Best Fiddleback Podcasts (2024)

1
Gnomes 31:22

2M ago31:22

31:22

We all know about the tricky little devils in D&D known as the gnomes. Which, of course, means we don’t know anything at all about the very interesting and misunderstood people we call gnomes. Because that’s how this show works. So here is a gnome-centric episode to tell you all the things you don’t know about them. And yes, this is part of the mag…

1
Faust 20:27

7M ago20:27

20:27

Step back into the classroom that is GM Word of the Week as we continue our look at the history of magic and some of the influential people involved. In this episode, the man, the myth, the marketing opportunity, Faust. Are deals with the devil all they are cracked up to be? Probably not. But then again, it depends on what your eventual goal is.…

1
Religion & Magic 32:32

8M ago32:32

32:32

Join us on a spellbinding voyage through history as we unveil the enthralling connections between natural magic, scientific evolution, and the ominous era of witch hunts. From Renaissance luminaries shaping the mystical landscape to the perplexing dance between science and pseudo-science, this episode unravels the threads that wove through centurie…

1
Mysticism 29:10

9M ago29:10

29:10

Part three of our ongoing series about magic and the people who use it. In this episode we discuss why you can’t mix your Madonna and Kabbalah, the history of Jewish Mysticism, why the name of God is so hard to say, and how there’s just one magic potion we are aware of that actually, truly, works. And then we tell you how to make it.…

1
Thaumaturgy 30:35

10M ago30:35

30:35

Here it is the second part of our Magic series which contains the first part of the history of magic. But of course, there are several complicated things to get out of the way first before we can really dive in and get to grips with what it is Dungeons and Dragons is trying to do with magic in the first place. One of the biggest questions being, wh…

1
Magic? 29:36

11M ago29:36

29:36

The long awaited first episode in a series all about Magic in Dungeons and Dragons. But first, we have to do some ground work before we can really talk about Magic in D&D. We have to clear up a popular misconception about what magic is, then work out what we mean by magic, and define what isn’t actually magic in the first place. As you might expect…

1
Lost Episode 17. Again. 22:13

1+ y ago22:13

22:13

Yes, you read that right. Another Lost Episode has arrived. And wouldn’t you know it, there’s just a bit more on Nostalgia that we had laying around. Fortunately, this brings our Nostalgia series to a final close and completes a request made quite some time ago by the shows original researcher and writer, The Angry GM, to actually cover the topic. …

1
Artificial Intelligence 27:16

1+ y ago27:16

27:16

We explore the rich history of AI, starting with the works of Hero of Alexandria, who created mechanical devices that paved the way for future advancements in automation. We also dive into the Islamic Golden Age and the contributions of Al-Jazari and Al-Khwarizmi, who played a key role in developing mathematical algorithms and automated machines. F…

1
Muse

1+ y ago

—

Never ask a writer where they get their ideas. They haven’t got a clue. Fortunately for everyone, the Ancient Greeks did have a clue. Several clues in fact. But in order to understand what was really going on, you need to get to grips with muses. And some Greek history. And a bit of what passes for the Greek religion, such as it was. And then, of c…

1
Red Herring 25:11

1+ y ago25:11

25:11

Here is an episode inside of which is contained a red herring or two. For once, though, it's a common phrase that we use regularly that means exactly what you've always thought it meant. And that's great, don't you think? How nice. Except… Well, you and I both know we wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t something that needed explaining about this phra…

1
Learning Curve 30:30

2y ago30:30

30:30

It’s the final episode of the year, and the final episode of a series that began with a retread and amplification of a previous episode, Nostalgia. Naturally, you’ve been using the phrase “Steep learning curve” incorrectly. And equally naturally, this episode will set you straight by talking about cats, plateaus, Souls games, and Downton Abbey. Can…

1
Skinner Box 27:34

2y ago27:34

27:34

We, that is the collective we known as the internet, oftern refer to games as Skinner Boxes of one sort or another. Particularly if it isn’t a game we like, or one we find very compelling. But, is it really? What’s a Skinner Box? What are we saying about the game? What does it have to do with Pavlov? And Freud? And most importantly of all, why are …

