Shows / Mythmakers
Mythmakers
Mythmakers is the podcast for fantasy fans and creatives, brought to you by the Oxford Centre for Fantasy. In each episode, we embark on an exploration of the world of fantasy—both classic and contemporary. From the stories behind your favourite series to expert tips for aspiring writers, we dive into books, films, TV shows, and the creative process behind them. Brought to you from the heart of Oxford—home to literary greats like J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Lewis Carroll—we continue the…
Episodes
MythmakersMust-read Fantasy Novels - A Christmas Carol
Sometimes fantasy stories define how we live our lives. Take Christmas. Dickens has been hugely responsible for our expectations of the season, not to mention…
MythmakersSurprised by Oxford - Academic and author Carolyn Weber on her book and biopic about her experience in the city
Who would you cast to play you in the movie of your life? Mostly that's a fun game, but for Carolyn Weber it became a reality. Many people who come to Oxford…
MythmakersThe Rings of Power Livestream
Listen to this past weekend's livestream hosted by Julia Golding and Tolkien experts Jacob Rennaker and Paula Kalamaras as they discuss the reaction to The…
MythmakersBest Of Mythmakers Replay: Oxford As A Fantasy Hotspot
Today we're re-releasing one of our most popular podcasts! Why is Oxford, England, such a fantasy hotspot? From Lewis Carroll to Philip Pullman, Diana…
MythmakersMust-Read Fantasy Novels - Frankenstein
Who are our mythmakers in fantasy and sci-fi? In a new thread to this podcast, Julia Golding highlights her 'must-read' picks from the fantasy greats. Find out…
MythmakersRings of Power - Halfway Point Check In
What's wrong and right so far in the Rings of Power? Are you enjoying the new series? Julia Golding checks in at halfway to discuss what's going on in the…
MythmakersEverything You Need To Know About The Silmarillion But Were Too Afraid To Ask (Part 2)
In Part Two, Julia Golding and Jacob Rennaker tackle the Second and Third Age, linking it to The Lord of the Rings and The Rings of Power. Jacob also…
MythmakersEverything You Need To Know About The Silmarillion But Were Too Afraid To Ask
This autumn/fall we are going to tackle The Silmarillion in our next readathon (visit http://oxfordcentreforfantasy.org for info!). Many readers who come to it…
MythmakersThe Spell Tailors: A Magical Book Launch with Elizabeth Clark and James Nicol
Come to our book launch celebration for James Nicol The Spell Tailors https://jamesnicolbooks.com A fun part of our online courses is that you get to be…
MythmakersFirst Reactions To The Rings Of Power (Amazon Prime)
Join us for our first reactions to the Amazon Prime The Rings of Power series. It's useful to orientate ourselves at the start of a series so Julia Golding…
MythmakersRings of Power - The Story Perspective (Amazon Prime)
We will know very soon what choices the showrunners for the upcoming Amazon series Rings of Power have taken but let's look at what we can glean about the…
MythmakersThe Welsh Episode with Claire Fayers - Part 2
What are the myths and legends of the place where you live? Julia Golding meets Claire Fayers, author and reteller of Welsh myths and legends, also a tutor on…
MythmakersThe Welsh Episode with Claire Fayers - Part 1
What are the myths and legends of the place where you live? Julia Golding meets Claire Fayers, author and reteller of Welsh myths and legends, also a tutor on…
MythmakersWhat about the stone-giants? A user's guide to the giantic in Tolkien and elsewhere - Part 2
Responding to a listener's question about stone-giants in The Hobbit and more generally, Julia Golding, and friend of the OCF, Jacob Rennaker take a deep dive…
MythmakersWhat about the stone-giants? A user's guide to the giantic in Tolkien and elsewhere - Part 1
Responding to a listener's question about stone-giants in The Hobbit and more generally, Julia Golding, and friend of the OCF, Jacob Rennaker take a deep dive…
MythmakersA Publisher's Perspective: the Pushkin Press and Fantasy in Translation Part 2 of 2 - Guest Daniel Seton
Part 2 of 2. Fantasy has been dominated by English language books - from LotR to Game of Thrones, you could be forgiven to thinking fantasy was some medieval…
MythmakersA Publisher's Perspective: the Pushkin Press and Fantasy in Translation Part 1 of 2 - Guest Daniel Seton
Part 1 of 2. Fantasy has been dominated by English language books - from LotR to Game of Thrones, you could be forgiven to thinking fantasy was some medieval…
MythmakersAlice Worth Series and Writing Urban Fantasy - Part 2 of 2
Ever wondered how to turn your college education into a best-selling series? Lisa Edmonds, once an English major who took courses in forensic criminology, has…
MythmakersAlice Worth Series and Writing Urban Fantasy - Part 1
