41 episodes

Digital Folklore is an immersive audio adventure that takes place inside a fictional universe, but explores the real-world truths behind various expressions of internet culture and how each holds up a mirror to the society from which they emerge.

This podcast is great for audio fiction fans who really really want to enjoy interview-based shows, or for listeners who love expert interviews and insights but long for something unique and unexpected.

Join Perry Carpenter and Mason Amadeus as they explore the wild and wonderful world of online folklore, encountering a wide range of characters—both real and fictional—who provide a wealth of folkloric insight while simultaneously creating new lore. With topics ranging from the absurd to the unsettling, the Digital Folklore podcast is an accessible and entertaining way to learn about folkloric concepts and societal truths. Oh...and be sure to listen carefully—you never know what you might find.

Digital Folklore Realm

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.3 • 106 Ratings

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

Digital Folklore is an immersive audio adventure that takes place inside a fictional universe, but explores the real-world truths behind various expressions of internet culture and how each holds up a mirror to the society from which they emerge.

This podcast is great for audio fiction fans who really really want to enjoy interview-based shows, or for listeners who love expert interviews and insights but long for something unique and unexpected.

Join Perry Carpenter and Mason Amadeus as they explore the wild and wonderful world of online folklore, encountering a wide range of characters—both real and fictional—who provide a wealth of folkloric insight while simultaneously creating new lore. With topics ranging from the absurd to the unsettling, the Digital Folklore podcast is an accessible and entertaining way to learn about folkloric concepts and societal truths. Oh...and be sure to listen carefully—you never know what you might find.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Digital Folklore: The Journey So Far

    Digital Folklore: The Journey So Far

    In this special catch-up episode, Digital Folklore podcast creators Perry Carpenter and Mason Amadeus have a candid chat about the show so far.
    They spill behind-the-scenes secrets about unexpected plot twists, their creative process for audio storytelling, and how they brought this modern folklore to life. You'll also learn some fun and interesting ways their real life circumstances have woven their way into the show's mythos.
    The hosts share behind-the-scenes insights from interviews and emphasize the value of preserving modern folklore. Whether you're a longtime listener or just tuning in, this episode lets you in on the hosts' journey and the growth of Digital Folklore from idea to award-winning show.

    🗣 Join our Discord community
    💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon
    🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm.
    📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books
    Find us on the socials:

    Twitter: @digiFolklorePod


    Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod


    Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod


    TikTok: digitalfolklore



    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 56 min
    Dr. Andrea Kitta | Unplugged

    Dr. Andrea Kitta | Unplugged

    Welcome to Digital Folklore Unplugged!
    Unplugged episodes are where we ditch all the fancy production and story elements and bring you the raw (or slightly edited) interviews with folklore experts.
    In this interview Perry and Mason speak with Dr. Andrea Kitta. Dr. Kitta provides her thoughts on the importance of being able to view world events and trends through the lens of folklore. We also hit on how both positive and negative forms of folklore arose during the pandemic. Folklore and public health. Folklore and technology. And you’ll also hear Andrea Kitta’s favorite urban legend… It's a creepy twist on a classic.
    Ok, let’s get unplugged…

    Guest:
    Dr. Andrea Kitta (Twitter) (Google Scholar Page)

    Additional Resources (Books are Amazon Associates Links to help support the show)

    University page and CV


    The Kiss of Death: Contagion, Contamination, and Folklore, by Andrea Kitta


    Vaccinations and Public Concern in History: Legend, Rumor, and Risk Perception, by Andrea Kitta

    Andrea Kitta on The Fabric of Folklore podcast: Ep 16: Dr Andrea Kitta, The kiss of death and other medical beliefs and legends


    Folkwise interview with Dr. Andrea Kitta


    🗣 Join our Discord community
    💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon
    🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm.
    📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books
    Find us on the socials:

    Twitter: @digiFolklorePod


    Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod


    Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod


    TikTok: digitalfolklore



    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 55 min
    After the Episode | S2E7 (If Memory Serves)

    After the Episode | S2E7 (If Memory Serves)

    Perry & Mason catch up after the production of the last episode.
    Things we mentioned:

    We formally introduce Matthew Bliss!

    Geeking out about audio stuff

    Perry and Mason remember being floored by receiving an email from Andrew Peck after the pilot episode

    We are in awe of Andrea Kitta

    Listener messages


    Episode editing by Matt Bliss of MBPod.
    If you want to find the extra clips and BTS snippets, join our Discord server using the link below!
    🗣 Join our Discord community
    💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon
    🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm.
    📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books
    Find us on the socials:

    Twitter: @digiFolklorePod


    Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod


    Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod


    TikTok: digitalfolklore



    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 39 min
    If Memory Serves (The Mandela Effect, Trust vs. Truth, & AI)

    If Memory Serves (The Mandela Effect, Trust vs. Truth, & AI)

    If Memory Serves (Mandela Effect, Folk Trust, & AI)
    We split the party! While Perry is searching for answers to all the inexplicable weird things happening lately, Mason is searching for Digby. Meanwhile, Digby is out to find his place in the world as an artificially-intelligent raccoon - and he just so happens to catch a ride with Andrew Peck. Perry finds something strange in a pre-recorded interview with Andrea Kitta, and as the crew goes their separate ways... it seems that everything is converging on a single familiar location.
    In This Episode:

    Andrew Peck does a phenomenal job voice-acting, after Mason wrote him a ton of lines.

