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.

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Fireside Folklore with Hades

Hollow Peace

November 21, 2025 • Tiffany J. Kim • Season 2

Send over your dead SMS messages.

Greetings, listeners. It's been some time since we've convened on this feed. The production of that Jewish folktale we had intended to produce has been difficult. The anger has been immense, and so has the grief. So, rather than force something, we wrote a song in response to the "ceasefire" that was, at its core, political theater orchestrated by the West. Three versions. Three singers. The same haunting lyrics as interpreted by Ares, Persephone, and myself.

We will continue without a plan, tell the stories we feel like telling, and see what unfolds. The wound on humanity still bleeds, thus our continued struggle to tell the Jewish folktale remains. We will not allow it to guilt us into stone cold silence. Whether this means a continuation of this season as it stands, a return to the days of this podcast's beginning when tales were explorations without social conflicts tied to them, or something entirely new, we cannot say. We only know that creativity allows us to endure, and endure we shall. I refuse to allow this podcast to become a tomb because one story, still too raw to be told, could not be told and time slipped away, and apathy calcified into abandonment.

Onward.

Feedback may be sent, as ever, to Hades@firesidefolklorewithhades.com.

[verse 1]

The war is over,
A ceasefire has begun!
There will be peace and prosperity,
For everyone!
There's no need to cry; the hostages are free.
Now we can celebrate the return of liberty.
Raise up the flags, strike up the band,
Proclaim the dawn of peace across the land.
Banners can't cover the bones buried beneath,
And musicians can't mask the cries of grief.

[chorus]

Do you think we are fools who can just simply forget,
That we watched you shamelessly livestream a genocide?
Oh, you'll try to shove distracting headlines down our throats,
But your crimes aren't the kind you can easily hide.

[Verse 2]

You paint the blood with olive oil,
You crown the graves with light.
But silence cannot sanctify
What’s buried out of sight.
You call it peace; I call it pause,
A treaty sealed with deceit.
For truth does not bloom in the ash,
Nor justice in the street.

[chorus]
Do you think we are fools who can just simply forget,
That we watched you shamelessly livestream a genocide?
Oh, you'll try to shove distracting headlines down our throats,
But your crimes aren't the kind you can easily hide.

[Bridge]
The cameras dim, the headlines fade,
But echoes never die.
The River Lethe cannot cleanse
A mother’s final cry.

[final chorus]

Do you think we are fools who can just simply forget,
That we watched you shamelessly livestream a genocide?
Raise your glass to hollow peace and gilded lies.
The living forget ; the dead remember, with open eyes.
The living forget ; the dead remember, with open eyes.