(Sort of) The Story

Janey and Max
  • 5.0 (118)
  • COMEDY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Two best friends tell each other stories they heard and read that week (and also, you are here!)

  1. DEC 11

    169. Historical Sexting (Don't Wash)

    Send us a text Hello, you dirty birds! On this very special "69" episode, we're doing a deep dive into historical love letters from two very specific historical men. First, Napoleon Bonaparte is going to teach us the meaning of "anxious attachment style", and then Max is going to read us James Joyce's love letters that are not for the faint of fart (ehem...heart...)  A million kisses! J and M Janey's Sources - Historical Love Letters LOCATION: France and Ireland“Napoleon’s Letters to Josephine” on Project Gutenberg (thanks, Steve!)  “Napoleon Bonaparte” from History.com  “The truth about Napoleon and Josephine’s marriage, divorce, and lasting legacy” by Nylah Iqbal Muhammad for Vox  “Joséphine's letters to trusted Napoleon general to go on sale in Paris” by Maev Kennedy (2014) for The Guardian  “James Joyce’s Love Letters” by Maria Popova for The Marginalian  “James Joyce’s Love Letters to His “Dirty Little Fuckbird” by Nadja Spiegelman for The Paris Review  BONUS: "Love and Limerence" by Dorothy Tennov  Support the show Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account! Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!) Want more?? Visit our website! Join our Patreon! Shop the merch at TeePublic! If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials! Instagram Tiktok Goodreads And email us at sortofthestory@gmail.com

    1h 34m

  2. NOV 27

    168. New England Bean Time (Sai! Sai! Sai!)

    Send us a text Hello and welcome back! This week Max is going to tell us about how wicked smart people from New Hampshire are, and Janey is going to tell us a very cathartic story that comes with the disclaimer "I swear I like my job". Sorry about our terrible accents! Enjoy! Janey's Sources - Mmadipetsane LOCATION: Lesotho, South Africa“Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales”  Full story (page 3)    Max's Sources - Three Times and Out LOCATION: New Hampshire“New England Bean-Pot: American Folk Stories to Read and to Tell” by Moritz A Jagendorf, illu by BA Botkin https://montvernonhistoricalsocietynewsletter.wordpress.com/2023/07/21/chasing-the-devils-tale/ Support the show Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account! Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!) Want more?? Visit our website! Join our Patreon! Shop the merch at TeePublic! If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials! Instagram Tiktok Goodreads And email us at sortofthestory@gmail.com

    1h 24m

  3. NOV 13

    167. Knife Brothers (welcome to Chekhov's Hole)

    Send us a text This week, Janey is going to bring us the final story in The Arabian Nights, about a man who just hates this baby... and Max is going to tell us that classic story of a nameless child finding God wandering around in the woods. Wonder what'll happen!  For those of you who are in the half of the world that's moving into winter, we hope you stay warm and cozy! Janey's Sources - The Story of Codadad and His Brothers LOCATION: (possibly Turkey) “The Arabian Nights” illustrated by Earl Goodenow  Full free story Max's Sources - Little Fourteen LOCATION: France“Folktales of France” edited by Genevieve Massignon  Support the show Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account! Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!) Want more?? Visit our website! Join our Patreon! Shop the merch at TeePublic! If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials! Instagram Tiktok Goodreads And email us at sortofthestory@gmail.com

    1h 32m

  4. OCT 30

    166. Old and wrinkly (a poisonous no-no)

    Send us a text Hello and happy Halloween (eve)! Today Janey is going to scare you with a tale about the oldest, wrinkliest woman in the world, and Max is going to tell us why romance books are going to get us all killed. Enjoy! Janey's Sources - Treasure LOCATION: Chatsworth, Georgia, USA“Spooky Georgia: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore”, retold by S.E. Schlosser, illustrated by Paul G. Hoffman.   Support the show Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account! Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!) Want more?? Visit our website! Join our Patreon! Shop the merch at TeePublic! If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials! Instagram Tiktok Goodreads And email us at sortofthestory@gmail.com

