Grimm Reading

For our first series finale we finish off with Rapunzel, the famous story of a well coiffured heroine trapped in a tower. We find many surprises in what may be thought of as the most childish of the Grimm’s tales, including silk ladders, salad addiction, barren deserts, and a villain with more depth than first meets the eye. After the story we discuss the more adult themes of the tale, why witches get such a bad rep, a Lithuanian long hair festival, and how it can all be traced back to 17th century Naples. See the animated video by our competition winner here: http://tiny.cc/mqvi7y  Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Live instrumental performance of “Beau Soir” (Beautiful Evening) written by Claude Debussy // Chopin’s Opus 10 Twelve Grand Etudes (F Major) Performed by Martha Goldstein 

In The Hare’s Bride, a young maiden minding her cabbages gets whisked off to an unexpected wedding under a rainbow. In desperately trying to unpick the meaning of the story, we discuss ‘animal bridegrooms’ in folklore, beauty and the beast, and blade runner. Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Johannes Brahms's 16 Waltzes, Op. 39, #2 - Performed by Martha Goldstein// Ludwig van Beethoven's Sonata no. 15 in d major, op. 28 'pastorale' - iv. rondo. allegro, ma non troppo - Performed by Karine Gilanyan

Decapitation, magical singing birds, and human black puddings – it can only be the long-awaited story 'The Juniper Tree'. After we read the story, we discover what Björk, the bible, and a painter named Philipp have to do with it all. Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring" by Corey Cerovsek, (violin) & Paavali Jumppanen (piano) // Chopin's Opus 10, No. 7, Twelve Grand Etudes C Major performed by Martha Goldstein

In ‘The Riddle’, a princess pits her wits against a wandering king’s son. But who will win? And where does a gang of murders, a witch, a hungry raven, golden syrup and Batman fit into all this? After the story, we go on a riddling journey through time from the Queen of Sheba to Turandot. Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Johannes Brahms's 16 Waltzes, Op. 39, #4 Performed by Martha Goldstein // Ludwig Van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op 101 Movement II performed by Daniel Veesey  

After three stories of carnage and mayhem, has the fox finally met his match? In the final episode of The Fox Quadrilogy the fox boasts to a friendly cat of his skills, but perhaps the cat knows something the fox doesn't. An Greek proverb unlocks the key message behind the entire Quadrilogy, sending us on a journey from medieval France to ancient India. And we pick the next four stories we'll be reading and we read out some listener messages. Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Red by Scott Buckley (www.scottbuckley.com.au), Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101 Movements I and III performed by Daniel Veesey.

In this episode our old friend Thumbling is back with more wacky adventures! In Thumbling as Journeyman (AKA Thumbling’s Travels) our hero joins a gang of thieves on a heist job before trying his luck as a barman. After the story, we deep-dive into the fascinating world of different thumbling stories, exploring the mysterious roots of this tale type from Tom Thumb in the UK to The Inch-High Samurai in Japan.   Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Johannes Brahms' Waltz Op 39 No 15 performed by Paul Cantrell / Brahms's 16 Waltzes, Op.39, #1 performed by Martha Goldstein  

Tricked by a lying goat, a tailor kicks out his three sons. After acquiring magical gifts, they head back home to their father, but a dastardly inn-keeper has other plans… In "The Wishing-table, The Gold-Ass, and the Cudgel in the Sack" we meet a table with no appearance, a gold-depositing donkey, and a time-keeping cudgel. The story then leads us to investigate a potentially out of business London ice cream parlour and the grisly French fairy tale ‘Donkey Skin’. Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Beethoven's Sonata 'Waldstein', Op. 53 - III. Rondo-Allegretto moderato by Michael Hawley / Chopin's Concerto 2 in F minor, 3rd movement performed by the Seattle Philharmonic conducted by Nico Snel

Welcome to a special episode where we reveal the winner of our book competition and read out some of our listener’s messages and votes. Afterwards, we treat ourselves to one of the “hands down freakiest” of the Brothers Grimm tales: The Strange Feast. This leads us on nicely to exploring why the brothers erased many of their stories and uncovering the history behind the deleted tales. And finally, we give our review of the 2005 Brothers Grimm movie! Thank you so much to everyone who got involved in the competition. If we didn’t read out your message, hold tight - we’re planning to get round to them in our forthcoming episodes. Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Brahms' 16 Waltzes, Op.39, #12 and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4, 2nd & 3rd movements  

Three unlikely kitchen survivors set off on an adventure. But will they overcome their first challenge, a very small stream? In 'The Straw, The Coal And The Bean' we learn why you shouldn’t mock the misfortune of others and uncover the truth behind that biggest of mysteries - how beans got a black seam. The competition is now closed! Thanks to everyone who entered and sent us such lovely messages, the winner will be announced in the next episode! Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music:Brahms's 16 Waltzes, Op.39, #8 and #15 performed by Martha Goldstein

It’s a double whammy of foxy fun as we read parts two and three of The Fox Quadrilogy: The Wolf And The Man & The Wolf And The Fox. 