1
Needs 25:39

2y ago25:39

25:39

The last time we were here we talked a bit about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and then swiftly passed on to other things. But there were some things we left out. Some things that need to be mentioned. Because, you see, there is much made of Maslow and his Hierarchy and maybe, just maybe, it’s a little too much. Even though we think we understand it,…

1
Nostalgia 2 26:16

2+ y ago26:16

26:16

Series 3 begins with a fond look back at an earlier episode. Yes, we’re looking at nostalgia once again and boy, that sure was a great episode wasn’t it with all it’s references to the swiss army and pointing out how nostalgia was really just a disease. But, of course, as with all things fondly remembered, the spectacles of time have become a bit s…

1
Diamond Dust 25:25

2+ y ago25:25

25:25

We made a plan, but that plan didn’t go… to plan. So we made a new plan. Which also, didn’t go… to plan. But the third plan? That stayed up. And it brought us a little episode that was far different than we thought it would be, all on the strength of a listeners writing in to ask a question. Which is why we encourage that sort of thing. So, if you …

1
Theosophy 26:25

2+ y ago26:25

26:25

The name Helena Blavatsky was certainly one to watch, for a variety of reasons. Was it because of her immense talents as a spiritual medium? Or perhaps it was because she was a font of spiritual leadership both at home and abroad? Or maybe it was because she helped bring eastern religions to the west? Or maybe it was all the various great writers o…

1
Spiritualism 25:58

2+ y ago25:58

25:58

What happens if you mix a bit of as-above-so-below with a bit of animal magnetism? Well, if you’re a regular listener to this show, you’ll know that what you get is a journey that starts at Appleseed and ends at Fox. But you’ll also know that along the way you’ll hear many interesting bits about new churches, new religions, and old tricks. Along wi…

1
Hermes 25:47

2+ y ago25:47

25:47

Let’s take a historical journey with a mystic seer played for laughs. And while we’re at it, let’s also look into the far reaching effects of someone who didn’t really exist in the first place. But boy was he sure influential. So let’s settle in and learn about Hermes Trismegistus and everything he’s responsible for. Even though he definitely didn’…

1
Classic 25:22

2+ y ago25:22

25:22

There are many classic episodes of GM Word of the Week, including this one. Which is sort of the problem. What does ‘classic’ even mean any more? And what do we imply when we use the word? Well, it’s complicated of course, and classically, that’s exactly what attracts our attention. So let’s see if we can figure it out and make some sense of it. In…

1
Pulp 23:58

2+ y ago23:58

23:58

A small change in the way paper was made lead to a huge change in what you can read. And the weird part is that it all starts with an execution and ends up with people on Mars. Of course, if people hadn’t got better at reading, it might not have made a difference. But they did, thankfully, and now you can dream about swinging from tree to tree, or …

1
Seasons 23:35

2+ y ago23:35

23:35

Welcome to season two of GM Word of the Week. Confused? Don’t be. We’ll explain. Or rather I’ll explain. And while I’m at it, we’ll discuss things Dickens along with the confusing difference between American TV seasons, and British Television series. And probably that won’t confuse you anymore than you already are. Unless you thought I meant the ot…

1
2021 Holiday Special, Part 2 52:58

3y ago52:58

52:58

Happy Holidays! In this part: Coral Castle Cardiff Giant Themistocles Exploding Animals Shark Gods Psyche and Cupid Nearly an hour of information and entertainment for your holidays. If you’d like to help support GM Word of the Week and get access to more monthly bonus episodes head over to https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Fiddleback and join our Head …

1
2021 Holiday Special, Part 1 54:02

3y ago54:02

54:02

Happy holidays! In this part: Transi Doctor Knox Naming Conventions Sporks Brocade Fra Mauro Map Nearly an hour of information and entertainment for your holidays. If you’d like to help support GM Word of the Week and get access to more monthly bonus episodes head over to https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Fiddleback and join our Head Librarian tier.…

1
Spicier 23:35

3y ago23:35

23:35

The second part of our two part spice series focuses on the history of the spice trade. And in large part that history can be encapsulated in the history of the nutmeg. So let’s dig in to what nutmeg is, why it was so popular and how that drove the demand for the spice until it became so popular everyone had to have it. But not for the reasons you …

1
Spicy

3y ago

—

They taste good, they smell good, but sadly they are terrible. At least, they were in the past. Even though today they seem to be blessed with some sort of magical property that everyone wants a piece of. From your coffee to your candles to the ingredients for making little girls, spices are everywhere and everyone wants some. Which is not dissimil…

