Thor and Loki have become pop culture icons thanks to Marvel. But the influence of Norse mythology on contemporary fantasy runs through Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and so much more. University of Chicago professor and author Ada Palmer explains how people misunderstood Norse mythology for centuries, and why it’s so hard to capture the mindset of the Vikings in pop culture. And I talk with University of Oxford professor Carolyne Larrington, author of The Norse Myths That Shape the Way We Think, about how a light Marvel movie and a grimdark fantasy film like The Northman each capture aspects of the mythology in their own ways.
Ada Palmer's a capella album is Sundown: Whispers of Ragnarök by Sassafrass.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How Nintendo Leveled Up
You Are Lone Wolf: A Father/Son Quest
African Sci-Fi Looks to a Future Climate
When All Is Said in Dune
Mother-in-Law of Oz
Bonus: Turtles and Toys Outtakes
Class of '84: Turtles, Transformers and Toys Takeover TV
Class of '84: When Cyber Was Punk
Bonus: Rise of The Villains Outtakes
Class of '84: Rise of The Villains
Making Blue Eye Samurai
Prologue to Ursula K. le Guin
@ChristmasCarol: A Holiday Tale
Doctor Who's Power of Regeneration
How One Piece Became King of the Backstories
Bonus: Norse Myths Outtakes
Creating Hindu Fantasy Worlds
Haunted Housing Market
Making the Sounds of Make-Believe
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
50 Tastes Of Gray
Dear Alice | Interior Design
Spider-Man Crawlspace Podcast
The War of the Worlds
The Art of War
The Magnus Archives
The Moth