Digital Project

The Folklore Podcast was only ever supposed to be an experiment! In the Summer of 2016, I was searching for a decent podcast to listen to on the subject of folklore; as a folklore author and researcher based in the South-West of the United Kingdom, I thought that it might be useful for gathering extra information. I was looking for something accessible and engaging, not academic per se but with the same level of rigor. As it turned out, my search was rather fruitless.At that time, podcasting was nothing like the growing “industry” that it is now. The closest popular podcast that was available was Aaron Mahnke's Lore, which had dropped a few episodes and was enjoying exponential success. This “fireside storytelling” angle was not quite what I had in mind. But there was nothing around that matched what I wanted. So I decided that I should try to produce my own because there was obviously an audience need for something of that nature. If I was looking for it and could not find it, then probably other people were too.I was in a slightly advantageous starting point. I had written my first book, Black Dog Folklore, and a number of shorter articles for magazines, newspapers, and websites, so there was some material that I could draw on with little modification to get started on some episodes. As a Council member of the Folklore Society in the UK, I also had a good network of colleagues who were experts in different aspects of folklore whom I could ask to assist. I didn't want the program to be just about me—it also needed to feature expert guests. The first was US folklorist Dr. Andrea Kitta, who spoke on the subject of Slender Man. It was a popular topic at the time, and something to get the series off to a good start.And so began the experiment. Seven seasons later, The Folklore Podcast is in the top 5 percent of podcasts in its genre globally for audience share, has enjoyed over 1.5 million downloads, and has spawned other important subsidiary projects. Far from being a short-term hobby, The Folklore Podcast became something listened to globally and relied upon by many listeners for the quality of its content.The ethos of the podcast remains the same as it did at the beginning—it brings free access for anyone to world-class experts in folklore and allied fields. It has never carried sponsorship or advertising because its listeners tell us that they do not like the distraction that such things bring. Instead, it relies on Patreon support, donations, or ticketing for its other events, such as online lectures, to be self-funded.The continued growth and success of The Folklore Podcast has allowed other spin-off projects to take place, and currently sits at the center of a major network of projects and support for those working in the field of folklore. For example, The Folklore Podcast Book Club features interviews with authors who use folklore in their work (both fiction and non-fiction) and provides a repository of book reviews and recommendations to accompany them. This works as a good reciprocal exercise, giving valuable promotion to the author's works while bringing additional insight to the audience.Another spin-off project launched in 2021 is The Folklore Library and Archive. This has the goal to save, preserve, and make available for the future folklore materials in all formats. Starting as a small-scale project, the Library and Archive has now grown to have a physical home in a public library in the UK, as well as an online home at www.folklorelibrary.com. The Patron of the Library and Archive is popular children's author Michael Rosen, and museum curator and folklorist Jeremy Harte provides curatorial consultation.Once again, the Library and Archive relies on donations, fundraising, and volunteer support to operate. It has already been instrumental in tracking down and saving a number of collections of international significance, not least of which is the collected documents and papers of the late Anglo-American folklorist Venetia Newall, which were saved from the open market, purchased, and are now fully catalogued and available to everyone. Other special collections are being made available soon, as well as print library and audiovisual collections. Ongoing digitization, while slow, due to the voluntary nature of the project, means that more is being made available to researchers via the web all the time.Folklore is for everyone, generated by everyone, and should be freely available to everyone to be studied, enjoyed, and passed on. As such, I would love to speak with other researchers and content creators who might want to be a part of what we do, for the common good. Please get in touch with me via email at [email protected] or [email protected] for the Folklore Library and Archive, and let us bring more people together to enhance the field of folklore

Computer Science · Digital Storytelling and Education · Music History and Culture · Radio, Podcasts, and Digital Media