{"podcast":{"title":"The Three Ravens Podcast","slug":"the-three-ravens-podcast-6092563","podcast_index_feed_id":6092563,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/6404e1f4c5ea8c0011811194","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/threeravenspodcast","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/6404e1f4c5ea8c0011811194/1762731467101-0eb1042b-7eea-4cd5-b8b9-9f44f87aadbd.jpeg","author":"Three Ravens","episode_count":511,"summary":"Three Ravens is an English myth and folklore podcast hosted by Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux. In each weekly episode, released on Mondays, we explore a historic county, digging into the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Across our first six series we ventured around England's 39 historic counties twice, taking turns to tell a new version of a legend from that county - all before discussing what that tale might mean, where it may have come from, and the truths it reveals about England's hidden past. Our Bonus Episodes are then released on Thursdays ( Magic and Medicines about folk remedies and arcane spells, Three Ravens Bestiary about cryptids and mythical creatures, Forgotten Melodies about folk song types with original performances from us, and Magus , which is about the lives of the most famous witches and wizards in history). On Saturdays, we then release episodes of our interview series Local Legends, with each episode featuring a chat between us and an acclaimed folklorist, author, podcaster or historian, deepening discussions about that week's county. In b…","last_synced_at":"2026-08-02T04:21:37.212610+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-three-ravens-podcast-6092563"},"episode":{"title":"Magic and Medicines #23: Exorcism","slug":"magic-and-medicines-23-exorcism","published_at":"2026-04-13T05:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-three-ravens-podcast-6092563/magic-and-medicines-23-exorcism","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-three-ravens-podcast-6092563","url":"https://www.threeravenspodcast.com/","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6404e1f4c5ea8c0011811194/e/69db9c88f736e119c36f33f5/media.mp3","summary":"We're back in the saddle after Eleanor's operation and talking all about the history of Exorcism! One of those complex kinds of topic we so enjoy discussing on Magic and Medicines , belief in Exorcism is rather predicated on personal faith, including in Demons or other supernatural entities. It's also a tradition impossible to separate from the seminal movie The Exorcist of 1973 due to that film's staggering cultural impact. Thing is, Exorcism is a practice which seems to predate the written word. Almost every world religion has a version of it, with several forms of modern Paganism also embracing concepts of spirit manipulation and cleansing. So, how should we think of Exorcism as distinct from what's contained in The Exorcist? Why is it quite so popular with Catholics, and was it always? Can anybody become an Exorcist, and what protects vulnerable people from being taken advantage of by hucksters and worse? Also, should we not be thinking about Jesus and his Twelve Disciples as Exorcists, considering Exorcism is one of the things they are most celebrated for in the Gospels? Does this, in turn, mean many heroes of mystic Jewish tradition were actually the first Ghostbusters? As ever, we really hope you enjoy the episode and we will speak to you again on Thursday with our new Lang Fairy Tales episode before Saturday's release of Three Ravens Live @ Farnham Literary Festival! Three Ravens is an English Myth and Folklore podcast hosted by award-winning writers Martin Vaux and Eleanor Conlon. Released on Mondays, each weekly episode focuses on one of England's 39 historic counties, exploring the history, folklore and traditions of the area, from ghosts and mermaids to mythical monsters, half-forgotten heroes, bloody legends, and much, much more. Then, and most importantly…","meta_description":"We're back in the saddle after Eleanor's operation and talking all about the history of Exorcism! One of those complex kinds of topic we so enjoy discussi…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":5058,"processing_state":"processed","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-three-ravens-podcast-6092563/episodes/magic-and-medicines-23-exorcism/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-three-ravens-podcast-6092563/magic-and-medicines-23-exorcism.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}