Saint Podcast

Eric Huang
  • 4.9 (38)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED MONTHLY
Saint Podcast

Become a Paid Subscriber: https://anchor.fmeric-huang10/subscribe Saints are all around us from names of people we know to song lyrics, names of cities, titles of films, and more! Saint Podcast explores the roots of saints' legends and how they've changed through time. If you like Medieval legends, Gothic tales, art history, pagan lore, feminist stories, queer stories, and multicultural traditions from around the world, you'll love Saint Podcast. Subscribe via Spotify/Anchor for bonus episodes: https://anchor.fm/eric-huang10/subscribe For contact details and image galleries for each episode, visit our website: https://www.saintpodcast.com

  1. FEB 3

    Bonus Episode - Saint Valentine the Ersatz Patron of Love

    AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME! This bonus episode for Patreon supporters and Spotify/Anchor subscribers is about a saint whose holy day is also a secular holiday, a day in which couples around the world buy each other flowers, chocolates, and other tokens of love. Facebook statistics suggest something else is brewing beneath the romantic dinners, something darker. The two weeks immediately before and after the feast day record the highest changes in relationship status from DATING to SINGLE. The irony perhaps makes sense because the original hagiography of this Ancient Roman martyr has nothing to do with romantic love. This is the story of Saint Valentine the Ersatz Patron of Love.

    49 min

  2. JAN 14

    Mystics: Saint Clare the Mighty Abbess in the Shadows

    Episode five in the Mystics series is about a saint who was devoted to Saint Francis’ rule to live in absolute poverty. She defied her aristocratic family, powerful bishops, and several popes to do just this. This saint is the first female founder of a monastic order. She was a celebrity in life and played a role in defining 13th-century European politics – all while confined within the walls of a monastery. She’s also the patron saint of television. This is the story of Saint Clare the Mighty Abbess in the Shadows.

    1h 29m
  3. Martyrs: Saint Cecilia the Blind Patron of Music

    JAN 14

    Martyrs: Saint Cecilia the Blind Patron of Music

    Episode 9 in Saint Podcast's Martyrs season is about a very popular virgin saint. She’s unusual in that she was married – yet still died a virgin. Despite having no artistic skills whatsoever, she’s the patron saint of poetry, creativity, and music and has inspired musicians from Brahms to Simon and Garfunkel and the Foo Fighters!  The name of the saint means 'blind', and the development of her legend after death is linked with those of an ancient goddess of eyesight. This is the story of Saint Cecilia the blind patron of music.

    48 min
  4. Martyrs: Saint Lucy the Pagan Spirit of Christmas

    12/13/2024

    Martyrs: Saint Lucy the Pagan Spirit of Christmas

    Episode ten is the final episode in Saint Podcast's Martyrs series. It’s an exploration of the legend of another virgin martyr: the patron saint of writers, sales people, Perugia, Malta, Syracuse in Sicily, and Pampanga in the Philippines. She's also the patron saint of the blind and of optometrists because she was famously tortured by having her eyes gouged out, although this horrific event is a later addition to the legend. This saint's name is a reference to light - both in a literal sense and figuratively as the light of faith. Her feast day used to fall on the Winter Solstice. Her light was invoked for protection on this darkest day of the year and links her with ancient gods, Medieval witches, and a dark figure who shares her name.  Through the centuries, ancient Solstice celebrations have merged with Christian rituals in her honour to influence the development of Santa Claus. This is the story of Saint Lucy the Pagan Spirit of Christmas.

    51 min

  5. 11/05/2024

    Special Episode - Last Christmas: Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus, and Christmas Past Part I

    This is a special Saint Podcast episode for the holiday season. It’s a two-part exploration of how Saint Nicholas evolved into Santa Claus. The story isn’t a straightforward one at all – and involves a truly motley crew of gift-givers, demons, humanoid helpers, witches, pagan legends, goddesses, gods, and animal sidekicks. The story begins with the first humans – our prehistoric ancestors – and proceeds through the first great civilisations, the birth of Christianity, the Reformation, and the advent of modern publishing and advertising. This is part I of Last Christmas: Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus, and Christmas Past.

    47 min

  6. 11/05/2024

    Special Episode - Last Christmas: Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus, and Christmas Past Part II

    This is part two of a special Saint Podcast episode for the festive holiday season, an exploration of how Saint Nicholas morphed into Santa Claus. In Part I, we met Saint Nicholas, a bishop that wasn’t a historic figure but has nevertheless had a tremendous impact. His feast day falls right at the beginning of pre-Christian Midwinter festivals. As his legend spread westwards from the Middle East and Asia Minor, the gift-giving saint merged with countless local gift-giving divinities and demons. Two Christianised traditions emerged: a Catholic tradition in which the bishop Saint Nicholas visited households, leaving presents for good children, whilst an enforcer companion - and sometimes demon - did the dirty work punishing bad children with imprisonment and beatings. The second was a Protestant tradition that transformed the Catholic saint into a secular wild man who wore a cloak or animal skins instead of episcopal vestments. Both existed side-by-side for centuries and began mixing and mingling in an unprecedented fashion once Europeans began colonising the Americas. It’s here in the North American British colonies of the 17th century where our story continues. This is part II of Last Christmas: Saint Nicholas, Santa Claus, and Christmas Past.

    45 min
  7. Special Halloween Episode - Stigmata and the Bloody Wounds of the Crucifixion

    11/05/2024

    Special Halloween Episode - Stigmata and the Bloody Wounds of the Crucifixion

    Halloween is upon us! The day was originally a Christian holy day, heavily influenced by ancient pre-Christian traditions, known as All Hallows Eve. This All Hallows Eve, we’re going to explore a bloody phenomenon that has afflicted – or perhaps blessed – the faithful for centuries. The phenomenon manifests as open wounds corresponding to Christ’s crucifixion. Over the last 700 years, the marks have appeared on the bodies of dozens of believers all over the world from saints to accountants. They've baffled medical professionals, scandalised communities, fortified devotees, and inspired Gothy artists since the 13th century.  Join us for a Saint Podcast Halloween exploration of stigmata and the bloody wounds of the Crucifixion.

    41 min
  8. Martyrs: Saint Sebastian the Gay Icon

    10/22/2024

    Martyrs: Saint Sebastian the Gay Icon

    Episode two of Saint Podcast's Martyr series is about Saint Sebastian, the patron saint of pandemics, athletes, archers, and outcasts. He's one of the most well-known saints. No other saint has as many works of art dedicated to them from paintings to films to books and pop songs. Tune in to learn more about this 3rd-century Roman warrior from Gaul who was famously shot full of arrows. And discover how a middle-aged Praetorian Guard became a Medieval protector against pandemics - then transformed into a shirtless, barely legal pin-up and queer icon.

    40 min
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4.9
out of 5
38 Ratings

About

Become a Paid Subscriber: https://anchor.fmeric-huang10/subscribe Saints are all around us from names of people we know to song lyrics, names of cities, titles of films, and more! Saint Podcast explores the roots of saints' legends and how they've changed through time. If you like Medieval legends, Gothic tales, art history, pagan lore, feminist stories, queer stories, and multicultural traditions from around the world, you'll love Saint Podcast. Subscribe via Spotify/Anchor for bonus episodes: https://anchor.fm/eric-huang10/subscribe For contact details and image galleries for each episode, visit our website: https://www.saintpodcast.com

Information

  • Creator
    Eric Huang
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    26
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Eric Huang
  • Show Website
    Saint Podcast

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