1
Anatomist 25:46

3y ago25:46

25:46

The second part in our mini-series on cadavers. So, how did Burke and Hare change the state of the game when it came to dissection? And what happened after that? Well quite a lot really, but keep in mind that a lot of what we know today wouldn’t have happened without those two gentlemen, and those similarly inclined. Still, the real heroes of the p…

1
Cadaver 26:21

3y ago26:21

26:21

Welcome to October, the easiest theme month of them all. Let’s discuss, briefly, the reason for the season and then go on to talk about why we’ve already lost the battle. Well, the first part of why we’ve lost the battle against the dead; the historical context. Which, if you know the history of the cadaver, you already know where we’re going to en…

1
Lost Episode 17 26:51

3y ago26:51

26:51

Yes, once again it is time for another of our world famous Lost Episodes. The problem is, there’s been a whole bunch of extenuating circumstances, which we try to explain somewhat unsuccessfully. But at least you get to hear some bits about swords, socks, and ninjas, along with a couple of people who really were in charge, like it or not. The whole…

1
Giants 27:35

3y ago27:35

27:35

How’s the weather up there? Well, if you were a giant, you would know.But since you aren’t, we’d better have a discussion about what makes giants giant. Should be easy, right? Because we all know what a giant is. But then again, do we? And what does it all have to do with basketball and the Air Force? Find out, inside.GM Word of the Week is brought…

1
Whip 32:58

3y ago32:58

32:58

Everything is already in shape around here, so we’ll discard that pun immediately. But otherwise, we have an episode for you about whips and their varied uses. Except, obviously, we have to agree to some ground rules about our discussion before we start. They aren’t the most popular of Dungeons and Dragons weapons, but maybe there’s a reason for th…

1
The Green Knight 25:47

3y ago25:47

25:47

It’s in the theaters, but what’s it all about?We discuss the main players of the new film. But really mostly we discuss the characters of Gawain, whose name you are pronouncing wrong, and the reasons why that is, and the Green Knight and enigma or meaning that no one seems to agree on. So, it’s probably best we take a look at what might have inspir…

1
Xylothek 24:10

3y ago24:10

24:10

We started with a question about types of books. But after answering it, there was a whole lot of episode left to go.Fortunately, we ran across a book that helped us talk about other books, in particular, the very interesting books in a xylothek. But first, as we always do, there was some explanation to be had about where they came from and why the…

1
Jousting 23:55

3y ago23:55

23:55

We’ve all seen jousts in the movies and probably enjoyed them.Well, shame on you. That’s not what jousting is like at all, and it certainly wasn’t the only kind of jousting available at the tournaments of the Middle Ages. Of course, the real problem is that we don’t understand what we, or even they, meant when they said jousting and tournament. So …

1
Canon 22:59

3y ago22:59

22:59

There’s a whole world of things in our adventuring worlds and it’s really very important to keep track of it all for consistencies sake. Which is why such things as canon exist.Not the shooty bang bang kind of canon, but rather the body of work which explains what is right and proper and what isn’t. And it really is vitally important, as we’ll demo…

1
Supernatural 23:13

3y ago23:13

23:13

Sometimes we give advice along with our helping of information and today we’re going to talk about how GMs can make best use of the supernatural.But first we have to understand what counts as supernatural in the typical fantasy world. You might be tempted to think that anything magical counts, but that’s not the case, as we will happily explain to …

1
Nostalgia 21:25

3y ago21:25

21:25

We often think of nostalgia as a pleasant memory associated with happier times. Which is nice.But also, not true. Which is often the case with nostalgia, the things we remember fondly, were never as good as we remember them and the thing about remembering how nice nostalgia feels is that it was never that nice to begin with. No, indeed. Nostalgia c…

1
Main Gauche 29:02

3+ y ago29:02

29:02

We’ve done this before, but it didn’t go so well. In fact, it went so badly we removed it from the feed.But now it’s back and it is much, much better. See, sometimes we make embarrassing mistakes, but it’s always nice to finally fix them. In this episodes you’ll hear about coolness, dual-wielding, guns akimbo, exciting stories of weird science, dom…