Ever wondered how to turn your college education into a best-selling series? Lisa Edmonds, once an English major who took courses in forensic criminology, has…
MythmakersStargazy Pies And Imperial Stories - Part 2
Part 2 - How can you find an original voice in fantasy? Discount code available. You wait for a listener to the podcast to suggest one to you, of course! Julia…
MythmakersStargazy Pies And Imperial Stories - Part 1
How can you find an original voice in fantasy? Discount code available. You wait for a listener to the podcast to suggest one to you, of course! Julia Golding…
MythmakersSpace Opera and Fantasy from Down Under
In today's podcast, Julia Golding is in conversation with Australian writer, Michelle Diener https://www.michellediener.com. Michelle tells her story of…
MythmakersFrom Fairly Odd-Parents To The Garden: A Life In Animation With Butch Hartman
What are the secrets of success as an animator? In this podcast, Julia Golding talks to Butch Hartman, best known for his series The Fairly Odd-Parents and…
MythmakersBonus Podcast: Top Ten Fantasy Royals
As we celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's platinum Jubilee, we are wondering who are your favourite fantasy royals? Author and Director of OCF, Julia Golding, has…
MythmakersKing Arthur and the Tolkien Lecture
Joining Julia Golding in this episode is Dr. Gabriel Schenk, an expert on Tolkien, fantasy writing, and Arthurian legends. Gabriel co-founded the annual…
MythmakersBonus Podcast: Readathon Live Event!
As our Fellowship of the Read Readathon drew to a close, we invited all who participated to an event of special magnificence. We tested their Lord of the Rings…
MythmakersTop Five Fantasy Books - Audio Version With Guest Andrew Head
There has been a flourishing of audio versions of books. In today's episode, Julia Golding talks to Andrew Head, a creative writer and fantasy fan from…
MythmakersFrom Dragon-ridden To Firebird Chronicles: The Wonderful Worlds Of TA White
It's not often you get to interview one of your heroes but Julia Golding today is in conversation with one of hers. Meet T A White, American writer of some…
MythmakersLord of Stariel: An Independent Route To Publishing
Julia Golding talks to New Zealand independent fantasy writer, AJ Lancaster, whose four-book Stariel series is cutting through the competition with her unique…
MythmakersFantastic Beast: Secrets of Dumbledore Film Review
We've not yet talked about the biggest fantasy series of the last twenty years and now Mythmakers takes a look at Harry Potter and the Wizarding World through…
MythmakersDid Peter Jackson Get It Right? - The Return of the King Movie Reconsidered
Where would you rate The Return of the King in the trilogy? Join Julia Golding and Jacob Rennaker as they take a deep dive into the script and movie-making…
MythmakersThe Dog Episode - with SQuire and Louise DuArt Rushnell
Mythmakers is devoting this episode to humanity's best friend: dogs! Julia Golding is joined by filmmakers SQuire and Louise DuArt Rushnell to talk about their…
MythmakersDid Peter Jackson get it right? - The Two Towers movie reconsidered - with Jacob Rennaker
Middle films are always the most difficult. In this episode Julia Golding and Jacob Rennaker continue their reconsideration of the Peter Jackson trilogy…
MythmakersDid Peter Jackson Get It Right? - The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Reconsidered
20 years on someone somewhere will surely be considering having another go at The Lord of the Rings on film. In this episode Julia Golding is joined by…
MythmakersThe Oddest Inkling - Charles William... with Sørina Higgins
The oddest Inkling - that's Charles Williams, poet, playwright, novelist, editor, theologian, and occult practitioner. If you think the Inklings are summed up…
MythmakersA Magical Blend: Writing Historical Fantasies...with Lucy Strange
The past is another country, but what happens when you make it a magical one? In today's episode, Julia Golding is in conversation with British children's…
MythmakersThe problem With Witches...With James Nicol
In today's podcast Julia Golding is in conversation with James Nicol, author of The Apprentice Witch series (Chickenhouse) and one of our tutors on the…
MythmakersBingo, Odo and Frodo: Tolkien, Lewis And The Discovery Writer
Who are Bingo, Odod and Frodo? We'll give you a clue when we say that when Tolkien first started work on The Lord of the Rings he had a very different idea…
MythmakersThe Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Title Reveal
Following the trailer reveal for the Amazon Prime TV series title - Rings of Power - Julia Golding and Paula Kalamaras discuss what we've learned about the…
MythmakersReview of The Nature of Middle-earth by JRR Tolkien ed. Carl F. Hostetter
In 2021 Harper Collins published The Nature of Middle-earth by JRR Tolkien, edited by Carl F Hostetter - a fascinating collection of Tolkien's working…
MythmakersSpiderman No Way Home - a review of all things Spidey!