    Andrea Kitta covers a ton of ground very quickly, as we talk about several facets of folklore in the modern age.

    The deferral of fact-checking, and the implicit trust within folk groups.

    The impact of AI tools on disinformation, as well as 'information' more broadly.

    The Mandela Effect, and how unreliable memory is.

    Mark Norman makes an acting cameo.


    Guests:


    Andrea Kitta:  A folklorist with a specialty in medicine, belief, and the supernatural. She is also interested in Internet folklore, narrative, and contemporary (urban) legend. Her current research includes: vaccines, pandemic illness, contagion and contamination, virality, stigmatized diseases, disability, health information on the Internet, and Slender Man. She is a fellow of the American Folklore Society.



    Andrew Peck: A folklorist, media scholar, and ethnographer whose research focuses on how digital media offers new possibilities for persuasion and everyday communication. His current research focuses on how online communities circulate and contest knowledge using memes; and how hoaxes, rumors, and urban legends develop and circulate across networks.


    Featuring voice acting from:


    Brooke Jennett of THIRTEEN as Digby



    Mark Norman of The Folklore Podcast as Mark Norman



    🗣 Join our Discord community
    💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon
    🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm.
    📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books
    Find us on the socials:

    Twitter: @digiFolklorePod


    Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod


    Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod


    TikTok: digitalfolklore



    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 1 hr 2 min
    Dr. Kristina Downs | Unplugged

    Dr. Kristina Downs | Unplugged

    Welcome to Digital Folklore Unplugged!
    Unplugged episodes are where we ditch all the fancy production and story elements and bring you the raw (or slightly edited) interviews with folklore experts.
    On this episode, Perry got to speak with Dr. Kristina Downs. This was a fun one. We talk about conspiracies at the Dallas zoo, the power of memes and satire accounts, meme warfare, and tons of fun with urban legends.
    Ok, let’s get unplugged…

    Guest:
    Dr. Kristina Downs (Twitter) (Podcast)

    Additional Resources (Books are Amazon Associates Links to help support the show)

    Interview on Folkwise

    Interview on The Fabric of Folklore: all about True Crime and Folklore

    Why I'm a Folklorist

    Kristina's podcast, CrimeLore. A podcast that examines the intersections between our traditional stories and true crime. Available on most podcasting apps.


    Advancing Folkloristics, by Jesse A. Fivecoate (Editor), Kristina Downs (Editor), Meredith A. E. McGriff (Editor), et al.


    The Aesop's Fable Paradigm: An Unlikely Intersection of Folklore and Science (Encounters: Explorations in Folklore and Ethnomusicology), by Marisa Wieneke Kristina Downs K. Brandon Barker (Editor, Contributor), et al.


    Folklore in the United States and Canada: An Institutional History, by Patricia Sawin (Editor), Rosemary Levy Zumwalt (Editor), et al.


    🗣 Join our Discord community
    💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon
    🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm.
    📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books
    Find us on the socials:

    Twitter: @digiFolklorePod


    Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod


    Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod


    TikTok: digitalfolklore



    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 54 min
    After the Episode | S2E6 (Statistically Conscious)

    After the Episode | S2E6 (Statistically Conscious)

    Perry & Mason catch up after the production of the last episode.
    Things we mentioned:

    We start off way too formal for some reason...

    New AI gadgets. A notebook/pen combo and StarTrek like communicator pin.

    AI and the human condition.

    Mason hates doing sound design for footsteps.

    A bit of listener feedback

    We feel sad for Digby

    Hints at what and who to expect on the next episode


    Episode editing by Matt Bliss of MBPod.
    If you want to find the extra clips and BTS snippets, join our Discord server using the link below!
    🗣 Join our Discord community
    💁‍♀️ Support us on Patreon
    🕸 Sign-up for our newsletter, check our our merch, and learn more about the show at digitalfolklore.fm.
    📚 Check our book list for some great folklore-related books
    Find us on the socials:

    Twitter: @digiFolklorePod


    Facebook: DigitalFolklorePod


    Instagram: DigitalFolklorePod


    TikTok: digitalfolklore



    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 32 min

Customer Reviews

4.3 out of 5
106 Ratings

106 Ratings

maxined93 ,

Best of Both Worlds!

I love educational cultural analysis podcasts and well-produced audio fiction, and Digital Folklore is the best of both! Especially in the second season, the blend of informational interviews and overarching story is exciting and engaging. We really need this information, too—on AI, conspiracy theories, and their impact on our society. A great way to discuss these topics with everyone from your kids to your crazy uncle—but also enjoyable in its own right!

Dee Cea ,

Folklore with Lore

Love the combination between lecture style information, vs the in-universe lore that shakes things up and keeps things fresh.

Ellie.Tea ,

Love this

Really good job guys!

Top Podcasts In Society & Culture

iHeartPodcasts and Kaleidoscope
iHeartPodcasts
This American Life
Dear Media
New York Times Opinion
CNN

You Might Also Like

chelsey weber-smith
Realm
Homestead on the Corner | Realm
Alex Dolan | Realm
Realm
Eskew Productions Ltd