Hold onto your preconceptions if you must as we, two English people, open a can of worms in our first full episode of Series 8 to discuss Virginia, the 'Mother of States!'
We begin as colonial America did - in Jamestown - before digging into some of the key differences between life in Virginia in those early days and life in England at the same time, tracking points of comparison forward through into the modern day.
Enriched by extracts from this Saturday's upcoming Local Legends interview with Jon Lohman, who served as Virginia's State Folklorist for over two decades, we chat through Virginia's fundamentally important role in the global tobacco business, explain why the state was so central to the American Civil War, and talk about some aspects of what life was like in the American Indian Powhatan Confederacy, too.
As you might expect, we also dig into the state's folklore, discussing some of the myths surrounding Captain John Smith, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington, hang out with some very cool cryptids including The Woodbooger, Mothman, and the Chesapeake Bay Sea Monster, dabble in some conspiracy theories, and much more besides!
We also tuck into a five course State Dinner in which Martin attempts to honour the diverse range of Virginia's distinct regions and cultures, spend a bit of time with the Great Hare as he creates the world and shows a quartet of giants who's boss, and then, to conclude the episode, we argue the toss as to who we should crown as Virginia's ultimate Folk Hero.
From John Henry the 'steel driving man' to the complex history of Pocahontas, we hope you find it interesting, surprising, and that it also makes you giggle, which is very much part of the point!
About Three Ravens ๐ฎ
Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.
Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community โThe Conspiracy of Ravens.โ
We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.
Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.
Now ranked as an all-time Top 5 podcast across several categories by Goodpods, charting in the Spotify, Apple and Rephonic UK Fiction Top 10 across 2024, 2025 and 2026, if youโre interested in ghosts, monsters, regional beliefs, and the things that unite us all, then join us round the campfire and listen inโฆ
Join the Conspiracy of Ravens โจ
๐ Official Website: Visit the Three Ravens Podcast Official Site to sign up for our mailing list, explore our episode catalogue, and enjoy our blog!
๐ค Three Ravens Live: Find tickets and news about our upcoming live shows!
๐ Shop: Buy our books and exclusive Three Ravens Merch including mugs, tote bags, tees and hoodies from our Online Shop
๐ Patreon: Support the show and unlock ad free listening, monthly Patreon exclusive episodes, the Three Ravens Film Club, our community chat and newsletters at the Three Ravens Patreon
๐ Our First Book: Buy our stunning hardback collection of 39 historic stories Three Ravens Folk Tales
๐ป Our Second Book: Order our brand new hair-raising host of 20 original ghost stories Three Ravens Ghost Tales
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ Our Third Book: Preorder our upcoming collection of Welsh regional legends Three Ravens Folk Tales of Wales coming to all good bookshops on St David's Day (March 1st) 2027
๐ฑ Socials: Follow our adventures and help us grow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
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