    1h 16m

  5. OCT 16

    165. Examine Your Handwriting (and learn to play the oboe)

    Send us a text Hello and welcome to another episode! This week, Janey is going to teach us a valuable lesson about the importance of writing complex characters, and Max is going to re-tell a cozy little comic! May your October be spooky and bright! Janey's Sources - “W.S.” by L.P. Hartley LOCATION: England“Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories”  L.P. Hartley’s wiki   Max's Sources - A Small Wild Magic LOCATION: None / Australia“Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales” edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. GrantKathleen Jennings (plus their Instagram)  Support the show Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account! Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!) Want more?? Visit our website! Join our Patreon! Shop the merch at TeePublic! If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials! Instagram Tiktok Goodreads And email us at sortofthestory@gmail.com

    1h 28m

  6. OCT 10

    30. (Sort of) Off Topic: Nicholas Cage and his Fabulous Wealth

    Send us a text Hello and welcome to the shocking conclusion of this the 2025 Off Topic Season. This week, Max is closing us out with the truly baffling list of all the reasons why Nicholas Cage had to make those insane movies between 2009-2015. (Also Janey is REAL mouthy, so if you disagree, be sure to write in!)  Timed video Presentation All sources in presentation   Support the show Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account! Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!) Want more?? Visit our website! Join our Patreon! Shop the merch at TeePublic! If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials! Instagram Tiktok Goodreads And email us at sortofthestory@gmail.com

    1h 51m
  7. 29. (Sort of) Off Topic: The Assassination of Kim Jong Nam

    OCT 3

    29. (Sort of) Off Topic: The Assassination of Kim Jong Nam

    Send us a text Buckle up, babes! Janey's going to tell us about the most insane assassination you may have never heard of! Let us know if you followed this story when it happened, because Janey's never stopped thinking about it.  Sources: “Kim Jong-nam Says N. Korean Regime Won’t Last Long”, by The Chosun Daily in 2012. “Kim Jong-il’s son reappears in Singapore one year after feeling Macau” from The Shanghaiist.   “Was Kim Jong Nam in Sights of His Paranoid Half-Brother?” by Yoshihiro Makino for Asahi Shimbun. Murder at the Airport: The Brazen Attack on Kim Jong-Nam, by Reuters “Assassins review— unravelling the bizarre death of Kim Jong-nam” by Adam Sweeting for The Arts Desk. “How North Korea got away with the assassination of Kim Jong-nam” by Hannah Ellis-Peterson and Benjamin Haas for The Guardian. Dr. Harini Bhat, PharmD (@tilscience) explaining VX2 Support the show Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account! Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!) Want more?? Visit our website! Join our Patreon! Shop the merch at TeePublic! If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials! Instagram Tiktok Goodreads And email us at sortofthestory@gmail.com

    46 min

  8. OCT 2

    164. How Much Do Girls Eat? (I refuse to look up golfing)

    Send us a text Hello and happy first episode of October!!!! This week, Max is going to tell us a wonder tale about a sexy bear and the weirdo prince who loves her, and Janey is going to give us all the CREEPS and make us want to do our laundry. Enjoy!!! Janey's Sources - Oh Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad LOCATION: England“Classic Ghost Stories” edited by John Grafton  M.R. James Wiki  “The Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan  Poem by Robert Burns (Wiki)   Max's Sources - Bearskin LOCATION: France“Wonder Tales” edited, introduced by Marina Warner, translated by Terence Cave, illustrated by Sophie Herxheimer“Imprisonment and the Fairy Tales of Henriette Julie de Murat” By Mari Ness for Reactor “I’ve Fallen for Who Now? The French Fairy Tale “Bearskin”” By Mari Ness for ReactorWikipedia “Bearskin” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearskin_(French_fairy_tale)Wikipedia “The Bear” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bear_(fairy_tale)Wikipedia “The She-Bear” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_She-bearSupport the show Check out our books (and support local bookstores!) on our Bookshop.org affiliate account! Starting your own podcast with your very cool best friend? Try hosting on Buzzsprout (and get a $20 Amazon gift card!) Want more?? Visit our website! Join our Patreon! Shop the merch at TeePublic! If you liked these stories, let us know on our various socials! Instagram Tiktok Goodreads And email us at sortofthestory@gmail.com

    2h 24m
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5
out of 5
118 Ratings

About

Two best friends tell each other stories they heard and read that week (and also, you are here!)

Information

  • Creator
    Janey and Max
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    203
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 (Sort of) The Story
  • Show Website
    (Sort of) The Story

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