Spiderman No Way home ended the year with over $1 billion at the box office and has joined the top ten highest-grossing films. In this episode (contains…
MythmakersFrom Sir Gawain to COVID: A Composer's view of storytelling and fantasy
In today's podcast, Julia Golding is joined by internationally renown composer, Richard Blackford. Starting with his early community opera of Sir Gawain and…
MythmakersWilliam Morris - the incredible life of the man who influenced the Inklings
'This is the Great story of the North, which should be to all our race what the Tale of Troy was to the Greeks.' This isn't a quote from Tolkien about what he…
MythmakersTolkien And The Nature Of Good And Evil
Tolkien is a rich inspiration for so many of us so when Julia Golding found that one of the online fantasy course students, Stanley Hanna, had taught a seminar…
MythmakersLIVE STREAM Replay: Always Winter and Never Christmas?
Join the Oxford Centre for Fantasy's holiday season livestream on December 1st at 1pm ET | 6pm GMT with special guests, poet and Tolkien expert, Malcolm Guite…
MythmakersThe Oxford Story Museum
Oxford is a story hotspot so it is wonderful that there is a Story Museum in the city. Julia Golding is joined in this week's episode by the director of the…
MythmakersWhere Can You Find A Real Warg? Elfdalian and Tolkien's Languages
Today Julia is joined by Nariel, a representative of the minority language community of Elfdalian. Nariel, who recently completed our Online Fantasy Course…
MythmakersBeyond Andy Serkis - Other Audiobook Versions of Tolkien's Works
What else is there to listen to beyond Andy Serkis' reading of The Lord of the Rings? Julia Golding takes us on a tour of the main audiobooks of Tolkien's…
MythmakersOn Re-reading The Lord of the Rings
Are you a re-reader of your favourite fantasy books? Join Julia Golding as she recalls the first time through the wardrobe and into Middle-earth. This leads to…
MythmakersTolkien and Transcendent Beauty - A Theologian’s Perspective
In today’s episode, Julia Golding is joined by Lisa Coutras, author of Tolkien’s Theology of Beauty: Majesty, Splendor, and Transcendence in Middle-earth. Lisa…
MythmakersFantasy Subcultures - from Dungeons & Dragons to LARPing - find out more from an expert
Ever wondered about the link between fantasy writers like Tolkien and the multitude of subcultures they inspired, from Dungeons and Dragons to LARPing, and…
MythmakersA Life In Film Making - The Star Wars Episode!
What was it like to be behind the scenes as the very first Star Wars films were made? What was it like to be in the room to hear John Williams' soundtrack for…
MythmakersMythmakers Go To War
Do you not know who Prince Imrahil is? Or Erkenbrand? Then you've seen the film but not read the book. In this episode, we talk about why you really must go…
MythmakersAndy Serkis Audio book of The Lord of the Rings - Our Verdict
Big news for Tolkien fans is Andy Serkis has just released with Harper Collins and on Audible an unabridged version of The Lord of the Rings. In this episode…
MythmakersRecent Big Fantasy Dramas - From The Witcher To The New Amazon Tolkien Series
Julia Golding is joined by Ed Saunders, fantasy enthusiast, to discuss the recent big fantasy adaptations. What did The Witcher get right in its first series…
MythmakersThe Second Age - Amazon Series Livestream (Podcast Replay)
Excited for the Tolkien TV series made by Amazon Prime? Content remains secret but we know that it is to be set in the Second Age, the time of the forging of…
MythmakersComic Book City
One of the biggest fantasy worlds of modern times is the Marvel universe. Julia is in conversation with Ed Saunders, tracing the origins of the MCU in comics…
MythmakersThe Magic of Middle Earth
Today Julia Golding is joined by Matt Fox, creator of the Magic of Middle Earth exhibition currently showing at the Willis Museum, Basingstoke, Hampshire, open…
MythmakersThings You Don't Know About Tolkien, CS Lewis And Oxford
There are many experts on the Inklings but there are still lots you might not know about how they lived in their home of Oxford. Julia Golding challenges some…
MythmakersOxford As A Fantasy Hotspot
Why is Oxford, England, such a fantasy hotspot? From Lewis Carroll to Philip Pullman, Diana Wynne-Jones to Deborah Harkness, it has inspired writers and is…