1
Merchant 23:50

3+ y ago23:50

23:50

He’d sell you your own grandmother if he could, but the Merchant turns out to be one of those essential fantasy characters which no town can do without.But how did they get that way and what, if anything, can be done about it? The answers are, not much, and let us explain. Let’s take a look at the Merchant from the very beginning to the very right …

1
Lost Episode 16 24:56

3+ y ago24:56

24:56

We found it! We found it!It’s Lost Episode 16! In which we reconnect with our Connections, go a little bird brained, and finally hear from the number 10,001 fan. It’s a brief but exciting tour from ancient Greece to South America and mostly about things that fly. So, please return your tables to the upright position and let’s go!Remember to check o…

1
Sahuagin 24:07

3+ y ago24:07

24:07

How do you say it?The sordid history full of lies and deceit about the origins of the Sahuagin.Err. That is to say, the poorly recalled and potentially easily forgotten history of the Dungeons and Dragons NPC known as the Sahuagin. Who, we’re sure, are very nice people if you happen to meet them socially. Once you get past the cannibalism.Thanks to…

1
Chalcedony 19:57

3+ y ago19:57

19:57

We get letters from time to time from our listeners and most of the time, they make some kind of sense.But, every so often a listener will write in that makes us wonder just exactly which show they’ve been listening to. This is one such case. Never mind though, we’re happy to take the time to explain why it might sometimes appear that we’ve drifted…

1
Xerxes 25:02

3+ y ago25:02

25:02

By Brian Casey

1
Marathon 26:25

3+ y ago26:25

26:25

The last thing we want to do is provide too much information, but it seems inevitable that we’ll need an extra episode to complete our four-part series on Persia.See, the problem is the Battle of Marathon and the need to discuss it in order to put a cap on Darius’ reign as King of Persia and the etceteras as well as everything that happened after. …

1
Darius 25:31

3+ y ago25:31

25:31

Darius' position was precarious. He might have been just a bit nefarious. The Persians were mad that he took a little stab, but he ended up becoming imperious!And to see how he did it all, listen to this episode. Just keep in mind one thing: Persia was a big empire, and to get around it successfully, Darius had to use a Mazda.Persian Fire by Tom Ho…

1
Cyrus 24:53

3+ y ago24:53

24:53

Will he or won’t he? King Croesus, we mean.But beyond that, what is it that makes Cyrus the Great, so great? Is it the size of his empire? Perhaps. But, arguably, it’s more to do with the way he treated those he conquered and the legacy he left to his sons. And what a pair of sons they were. Granted, they might have tried to follow in their father’…

1
The Medes 24:06

3+ y ago24:06

24:06

Long ago there was a great empire. Probably the greatest ever seen.. But for some reason, it gets left by the wayside when Empires are discussed.Which is unfortunate, because the Persian Empire is at least as interesting as anything the Greeks or Romans ever did. In any case, we’ve resolved to talk about the Persian Empire for the entire month, and…

1
History 26:21

3+ y ago26:21

26:21

Where did all this history come from and why has so much of it been left laying around the place?History must be important. We spent so much time learning so much of it in school. It has to count for something right? But what did we really learn and what can you really say about it? Was it really important to know all those names and dates? Or was …

1
Hot Chocolate 24:04

3+ y ago24:04

24:04

Warm, delicious, and comforting pretty much describes Hot Chocolate to a tee.Which makes it hard to explain why we forgot to do an episode about it when we were talking about warm, delicious, comforting drinks all that time ago. But here we are at last with the story of Hot Chocolate. Not Chocolate, Hot Chocolate. There’s a difference. Let’s find o…

1
Cosmetics 23:48

3+ y ago23:48

23:48

It’s lovely to look lovely and cosmetics help that happen. But only up to a point.See, one of the problems with cosmetics is that you never quite know what you are putting on your face. Certainly not if you were, to pick a completely random example, Queen Elizabeth I or, indeed, a whole lot of other Elizabethan era men and women. Basically, no one …

1
Hollow Earth 24:53

3+ y ago24:53

24:53

Even some of the greatest minds the world has ever known can make mistakes, but when Edmund Halley made his he was only doing the best he could with the information at hand.Aside from not writing down how to pronounce his name, or even spelling it consistently, his biggest mistake was made while trying to explain why two things that should have bee…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Fiddleback Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide