“Sagas w/Shawn: Gods and Kings” is an ambitious (and probably doomed) attempt to build a shared world where every god, legendary king, and mythical hero across world history actually coexists.
Hosted by Shawn, this podcast bridges the gap between mythology and history, from Norse sagas and ancient folklore to medieval pseudo-history, global pantheons, and even the lore of fantasy worlds and video games. Expect dry humor, deep dives, and a sincere curiosity about what people believed, why it mattered, and how these stories still shape us today.
E18: Volsungs in Valhalla - Dining with Odin's Chosen
***welp, Shawn missed the years on the reigns of Hákon and Eric by an entire century. Edit to fix coming hopefully in the next day. yikes**** In this episode, Shawn follows up on the poems Eiríksmál and Hákonarmál, which detail the deaths of King Eric Bloodaxe and King Hákon the Good and depict both entering the Norse afterlife of Valhalla. From there, Shawn takes a closer look at what the surviving sources actually tell us about Odin's hall, who ends up there, and what exactly happens once...
28 Jul 2026
E17: Kings of Norway II | Hakon the Good (934 - 961 CE)
In this episode, Shawn continues his series on the Kings of Norway with Hakon the Good, the first Christian king of Norway and another son of Harald Fairhair. Raised in the court of King Æthelstan of England, Hakon returns home to challenge the rule of his half-brother, Eric Bloodaxe. If you remember from our previous episode, the lords of Norway welcome this new claimant if it means they can be rid of Eric's wife Gunhild. (To be fair, Eric also had the small problem of being an unlikea...
23 Jun 2026
E16: Kings of Norway I | Eric Bloodaxe (930–934 CE)
In this episode, Shawn returns to his non-existent roots and once again discusses gods and kings. Specifically, Eric Bloodaxe, King of Norway (and later Northumbria), who according to the saga sources can trace his ancestry back to the Norse gods Odin, Freyr, and Njörðr. The discussion begins with the rise of his father, Harald Fairhair, and the world he left behind for his many sons (Eric included). Shawn then follows Eric’s rise as well, while also exploring why his reigns in two sepa...
13 May 2026
E15: Odin and Thor – Mortality, the Measure of a Life, and What We Leave Behind (Part III)
In our final episode of our series on Thor, Shawn wraps up Thor's non-existent story arc, tying the Zelda I mean Norse timeline up in a way that makes sense to tell his story for the podcast. Thor continues to confront his own limits navigating life despite all of his strength. In doing so, he understands a couple very human traits of his, that he will never be perfect, and he will die. The discussion focuses on the events surrounding the death of his half-brother Balder, and him being ...
17 Mar 2026
E14: Tales of Ireland I - From Noah to the Milesians, the Mythic Invasions of Ireland
Ignore the part of the episode where I stated the "Magog and Gomer, Father's of Ireland" in the title. Love, Shawn. In this St. Patrick’s Day episode of Sagas w/ Shawn - Gods and Kings, we dive into one of the most fascinating medieval texts in Irish tradition, the Lebor Gabála Érenn, also known as the Book of Invasions. The text attempts to explain the origins of Ireland and its people by, like every text Shawn has reviewed, weaving together mythology, genealogy, and the biblical worldview o...
17 Feb 2026
E13: Odin and Thor – Illusion, Fate, and the Limits of Power (Part II)
In Part II of our series on Thor, we dive into the story of Utgarða-Loki and the two versions of Thor’s fishing trip, uncovering more of the limits of the mighty god. Specifically, the limits of the very things he claims to be best at. He may confidently declare, "“I drink and I kill things.” Tyrion Lannister I mean, Thor the Charioteer". But as it turns out, that résumé does not guarantee unlimited success in either category. Even gods run into walls when the forces of nature decide to push ...
22 Jan 2026
E12: Odin and Thor – Power, Humiliation, and the Making of a God (Part I)
In this episode, we follow Thor across a string of myths that repeatedly undermine the idea that strength alone is all he needs in life. We start with Odin and Thor trading insults (though completely 1 sided), where Thor learns that brute force does not win every contest, especially when language and experience are involved. From there, we see Thor used as a blunt instrument against giants, praised for his power but quietly limited by it, while Odin (BY MY SUBJECTIVE INTERPRETATION FOR FUNZIE...
18 Dec 2025
E11: Gandalf Trolls Trolls, Thor Trolls a Dwarf, and Beorn's Budget BnB
In this episode, Shawn once again obsesses over the parallels between Tolkien’s work and the Norse myths he drew inspiration from, and once again attempts (with mixed results, by his own admission) to make the decisions of gods, wizards, and hobbits feel uncomfortably relatable to modern life. Along the way, he looks at two chapters from The Hobbit where Gandalf repeatedly proves that timing, presentation, and well-placed words can be more effective than magic or brute force. The episode then...
20 Nov 2025
E10: Riddles in Asgard and Middle Earth - Odin, Bilbo Baggins, and the Games of "Wisdom"
In this episode, Shawn, still pretending he is an early teenager in 2001 pretending he would fit just right in with the fellowship of the ring, once again dives into Middle-Earth to talk about Bilbo Baggins, and his riddle contest in the dark with the creature Gollum resulting in him bearing the one ring, but NOT before Shawn goes over 2 similar situations with the god Odin, who also gets into a contest of riddles. The funny thing is that both Bilbo and Odin win their riddle contests wi...
