE episode! This week, we told our stories to all the lovely people on our Discord (and only had very minor awkward technical issues). If you love flummoxing fairies and swelling, this is the episode for you. (Also what's your deal? Why are those your two interests?)
Janey's Sources - Long, Broad and Sharp Eyes

“Czech Fairytales” by Karel Jarormir Erben and Bozena Nemcova
Full free story

Max's Sources - The Woman Who Flummoxed the Fairies

“The Woman Who Flummoxed the Fairies” retold by Heather Forest, illustrated by Susan Gaber

Support the show

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

Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!)
Want more??
Visit our website!
Join our Patreon!
Shop the merch at TeePublic!
If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials!
Instagram
Tiktok
Goodreads
And email us at [email protected]

1 Listener

147. So Big, So Ugly (please tell Gerky to come outside)

(Sort of) The Story

12/19/24 • 81 min

Send us a text

Hello and happy almost-holidays, everyone! Today Janey we are so absolutely overwhelmed by our emotions today because Hans Christian Andersen decided to be mean to a baby. Then, Max is going to melt our cold, cold hearts with the true story behind Frosty the Snowman. We hope you enjoy the last episode of 2024!!!
Janey's Sources - The Ugly Duckling

Full free story

Max's Sources - The Snow Child

“Russian Tales: Traditional Stories of Quests and Enchantments,” illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova
Full free text of original version from “Slavonic Fairy Tales” by John Teophilius Naaké
Wiki article on “Snegurochka” (the snow maiden)

Support the show

1 Listener

110. Sending My Worst (do your chores, you little b***)

(Sort of) The Story

11/23/23 • 59 min

Send us a text

Hello! On today's shivery little episode, Max is telling a story of an Icelandic spite-haunting, and Janey is telling us a cautionary tale about why it's always better to just do your damn chores the first time you're asked. Also, we won't be here next week, as we're taking a much needed week off! Enjoy!
Janey’s Sources - Sister and Brother

“Winter Tales: Stories and Folktales from Around the World”, by Dawn Casey

Max’s Sources - The Sending

“Even More Short & Shivery” by Robert D. San Souci
“Revenge Zombies and Necropants: A Brief History of Icelandic Sorcery” by Eric Grundhauser for Atlas Obscura
“Ghosts, specters, and zombies in Icelandic folktales” by Helga Dís Björgúlfsdóttir /
“Icelandic Fylgjur Tales and a Possible Old Norse Connection” by Eric Shane Bryan
“Chapter 3 THE FYLGJUR OF ICELAND: ATTENDANT SPIRITS AND A DISTORTED SENSE OF GUARDIANSHIP” from “Icelandic Folklore and the Cultural Memory of Religious Change” by Eric Shane Bryan
“Monster of the Month: Sending - A Ghost of Substance” by John Rogers

Support the show

52. A Wit Game is Afoot! (Melk or Be Melked)

(Sort of) The Story

10/20/22 • 49 min

Send us a text

On today's episode, Max is going to tell us the most entertaining story ever about a fussy little goblin who can't seem to catch a break! And Janey is going to tell us a Swahili story about a woman verbally gut punching three men over some milk and meat. Enjoy!

Max’s Sources - The Bogie and the Farmer

“Faeries, Elves & Goblins: The Old Stories” by Rosalind Kerven
“ATU 1030: Crop Division between Man and Ogre” selected and edited by D.L. Ashliman
“The Dialect and Folk-Lore of Northamptonshire” by Thomas Sternberg
“Outwitting the Bogie” by Thomas Sternberg

Janey’s Sources - A Woman for a Hundred Cattle

“Fearless Girls, Wise Women and Beloved Sisters” by Kathleen Ragan
“The more than beautiful woman - African folktales of female agency and emancipation” by Ayub Sheik (if you want to pay money to download what looks to be a really interesting research paper on how folklore influences social change.)

And thank YOU, Keith! How do you do that trick where you hold your own beating heart in your hand? That's so weird and cool. We're so happy we invited you to this party, everyone is really impressed.

Support the show

67. A Court of Absent Fae-thers (sun's out, buns out!)

(Sort of) The Story

02/02/23 • 77 min

Send us a text

Continuing her accidentAl series of "explaining the folkloric origins of A Court of Thorns and Roses," Janey is telling us the story of that mythical fae player, Tam Lin. Max is going to tell us about the time the Sun's milkshake brought all the boys to her yard, and why rattlesnakes are the chihuahua's of the snake world. Enjoy!
Janey’s Sources - Tam Lin

Wikipedia Entry for "Tam Lin"
“Tam Lin” by Pamela Dean
“This Halloween-set medieval Scottish ballad is incredibly pro-choice” by Constance Grady (Vox Article)
The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic (Home Page)
Folk Alley Sessions: Anaïs Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer - "Tam Lin (Child 39)" (Youtube)

Max’s Sources - (Not Actually) "Orpheus"

"The World Treasury of Fairy Tales & Folklore: A Family Heirloom of Stories to Inspire and Entertain" by Professor William Gray with Joanna Gilar and Rose Williamson
Originally from "Tales of the North American Indians" by Stith Thompson
About "Little People of the Cherokee," from FirstPeople.us
About the Uktena in Cherokee stories

And thank you to Keith! KEITH! Who is one day going to "eat the moon", whatever that means! (:

Support the show

55. Geothermal Currency (don't Björk your shorts)

(Sort of) The Story

11/10/22 • 100 min

Send us a text

On today's very French episode Max is going to tell us all about a man caught between two witches, and Janey is going to tell us the horrifying tale of what happens when you don't tell your cousin about the pair of red eyes you saw under her bed.

