Fireside Folklore with Hades
Once upon a time, gods and goddesses walked among us, granting their favor to heroes and creating sea monsters because … well, because they could. After one too many festivals was ruined by a vengeful Poseidon who thought the sacrifice of fish upon his altar wasn’t flaky enough, a hero bravely constructed a wall so thick and impenetrable that not even the most industrious of gods could breach it.
Fast forward to 2023 when, as part of a wager, Hades decided to leverage one hapless mortal’s brief misguided love of AI technology to convince her to create this podcast—a place where the gods, with their instinctively chosen voices, could recapture the ears, if not the hearts and minds, of people everywhere.
Here, you’ll find gods and goddesses playfully peddling products like Ambrosia Bites—guaranteed to keep you going on all of life’s treacherous journeys—and recounting folklore from around the world. From the spooky legend of Devil’s Pool in Australia to the whimsical and obscure folktale of a clever Sheikh in Yemen, you’ll find a treasure trove of folklore, both ancient and modern, traditional and twisted, on this podcast.
Hades, with his deep and somber basso profundo, narrates, while his madcap family lends their voices to the characters. In addition to the tale, each “regular” episode includes fun facts from Hermes, the psychopomp, who will share culturally significant information about each country or region visited. Persephone or Dionysus (depending on the season) will also share a recipe for something delicious to eat or drink, bringing the country’s delights straight to your dinner table. And finally, Zeus, the king of the gods, offers his Lightning Round, where you, our audience, can win a prize if you can answer correctly—no easy task when you must sift through the cacophony of these heartwarming and whimsical gods.
In the beginning, this podcast posted a story each week like clockwork, but after Hades realized that AI ghostwriters were killing the fun (and frights) out of the stories, he decreed that all future stories would be human-written. Though our earlier work is here for history’s sake, we may go back and redo them, for Hades, that unrelenting taskmaster, has both patience and time on his side.
In addition to the regular episodes, you’ll find hijinks from the rest of the family, and even some visits from the Roman pantheon, too. To put it simply: there will never be a dull moment here in this corner of Hades’s Underworld.
A labor of love, this podcast is a way to share the world’s stories, enjoy a few laughs, and chronicle one creative writer’s journey as she was initially bewitched by AI and reunited with her creative soul.
Please note that all “sponsorships” read by Zeus are completely fictional. This podcast, like storytelling by the fireside, will forever remain free from all monetization.
Fireside Folklore with Hades
Cloud Camels, A Clever Folktale from Yemen; Episode 5, Season 2 of Fireside Folklore with Hades
Send over your dead SMS messages.
Greetings, listeners! My apologies for the delay getting this particular episode to you. Managing the Underworld's affairs has been quite the handful these days, what with Persephone absent and the mortal world being quite wrought with turmoil of late. This week, our journey takes us to the country of Yemen. Though they are one of the poorest countries in the world as a result of a civil war that's lasted more than a decade, the Yemenis are a resilient people. We chose to spotlight them because of their continued embargo to prevent the further persecution of Palestinian civilians. This tale, "Cloud Camels", is a lighthearted jaunt into the clever ways of a Shaykh who outwitted a greedy sultan and saved his village from ruin.
Dionysus gave us a recipe for a Socotra Island punch, which sounds absolutely divine and just what I need right now to deal with my workload! As ever, Hermes found us some fun facts about Yemen, including the tidbit that their aforementioned Socotra Island is home to some plants and animals not found anywhere else. Don't forget to participate in this week's Lightning Round, if you'd care to buy some Yemeni coffee, or something else on Etsy.
Any feedback may be sent via dead letter to Hades@firesidefolklorewithhades.com.
Next time, we will return for our third sojourn in Palestine, where we'll be hearing the story of "The Golden Pail". It's shaping up to be an epic tale, so it may take my Olympian family a bit of time and rehearsal, but I'll be sure to get the Erinyes to ensure our performance is nothing short of stellar. Until then, may your hearths be warm, and your spirits brighter. Hail to thee, and farewell.
