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PODCAST

The Midnight Myth Podcast

Derek Jones and Laurel Hostak

Derek & Laurel dish on myths, history, pop culture and more as they explore universal themes in storytelling. From Game of Thrones and Harry Potter to the Marvel Universe and Star Wars, we"ve been making pop culture sound smart since 2017.

tv & film film history

All Episodes

01:13:52

Episode 199: Emergence | Eternals (2021), World...

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2022/02/27

In the beginning… Join us for a podcast 7,000 years in the making, as we take on Marvel’s Eternals (2021)… for the second time in a few weeks - Check out our review of Eternals alongside the incomparable Geek Salad here. It’s a film teeming with history, mythology, and philosophy - the energy cocktail that powers our podcast. We discuss the mythological counterparts for the characters and artifacts in Chloe Zhao’s film, debate some of the movies most cogent themes, and argue for its place within the

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00:01:55

Coming Soon: Sleep & Sorcery | A Folklore &...

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2022/02/15

Coming in spring of 2022, Sleep & Sorcery is a folklore and fantasy-inspired sleep series from the co-creator of The Midnight Myth Podcast. Step across the threshold into a world of myth and magic, where you can safely drift off into a deep and comfortable sleep. Sleep & Sorcery is one part bedtime story, one part guided meditation, and one part dreamy adventure. My name is Laurel, and I’ll be your guide on infinite fantastical journeys. On each episode of Sleep & Sorcery, I’ll whisk you

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01:08:55

Episode 198: More Than Just Your Gift | Encanto,...

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2022/01/30

Drawers! Floors! Doors! Let’s go! Come with us to Casa Madrigal, the magical casita that sits in the heart of a wondrous Colombian community. After spending weeks with “Surface Pressure” and “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” buzzing in our heads, we’re discussing Disney’s 2021 animated smash Encanto, and the myriad ways it evolves the studio’s offerings. Drawing inspiration from the beautiful landscape, culture, and music of Colombia, the literary magic of Marquez, and the tragic history of the country,

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01:07:56

Episode 197: Big Wheel Keep On Turning | Amazon...

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2022/01/16

Whether you wear blue robes or red, serve the White Cloaks or the Aes Sedai, or follow the way of the leaf, you’re welcome at our fire for this week’s discussion of Amazon Prime’s The Wheel of Time, based on the books by Robert Jordan. We explore religious, mythological, and philosophical traditions that subscribe to a cyclical cosmology (a “wheel of time”) and contemplate the implications on the story world. We also delve into the three oaths of the Aes Sedai, and the limitations of deontological

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01:07:14

Episode 196: 2021 in Review | MCU, Ted Lasso,...

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/12/31

Derek and Laurel are back, and on the eve of 2021 ending and 2022 beginning they look back on the last year and ask about how living life as new parents in a pandemic challenged, changed, and evolved their relationship to contemporary story telling. As The Midnight Myth gets close to two years since having attending a movie in a theater, what themes connect the experience of interacting with media in a pandemic environment? What narratives drew us in and how did we grow as individuals, a family and

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01:06:59

Episode 195: Hark! | A Charlie Brown Christmas,...

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/12/19

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing! For lo, I bring you tidings of a great podcast. We’re thrilled to be back in the studio with a 2021 Christmas Spectacular. This year, we’ll use the 1965 classic A Charlie Brown Christmas to explore the sweeping history of Christmas traditions like the Christmas tree, pageants, and ritual media consumption. From ancient pagan festivals to medieval mystery plays, from Washington Irving to postwar capitalism, A Charlie Brown Christmas prompts the kind of philosophical

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01:19:09

Episode 194 | Desert Power: Dune (2021), Mythology &...

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/11/07

I must not fear. Fear is mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings you a new Midnight Myth episode! We haven’t stopped thinking about Denis Villeneuve’s spectacular vision of Frank Herbert’s Dune for the past few weeks. Join us on Arrakis to debrief some of the historical and religious inspiration for the Dune-iverse, meditations on the purpose of mythology (is it a helpful framework for understanding our world, or a tool of the powerful to manipulate the masses?), and reflections on the

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00:56:43

Episode 193: The Gauntlet | Spooky Movie Edition

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/10/27

Surprise, and happy Hallo-Wednesday! We made it into the studio for a very special edition of our Perfect Movie Gauntlet. As we continue to test our criteria for the Perfect Movie (evaluating on the basis of dimensions like Timelessness, Technical Achievement, etc…), we’ve made a few tweaks to determine the Perfect Spooky Movie! Listen to find out if your fall faves—like Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas—can pass the ultimate test. Send us your contenders, or tell us why we’re wrong

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01:14:46

Episode 192: Strength & Honor | Gladiator (2000),...

