271: Pop Culture, Video Games, and Cosplay as Mythology (with Dr. Vivian Asimos)

We’re joined this week by Dr. Vivian Asimos, who explains that just about anything can be mythology. Yes, including Star Wars, The Legend of Zelda, and cosplay.    Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of drowning, child death, and sexual assault.      Guest Vivian Asimos is a freelance academic specializing in all things popular culture and mythology. She has produced several publications including Digital Monsters, a book exploring online horror stories. She runs the blog Incidental Mythology, dedicated to the intersections of popular culture and mythology, and is currently undertaking a research project into cosplay. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @vivianasimos   Housekeeping - MERCH! Preorder the Tarot Tee Shirt and get your other on-sale merch at spiritspodcast.com/merch! - Recommendation: This week, Amanda recommends And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander - Books: Check out our previous book recommendations, guests’ books, and more at spiritspodcast.com/books - Call to Action: Have you heard about the MultiCrew?! This is our membership program that lets you help us invest in Multitude as we try weird new stuff. Plus, you get a members-only weekly podcast: Head Heart Gut, our weekly friendly debate show. Join for as little as $5 a month at multicrew.club and get access to Head Heart Gut!   Sponsors - BetterHelp is a secure online counseling service. Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/spirits - Brooklinen delivers luxury bed sheets, pillows, comforters, & blankets straight to your door. Go to Brooklinen.com right now and use promo code “spirits” to get $25 off when you spend $100 or more, PLUS free shipping. - Blueland creates everyday eco-friendly cleaning productions that save you money and space, without any plastic waste. Get 20% off your first order when you go to blueland.com/spirits.  Find Us Online If you like Spirits, help us grow by spreading the word! Follow us @SpiritsPodcast on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads. You can support us on Patreon (http://patreon.com/spiritspodcast) to unlock bonus Your Urban Legends episodes, director’s commentaries, custom recipe cards, and so much more. We also have lists of our book recommendations and previous guests’ books at http://spiritspodcast.com/books. Transcripts are available at http://spiritspodcast.com/episodes. To buy merch, hear us on other podcasts, contact us, find our mailing address, or download our press kit, head on over to http://spiritspodcast.com.   About Us Spirits was created by Julia Schifini, Amanda McLoughlin and Eric Schneider. We are founding members of Multitude, an independent podcast collective and production studio. Our music is "Danger Storm" by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.