Afterwards, we delve into the spicy world of the Kitsune: the shapeshifting nine-tailed fox of Japanese folklore. 

Join us by the fire as we try to answer The Riddle of the Sphinx, finally discover what a cudgel is, and Adam chooses the next four stories we’ll be exploring on Grimm Reading. Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101 - III & IV performed by Daniel Veesey / 和風管弦楽「イザナギ・イザナミ by 魔界 Symphony

On an adventure with his brothers, an insignificant dwarf rescues some animals before stumbling upon a mysterious castle. In return, they help him unlock the bedroom door of identical triplet princesses. But will he pass the three deadly challenges and deliver the castle from enchantment? In ‘The Queen Bee’ we meet a rampaging unicorn, hear how a Greek man became a lion’s pet, and we learn why kindness always triumphs. Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Brahms's 16 Waltzes, Op.39, #1 and #9 performed by Martha Goldstein

Witches and breadcrumbs, giant ducks and gingerbread houses. This week we explore one of the most famous fairy tales of all time: Hansel and Gretel. After our surprise Christmas episode, we thought why stop the fun there? We're kicking off 2019 with a bona fide classic! We discover how this story was used in a U.S supreme court ruling, learn how it all started with a terrible famine, and we dissect various highfalutin analyses of this uber famous story.  Happy new year everyone! Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Beethoven's Piano Trio No7 in B-flat Major Op97 / Chopin's Mazurka D major Op.33 no.2 performed by Lubka Kolessa / Hänsel and Gretel Opera: Evening Prayer performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ambrosian Singers / Chopin's Liszt Zyczenie (The Maiden's Wish) performed by Brian Young

A tale of familial betrayal, divine justice and rampaging boars. Thanks to a magical horn, a body has been discovered under the bridge (downtown), but what is the story behind this tragedy? And how will the truth ever come to light? ’The Singing Bone’ sees a forensic team, led by a maverick King, uncover the truth behind a brutal murder. In this episode, the haunting, powerful story of justice and peace leads us on a journey across Europe and on to America where stories and ballads of singing body parts have become a staple of the folk and country tradition. In doing so we discover our new favourite folk sub-genre: the murder ballad. This episode is Certified Grimm for ‘dark themes’ and ‘upsetting situations’ and may not be suitable for all listeners. Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Brahms's 16 Waltzes, Op.39, #3 Performed by Martha Goldstein / Beethoven's Piano Trio B-Flat Major No.7 Op.97 / Chopin's Mazurka D-Maj Op.33

A magical gift destroys a family, but perhaps out of the ashes something beautiful will bloom.  In this week's episode we read 'The Pink': a tale of deception, love, justice, health and safety breaches and fire-breathing poodles.  There's also an extra special treat in the form of 'The Myrtle', a related story by the titanic Neapolitan fairy tale writer Giambattista Basile. Seduction, murder and high drama - it's quite the roller coaster. And finally, we pick the next four stories we'll be giving the Grimm Reading treatment. Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor I. Allegro and F Minor II. Adagio performed by David Ezra Okonsar / Brahms's 16 Waltzes, Op.39, #13 performed by Martha Goldstein

  A kindly wolf invites cousin fox to be her child’s godfather to teach it some valuable foxy skills. But the dastardly fox has other intentions and leads the wolf through the worst day of her life…   In part 3 of The Fox Quadrilogy - the epic story of the rise and fall of the Reynard the fox- discover how peasants wash and why you should never get a barn and stable confused.    We reflect on some shocking fox behaviour and trace the idea of the trickster fox from Aesop through to medieval France and Geoffrey Chaucer, where along the way he picks up the name Raynard.  Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101 - IV performed by Daniel Veesey  

Sneakily gorging on some delectable white snake gives one servant extraordinary powers and sets him on the journey of a lifetime. With the help of new faunistic friends, the servant tackles a series of perilous challenges to win the heart of a fair princess. We hunt down other stories featuring white snakes in Europe to try to discover what it all means and why everyone is chowing down on yummy albino serpents. Over in Botswana, Matt outlines his outlandish pagan snake theory and in China we learn why you should never go into business with an immortal snake women. Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com Theme music: Bicycle Waltz by Goodbye Kumiko Other music: Beethoven's Piano Trio No7 in B-flat Major Op97

A triple whammy of Grimm fun this week as we reveal the results of our listener poll, dip our toes in the academic world of folklore and perhaps even read a couple of stories... You've been voting and we've been counting; It's been a head to head between Elves & the Shoemaker, Rapunzel and The Robber Bridegroom - but which will emege victorious? After revealing the results, we then dive into the Aarne Thompson Uther Classification of Folktales, exploring how folktales are categorised and the hidden history of folklore from across the world. And finally a hungry wolf and speedy pancake make an unexpected appearance. Music: Intro sonata by Robert Schumann / Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 8 in Gmajor performed by Paul_Rosenthal & Edward Auer Twitter Facebook Instagram grimmreadingpodcast@gmail.com