4 Nov 2025
E9: Norse Myths – The Ring-Bearers of the Cursed Ring Andvaranaut, and Tolkien's Inspiration
In this episode, Shawn covers the ring-bearers of the cursed ring of fate, Andvaranaut. From dwarfs to gods to dragons to princesses to kings, this ring, influenced by the true power in the Norse world, the Norns, guides the fates of those who wield it. And it never turns out well for those who do. The ring is what Tolkien drew inspiration from when crafting the one true ring from his works in "The Hobbit", and "The Lord of the Rings". Though it does not make its wearer invisible, it does ins...
28 Oct 2025
E8: The Legacy of the All-Father - Odin, Jesus, and the Merovingian Kings of France
In this episode, Shawn discusses the mythic origins of the Merovingians, in one part using their very loose parallels to the Volsungs (Sigeberht/Sigurd and Brunhilda/Brynhild), in an effort to link them to Odin. Whether the Merovingians or Volsungs, their habits of killing their in-laws would make for a hilarious 90s sitcom Shawn also discusses another figure with Merovingian Blood, that descends from the All-Father, namely Eadbald of Kent, so adding the early kingdoms of Frankia totally hold...
7 Oct 2025
E7: Ivar the Wide-Fathom: The Serpent Who Conquered Too Much
Before Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons set out to conquer the Viking world, there was Ivar the Wide Fathom, Ragnar's great-great-grandfather who decided that one kingdom simply was not enough. In this episode, Shawn explores how Ivar toppled (well, sort of) two of the most powerful dynasties in Norse legend, the Ynglings of Sweden and the Skjoldungs of Denmark, drawing from the Ynglinga Saga, Saga of Hervor and Heidrik, Hversu Noregr Byggdist, and Sögubrot af fornkonungum. Through these overlappi...
16 Sept 2025
E6: The Legacy of the All-Father V – Saeming, the Aesir/Vanir War, and Norway’s Mythic Origins
In this episode, Shawn looks at yet another son of Odin, who supposedly served as the ancestor of the legendary kings of Norway. This time it’s Saeming, born from Odin’s affair with the goddess Skadi. Since the sources don’t give us much on Saeming himself, we detour (as usual) into chaos: Thjazi the giant steals the apples of youth, the gods start to age and get pissed off, Thjazi dies, and his daughter Skadi demands compensation, somehow ending up in the horrible marriage with the Vanir sea...
2 Sept 2025
E5: The Legacy of the All-Father IV - The House of Skjoldung and the Legendary Kings of Denmark
The Legacy of the All-Father (Part 4): The House of Skjoldung In this episode, Shawn heads back to Denmark to discuss the legendary Kings of Denmark all the way back to its supposed founding, with the House of Skjoldung. Since the completed Skjoldung Saga isn't available, we need to look at 7 different sources to track its family line, with roughly half of them showing Skjold, the family's namesake, as being the son of Odin. We focus a bit on the last king of the Skjoldungs, Hrolf Kraki, his ...
19 Aug 2025
E4: The Legacy of the All-Father III - The Anglo-Saxon Kings of England
Send us a text The Legacy of the All-Father (Part 3): The Anglo-Saxon Kings of England In this episode, Shawn sails west across the North Sea to follow Odin’s bloodline into the early kingdoms of England. Here the stories shift from distant myth to accounts recorded only a few generations after the events they describe, where royal genealogies boldly claim descent from Woden, the Anglo-Saxon name for the All-Father. We begin with the saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, bridging the legendary vengeance of...
5 Aug 2025
E3: The Legacy of the All-Father II - The First Kings of the North
In this episode, Shawn returns back to Midgard, where the influence of the All-Father shifts from mythic creation to shaping the destinies of men. As seen in Grímnismál, Odin shows he meddles in royal succession, punishing cruel kings and rewarding their kinder sons. That same divine interference sets the stage for Odin’s legacy to flow through human bloodlines, shaping the earliest monarchies of the North. We then explore how the legendary couple Ragnar Lodbrok and Aslaug becam...
15 Jul 2025
E2: The Legacy of the All-Father I - The Mythical Sons of Odin
The Legacy of the All-Father (Part 1): The Mythical Sons of Odin In this episode, Shawn ventures deeper into Norse Mythology to explore the sons of the god nearly at the top of the family tree, Odin, as told in Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. Using the first 3 parts of the edda, you have a list of 10 gods mentioned as being the son of the All-Father (one also being his grandson funny enough)..... And also a daughter/wife who is also a celestial body we may know of... Per Gylfaginni...
24 Jun 2025
E1: The Divine Ancestry of Harald Fairhair
Shawn explores the divine ancestry of Harald Fairhair, Norway's first king, examining claims of descent from Norse gods and the potential fabrication of these connections.
21 Jun 2025
E0: Welcome to Sagas w/Shawn - Gods and Kings
Shawn introduces Sagas w/Shawn – Gods and Kings, a podcast exploring the intersection of mythology, legend, and real-world history, covering Norse gods, legendary warriors, and historical rulers.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
47
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 44 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
32
Social presence
90
YouTube
65
Engagement
32
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Questions about Sagas w/Shawn - Gods and Kings
Who hosts Sagas w/Shawn - Gods and Kings?
Shawn host the show. Published by Shawn.
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The show publishes monthly, based on its RSS feed.
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