{"podcast":{"title":"MonsterTalk","slug":"monstertalk-162017","podcast_index_feed_id":162017,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/6267523/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/7698c27b5af520e6dca580217c19bd71.jpg","author":"Monster House LLC","episode_count":503,"summary":"MonsterTalk: The Science Show About Monsters is a free audio podcast that critically examines the science behind cryptozoological (and legendary) creatures, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, or werewolves. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support .","last_synced_at":"2026-07-20T08:19:22.443337+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/monstertalk-162017"},"episode":{"title":"S05E34 - Rakshasas","slug":"s05e34-rakshasas","published_at":"2026-06-08T03:55:02+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/monstertalk-162017/s05e34-rakshasas","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/monstertalk-162017","url":"https://www.monstertalk.org/s05e34-rakshasas/","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/72406907/s05e34_monstertalk.mp3","summary":"Most Americans meet the Rakshasa in exactly two places: a 1974 episode of a beloved horror TV series and the pages of the Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual. Both versions give you a debonair, tiger-faced shape-changer with a taste for human flesh - but neither prepares you for how deep, how old, and how genuinely alive these creatures are. To dig us out of that pop-culture foxhole, we sat down with academic researcher Eric Zsebenyi for a tour that runs from the Rig Veda to the Ramayana, into Buddhism, through present-day Sri Lankan politics, and finishes at the tent-shaped tomb of a very naughty Victorian translator. 🎙️ Our GuestEric Zsebenyi holds a master's degree from Naropa University (2000) and has pursued Buddhist studies as a lifelong avocation alongside a career as a civil servant. His path to the Rakshasas began with a Dharma protector named Vetali in his own meditation practice - which, as you'll hear, leads straight back to one of India's stranger monsters. Blake met Eric at the recent Gods & Monsters Conference, where Eric delivered a paper on the Vetala. You can find Eric's work here: Eric Zsebenyi on Academia.edu Extensive show notes at Monstertalk.org Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support . Some product links may be affiliated with Amazon revenue sharing.","meta_description":"Most Americans meet the Rakshasa in exactly two places: a 1974 episode of a beloved horror TV series and the pages of the Dungeons & Dragons Monster M…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3208,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/monstertalk-162017/episodes/s05e34-rakshasas/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/monstertalk-162017/s05e34-rakshasas.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}