Folklore & Fiction

Episode 47: What is language and verbal lore?

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in September 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm writing about language and verbal lore with help from scholars J.L. Austin and Richard Bauman, author Frank Herbert, Swedish performers Emma Åslund and Åsa Larsson, and others. I'm also exploring the use of language and verbal lore in storycraft and providing you with an exercise on the topic. Settle in, friends! I squeezed a discussion of conspiracy theories into my newsletter schedule last month, so this is nearly a double edition. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-language-and-verbal-lore)

Episode 46: What is a conspiracy theory?

This edition is a departure from my promised two-part discussion of language and verbal lore, which will be condensed and presented in a single edition next month. Instead, I'm answering the call of folklore scholar Phillips Stevens Jr., who argues that folklorists are uniquely qualified to address harmful collective narratives and because of this, they have "a professional and moral responsibility to share their knowledge." I'm also following the lead of Timothy Tangherlini and his fellow scholars, who write that "people are making real-world, and at times violent or dangerous, decisions based on informal stories that circulate on and across their social networks, and that conspiracy theories are a significant part of that storytelling." With these arguments in mind, I'll endeavour to provide you with an accessible introduction to narrative scholarship on the topic of conspiracy theories and summarize my discussion with a list of questions you can use to evaluate the trustworthiness of narratives you encounter online and elsewhere. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-conspiracy-theory)

Episode 45: What is material culture?

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in July 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm writing about material culture with help from the Library of Congress American Folklife Center, scholars Judith Farquhar and Simon Bronner, The Joy of Vegan Baking, and the 2005 science fiction film Serenity. I'm also discussing the use of material culture in storycraft and providing you with an exercise on the topic. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-material-culture)

Episode 44: Summer Solstice Newsletter 2020

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in June 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. At the summer and winter solstices, I mimic the sun and pause to reflect on my own creative work. In this edition, I'm discussing representation issues in fiction with a passage from my short story "D is for Duel/One Who Dies as a God Dies," which was published in the D is for Dinosaur anthology. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/summer-solstice-newsletter-2020)

Episode 43: What is a folk custom?

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in May 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm writing about folk customs with help from scholars Richard Sweterlitsch and Wayland Hand, author Naomi Novik, and friends Vigdís Andersen and Sveinn Svavarsson, among others. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-folk-custom)

Episode 42: What is a curse?

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in April 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm discussing curses with help from scholars Natalie Underberg, Evangelos Gr. Avdikos, and others, outlining the use of curses in storytelling, and providing you with an example and a reflective writing exercise. If you're new to the podcast or missed March 2020's "What is a charm?" edition, do go back and check it out before engaging with this one. Many folklore scholars agree that curses may be viewed as negative charms, and with that in mind, this discussion is an extension of the last one. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-curse)

Episode 41: Keeping a Journal in Uncertain Times

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a supplementary newsletter in March 2020, shortly after the pandemic was declared. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm discussing the value of keeping a journal you can pass on to others. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/folklore-fiction-supplement-keeping-journal-uncertain-times)

Episode 40: What is a charm?

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in March 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm discussing charms with help from scholars J. Stanley Hopkins, Jonathan Roper, and others, discussing the use of charms in storycraft, and providing you with an example and an exercise on the topic. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-charm)