Max’s Sources - “The Witch of Lok Island”

“Celtic Tales: Fairy Tales and Stories of Enchantment from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, and Wales” illustrated by Kate Forrester
Full free text of “The Witch of Lok Island”

Janey’s Sources - “Red Eyes”

"French Folktales" collection by Henri Pourrat
Henri Pourrat Wikipedia

And thank you to our sound engineer, Keith. Did a cold wind just pass through the hallway, or are you breathing nearby, you silly little so and so?

Support the show

65. Dionysus the Inventor (Satan, get out of the bathtub)

(Sort of) The Story

01/19/23 • 85 min

Send us a text

Hello and welcome to episode 65! TodAy Janey will tell us all about Dionysus, who truly is the gift that keeps on giving. Then, Max will retell an episode of Supernatural JUST KIDDING it's just a regular story about the devil! Enjoy!
Janey’s Sources - Legends of Dionysus

“Ariadne” by Jennifer Saint
Semele (Dionysus’s mortal mother) Wikipedia
Info on Zagreus
More info on Zagreus from Theoi
Silenus, Dionysus’s drunk but lovable tutor
Ovid's "Metamorphoses"

Max’s Sources - Satan Takes a Wife

“Icelandic Folk Legends: Tales of Apparitions, Outlaws and Things Unseen” collected and translated by Alda Sigmundsdottir
Free text of "Satan Takes a Wife"
Recorded reading of "Satan Takes a Wife" and other Icelandic tales
"The Stupid Boy and the Devil" - a variant story, also from Iceland, in the canon of Sæmundur Fróði Sigfússon

And thank you to Keith, a man who never lost his baby teeth. He knows exactly where they are.

Support the show

66. Dr. Boobs MD, DDS, WWE, RN (this one's for the beans)

(Sort of) The Story

01/26/23 • 105 min

Send us a text

CW: Mentions of suicide and racism
Today we anSwer the age-old question of "can a story be too silly?" (The answer is yes. It can and it has.) Max will tell us about a girl who didn't deserve a husband, and her sisters who love a broken glass discount. Janey will tell us about a stupid girl who can't stop bleeding (and discuss racism in folklore.) We swear, this one is a blast!
Max’s Sources - King Bean

"One Hundred Favorite Folktales" chosen by Stith Thompson
Originally from "Italian Popular Tales" by Thomas Frederick Crane

Janey’s Sources - The Girl Who Banished Seven Youths

Arab Folktales, translated by Inea Bushnaq
Udea and Her Seven Brothers wikipedia
Schmiesing, Ann. “Blackness in the Grimms’ Fairy Tales.”

And thank YOU, Keith, wherever you are. Are you in the wind? The trees? Just outside of our darkened windows, peering in with that wide, wide grin of yours? Are you in Key West? Who knows! Love ya, our guy!

Support the show

35. World's Densest Baby (the adventures of Katherine Fried Crackernuts)

(Sort of) The Story

06/23/22 • 83 min

Send us a text

On today's episode Max is going to tell us about a samurai with a heart of gold (and biceps of steel) with "The Story of Umetsu Chubei", and Janey is going to take us on a journey to the fairy hill and back again with "Katherine Crackernuts."
NOTE: At the end of this episode, we discuss the trope "Women in Refrigerators" and Janey incorrectly says the O.G. woman stuffed into a fridge was Marvel's Big Bertha. In fact, it is the Green Lantern's girlfriend Alexandra DeWitt. You can find more about the trope here.
Max's Sources - The Story of Umétsu Chūbei

"Japanese Tales of Lafcadio Hearn" edited and introduced by Andrei Codrescu, foreword by Jack Zipes

Janey’s Sources - Katherine Crackernuts

"Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales" chosen and edited by Gordon Jarvie
"The Lukewarm Appeal of the 'Women In Refrigerators' Trope" by Larissa Irankunda for The Mary Sue

Support the show

77. That's SO Raven (chicken nuggets for the poor)

(Sort of) The Story

04/06/23 • 87 min

Send us a text

Hello and happy April! Today Janey and Max are going to explain what last week's surprise episode was all about, answer some of your question about Keith, and also tell some trickster tales! Topical!
Janey’s Sources - Raven Stories

“American Indian Trickster Tales” Selected and edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz
Haida People
“The Raven in Haida Culture” article by Amy Lafleche
Son of a Trickster, book 1 in The Trickster Trilogy by Eden Robinson

Max’s Sources - Crack and Crook

“Favorite Folktales from Around the World,” edited by Jane Yolen - part of The Pantheon Fairy Tale & Folktale Library
Full free text of "Crack and Crook"

And one final shoutout to our fake audio engineer Keith (aka Elijah Sloan). We're all going to take a million-year nap now!

Support the show

Show more best episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does (Sort of) The Story have?

(Sort of) The Story currently has 179 episodes available.

What topics does (Sort of) The Story cover?

The podcast is about Fiction, Comedy and Podcasts.

What is the most popular episode on (Sort of) The Story?

The episode title '147. So Big, So Ugly (please tell Gerky to come outside)' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on (Sort of) The Story?

The average episode length on (Sort of) The Story is 83 minutes.

How often are episodes of (Sort of) The Story released?

Episodes of (Sort of) The Story are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of (Sort of) The Story?

The first episode of (Sort of) The Story was released on Nov 17, 2021.

Show more FAQ

(Sort of) The Story

Janey and Max

Top 10 (Sort of) The Story Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does (Sort of) The Story have?

What topics does (Sort of) The Story cover?

What is the most popular episode on (Sort of) The Story?

What is the average episode length on (Sort of) The Story?

How often are episodes of (Sort of) The Story released?

When was the first episode of (Sort of) The Story?

Comments