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/09/26

The Midnight Myth returns out of a sense of duty to our listeners, inner virtue, and faith in the podcasting empire. This week, we are discussing Derek’s all-time favorite movie, and a springboard for in-depth discussions of historical fiction—Ridley Scott’s 2000 smash-hit Gladiator. We take a journey through Greco-Roman conceptions of the afterlife, interrogate the historical liberties taken by the film, and question the impact of the Roman Empire on the modern world. Learn about the connections

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01:27:34

(BONUS) The Wheel of Ka: The Stand pt. 1 | Rome Falls

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/09/21

We’re back, fellow travelers, and we’re just racing along the path of the Beam! We have begun the massive undertaking that it Stephen King’s The Stand - and this episode will cover just the first 230 pages of the epic tome. These 230 pages contain multitudes (if you know, you know!) How do empires fall? What lies ahead after the world moves on? And how does the first act of The Stand relate to The Dark Tower? Join us for a stimulating discussion… and for the love of god, get vaccinated. — Support us

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01:18:24

(Bonus) The Wheel of Ka: The Mist

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/08/22

Fellow travelers on the path of the Beam, Wheel of Ka returns with another episode, covering The Mist. This Wheel of Ka takes us to a small New England lake town. When a powerful storm knocks out the power, a strange mist descends on the town. David and his son Billy go to the market when the mist comes and the monsters who live within it. This short novel delves deep into human nature as David attempts to reconcile with what is more dangerous, the monsters who live in the mist or the monsters his

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01:08:57

Episode 191: Gods & Demons | Princess Mononoke,...

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/08/15

Welcome back to the Midnight Myth as we cross the mighty waters of the Pacific Ocean and travel back to Medieval Japan with the Miyazaki written Studio Ghibli produced masterpiece Princess Mononoke! Listen to us ask the questions, what is Shinto, how does it inform this wonderful movie, and how does it relate to the identity of god killers and industrialists alike? As the forces of modernity threaten the Kami- the ancient spirits, gods and demons of the forest- the cursed prince Ashitaka attempts to

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00:26:04

(BONUS) It's Not Easy Being Green | The Green Knight...

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/08/13

Looking to be regaled with some marvel, myth, or tale? Look no further, for the Midnight Myth is back with some bonus material covering David Lowery’s epic Arthurian fantasy The Green Knight. Adapted from, and in conversation with, the 14th century poetic masterpiece Sir Gawain & the Green Knight, the film takes viewers on a surreal and deliberate quest with some unexpected turns along the way. In this bonus episode, Laurel discusses some of the way in which The Green Knight transforms the

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01:02:42

Episode 190: Glorious Purpose | Loki, Norse Mythology...

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/08/01

We’re back, and we’re burdened with glorious purpose! On the heels of the Disney Plus series Loki, we’re looking back at the God of Mischief’s marvelous run in the MCU thus far. How did a trickster from Norse mythology become the most beloved comic book movie villain, then become an antihero, then transform into a true hero? To answer that question, we have to look at the trickster archetype in both ancient mythology and contemporary psychoanalysis. And if the Timekeepers will allow it, a

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01:17:36

(Bonus) The Wheel of Ka: The Eyes of the Dragon

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/07/25

An old and disinterested king, a young and dashing prince, the heir to the throne, a beautiful queen raising her son to be kind, generous, and brave, and when the queen gives birth to a second son, the cruel maligned court magician Flagg starts his machinations to undo the peaceful realm of Delain. The name Flagg should be familiar to fans of Stephen King, as it pops up again and again. Almost as if the nemesis of all that is good rides some sort of wheel—like the Wheel of Ka. That’s right, Derek

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01:01:41

Episode 189: Let's Go Bowling | The Big Lebowski,...

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/07/12

What do you do when someone enters your home, mistaking you for someone with the same name, and defiles your rug—the one that really tied the room together? Do you take the path of anger? Get mixed up in an intricate and complex investigation? Or embrace a new philosophy that allows you to move on? This week, we’re discussing the 1998 Coen Brothers’ classic The Big Lebowski: a film that openly discusses the philosophy of nihilism, deals in a heady mix of Eastern and Western philosophy, and does so

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00:58:39

Episode 189: The Gauntlet | What Is the Perfect Movie?

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/06/27

And now for something completely different! This week, we’re returning to our favorite experiment—testing our patented scientific, objective, and unimpeachable process for identifying the Perfect Movie. Last year, we proposed a rubric for perfection on film, and we’re running more amazing movies through it to test our theories. From Apocalypse Now and Pulp Fiction to Pirates of the Caribbean and The Muppet Christmas Carol, will your favorites make it through? Tune in to hear what gets the Midnight

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01:11:37

Episode 188: The Horror, the Horror | Apocalypse Now...

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/06/06

Content Warning: violence, war, PTSD, animal harm, child harm This is the end. My only friend, the end. Join us on a voyage up the Nung River, through increasingly surreal episodes of war on our quest to find the elusive Colonel Kurtz. In Francis Ford Coppola’s epic vision of the Vietnam War Apocalypse Now (1979), history blends with myth, violence blends with the absurd, and the human mind makes friends of horror and moral terror. We discuss the complex history that escalated into the deeply

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01:16:16

(Bonus) The Wheel of Ka: Insomnia

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/05/31

An old widower can’t sleep, a small city in New England is dealing with the political controversies and passions over the debate around abortion, and the wheel of Ka turns again and again. That’s right, Derek and Steve are back! The last Wheel of Ka episode ended in Derry. While Derek and Steve didn’t know at the time, Insomnia would take us back to this strange small city. Is it cursed? Is it on the path of a broken Beam? All this and more is discussed in this Dark Tower adjacent novel by the

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01:08:26

Episode 187: I Never Drink... Wine | Bram Stoker's...

The Midnight Myth Podcast ·

2021/05/23

Welcome to my home. Four+ years ago when we started the Midnight Myth, we published an episode reflecting on iconic villains in popular culture—one of which was the prototypical vampire, Count Dracula. Now, after oceans of time, we return to the Prince himself with a deep dive into Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula. We’ll discuss how Dracula came to represent vampire literature, the tradition of folklore and poetry that anticipated him, and—of course—his namesake, Vlad III

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