Podcast Benomtad

Open, friendly, philosophical discussions about folktales, society, culture, and wisdom.  

Episodes

Feb 15, 2025

3 min

On the lowness of magic and “Rumpelstiltskin,” especially the titular character’s petulant self-destruction.  
Rumpelstiltskin’s naming is the key to the transformation of this whole story.  There is power in a name in many fields, including science and any knowledge. Simply by knowing his name, she is able to prevent his taking the most valuable thing from her.
I’m mostly interested in magic as a psycho-social phenomenon, although that in itself is dramatically powerful and fulfilling, ignoring possible supernatural possibilities.
(Sorry about the bad sound on my end.  It’s been corrected in future episodes.)
 
Please comment, like, and subscribe! 
 
For the full episode: 
 
https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-5wcpx-18025e5
For more in this podcast, please go to:
 
Podbean:
https://benomtad.podbean.com
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863
YouTube: 
https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ
 
I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.

Feb 15, 2025

2 min

We talk about Rumpelstiltskin’s destruction brought about by no one other than himself.  His being stuck in the earth may symbolize his low quality, which is the opposite of the miller’s daughter.  He is in a way a personification of the power of nature and yet he, unlike it, does not change.  Alchemy.  The fluidity of categories in the pre-modern mind.  
(Sorry about the bad sound on my end.  It’s been corrected in future episodes.)
 
Please comment, like, and subscribe! 
 
For the full episode: 
 
https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-5wcpx-18025e5
For more in this podcast, please go to:
 
Podbean:
https://benomtad.podbean.com
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863
YouTube: 
https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ
 
I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.

Feb 15, 2025

3 min

We analyze the Grimm’s tale “Rumpelstiltskin,” focusing on the miller’s daughter, who gets everything despite and because of the various scheming of the men around her.  Finally, her knowledge of he who had all the power – when she learns his name – destroys him.  This obviously is reminiscent of naming demons to allay their power in exorcisms.  
(Sorry about the bad sound on my end.  It’s been corrected in future episodes.)
 
Please comment, like, and subscribe! 
 
For the full episode: 
 
https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-5wcpx-18025e5
For more in this podcast, please go to:
 
Podbean:
https://benomtad.podbean.com
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863
YouTube: 
https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ
 
I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.

Feb 15, 2025

22 min

We talk about the Grimm Brothers’ story “Rumpelstiltskin,” a tale about class, men and women, and above all, magic, which transforms, usually in unexpected ways.  The tale starts off with a desire for a miller father hopelessly trying to convert his daughter’s imagined ability into social capital then transitions to a king using his political power to attain wealth.  The story’s throughline is the seemingly helpless heroine who ends up getting gold and making life, and she gets to keep it all, little man be damned (after she acquires The Power of his Name). It’s a seemingly simple question, but do you believe in magic?  I am very interested in tales of transformation and transformative tales.  Please share ones you know. 
 
Please comment, like, and subscribe! 
 
For more in this podcast, please go to:
Podbean:
https://benomtad.podbean.com
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863
YouTube: 
https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ
 
I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.

Feb 13, 2025

3 min

Rumpelstiltskin Summary (Clip)
 
We give a summary of the Grimm Bros.’ story “Rumpelstiltskin.”  
 
Please comment, like, and subscribe! 
 
For the full episode: 
 
Please see below.
For more in this podcast, please go to:
 
Podbean:
https://benomtad.podbean.com
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863
YouTube: 
https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ
 
I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.

Feb 12, 2025

3 min

We talk about what we think is anti-human rhetoric, seemingly uber-rational but coldly inhuman.  And these don’t help male-female relations.  And I think the solution isn’t all or even mostly rational.  
Please comment, like, and subscribe! 
 
For the full episode: 
 
https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-ibgvn-17f6deb
For more in this podcast, please go to:
 
Podbean:
https://benomtad.podbean.com
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863
YouTube: 
https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ
 
I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.

Feb 11, 2025

3 min

People may have a psychological need to feel useful.  Is there a turn against this for men and women.
Please comment, like, and subscribe! 
 
For the full episode: 
 
https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-ibgvn-17f6deb
For more in this podcast, please go to:
 
Podbean:
https://benomtad.podbean.com
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863
YouTube: 
https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ
 
I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.

Feb 11, 2025

4 min

Does opening the door for a woman show chivalry, caring, or is it a display of the superior strength of the man?  I try to think through the logic.  LL says it gives a role, and a sense of purpose generally, to the man.  Don’t men want to impress women?
 
Please comment, like, and subscribe! 
 
For the full episode: 
 
https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-ibgvn-17f6deb
For more in this podcast, please go to:
 
Podbean:
https://benomtad.podbean.com
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863
YouTube: 
https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ
 
I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.

Men & Meaning

Feb 11, 2025

Feb 11, 2025

37 min

My friend LL and I start with some observations by Richard Reeves on rather grim statistics about men, including the suicide rate, which is about four times higher than that of women.  There are few men’s spaces left (even the Boy Scouts aren’t only for boys!), but don’t men learn and grow in same-sex environments sometimes? And isn’t there much confusion today about what a man even is and whether they are different from women? And is this confusion linked to extreme interpretations, like an over-emphasis on money or the body, and even anti-natalist viewpoints, which may be the antithesis of romance between the sexes or a love of humanity? What are your views on these things? Are we overreacting? Let’s keep the conversation going, and thank you for listening.
 
Please comment, like, and subscribe! 
 
For more in this podcast, please go to:
 
Podbean:
https://benomtad.podbean.com
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863
YouTube: 
https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ
 
I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.

Feb 10, 2025

4 min

Beliefs that may contribute to men’s fear of being chivalrous around women.  We talk about our impressions and experiences.  “Basic genderless politeness.”  Is chivalry implying women are weaker necessarily? 
Please comment, like, and subscribe! 
 
For the full episode: 
 
Please see below!
For more in this podcast, please go to:
 
Podbean:
https://benomtad.podbean.com
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-benomtad/id1748320863
YouTube: 
https://m.youtube.com/@scissorsandpaper/videos
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/4kJPGlaJjGVyLa9AKhci6t?si=8XXrX9FUT3CU71reCfA5kQ
 
I plan to conduct more interviews with various guests, so please check back later for those.

Becoming Human

I view having deep, open conversations as perhaps the primary way I explore my and others' humanity.  I am looking for self-transcendence, knowledge, depth and love though exploration of experience, stories (such as myths and folktales), and ideas.  I hope you enjoy these conversations for personal growth and happiness, and thank you for listening. 

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