Medieval Iceland, read closely and argued warmly.
Saga Thing treats the sagas of Icelanders as living stories, moving carefully through chapters while noticing every feud, prophecy, nickname, and awkward legal obligation. Its tone is learned but relaxed, with Jon and Andy letting academic close reading sit beside running jokes, travel notes, and saga-sized side arguments.
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Saga Thing is a deep, companionable examination of medieval Icelandic saga literature. Jon and Andy treat the sagas as stories worth arguing with, laughing at, and reading with unusually close attention. Episodes often proceed chapter by chapter, as in the extended run through Viga-Glum's Saga, where marriages, kinship obligations, inherited weapons, farm locations, and prophetic warnings all matter. The show is not hurried. It pauses over transitions, notices when a side episode simply disappears, and keeps track of which children, rivals, companions, and in-laws are being positioned for future trouble. That patience is part of the appeal. A small line about hospitality or a gift from Norway can become a clue to status, family reputation, or catastrophe several episodes later. The register is scholarly but informal, with jokes about deadlines, weather, pronunciation, beverages, and the absurd precision of saga logic. The speakers also build recurring side paths into the larger project. Saga Shorts bring in ghost stories, disturbing dreams, murder, doom, and the strange half-explained supernatural moments attached to saga tradition. Saga Briefs move outside the books, including Iceland-recorded conversations with people such as Anna Melsteð, Sigrún Guttormsdóttir Þormar, and Bjorn Grimsson about saga sites, Snorri, local storytelling, and why these medieval works still belong in spoken form. The result is a show for listeners who like history with texture. It is equally interested in violence and wit, law and landscape, serious interpretation and the ridiculousness of trying to pronounce everything cleanly on a microphone.
Made for: Saga Thing suits listeners who enjoy medieval history, Norse literature, Icelandic sagas, close reading, and academic conversation with a dry comic edge.
What sets it apart: Its strength is the combination of slow textual analysis, recurring category-style judgment, and relaxed banter. The show makes saga structure, feud logic, and tiny narrative signals feel legible without flattening their strangeness.
Saga Thing is a podcast for people who love history, literature, Vikings and all things medieval. In each episode, the hosts review a saga from medieval Iceland and then dig in to categories for discussion, including: Best Bloodshed, Body Count, Notable Witticisms, Nicknames, Outlawry, Thingmen, and Ratings.
A saga trial where prophetic heirlooms meet terrible accents, and you get to enjoy both.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A sudden narrative break introduces Vigfus, a forceful son whose family ties point toward a coming feud.
Viga-Glum's Saga takes a sharp turn here: the Scuta and Gloom thread closes quickly, then the story moves to Thorir's death and Gloom's children. Jon and Andy linger over that jump before bringing in Vigfus, a son framed as boisterous, unscrupulous, strong, and courageous.
A wry reading of two beloved cousins whose happiness already feels dangerously temporary.
Vigaglum's saga moves into a deceptively settled phase as Arnor and Thordis, and Thorgrim and Harithrid, marry and have sons, Stainulf and Arngrim. The calm never feels entirely safe.
A gift-heavy return to Iceland turns saga banter toward something more ominous.
Viga-Glum's Saga turns a promised return to Norway into a compact study of ambition, reputation, and the stories people tell about power changing hands.
A wary host, a reckless guest, and family loyalty open Saga Thing's next saga.
Saga Thing begins Viga-Glum's Saga by bringing a new dispute into its mock courtroom, opening a fresh saga run after Jon and Andy clear some interviews and side projects from the docket.
Medieval power, read with institutional gravity.
European conflict with context and consequence.
Medieval Iberia, one consequence at a time.
Medieval history, criminally examined.
Empires, sieges, and final stands.
Crusades history through Byzantium’s long shadow.
["Episode 41d of Saga Thing argues that chapter 16 of Viga-Glum's Saga belongs to a separate story tradition, not the saga's main narrative, and the hosts compare its direct speech and historical present tense to the earlier saga of the people of Rekjadal and Killerskuta.", "Jon and Andy then narrate Killerskuta's ambush at Mithridal, where Gloom jumps into a ravine, jokes about a floating green cape, and turns the chase into a loss of face rather than a killing.", "The chapter's best-known trick comes when Skuta breaks his spear, rides bareback in a reversible cloak, and convinces Gloom's men that a shepherd named Manny saw the wrong man.", "The episode ends by snapping back to Vigaglum's family, introducing Vigfus, Halvard, Huttley the White, Barth, Einar, and a dispute over 12 missing wethers."]
Saga Thing Episode 41c covers Víga-Glúm's Saga chapters 10-15 after Jon and Andy spend the opening arguing about whether they can still finish the saga by the end of March.
Saga Thing's Viga-Glum's Saga chapters 6-9 center on a Frey-versus-Odin reading that John attributes to Gabriel Turville-Peter and Richard North.
Saga Thing opens a Vigaglum saga series by arguing over the text's dating, manuscript history, and the claim that it comes in at 19,503 words, or 2.14 Hrapenkels.
John and Andy present two spooky Icelandic saga tales for Halloween, including 'The Cairn-Dweller's Tale' and 'The Dream of Thorstein Siðu-Hallsson'.
An interview with Anna Melsteð about Icelandic sagas and a community tapestry project in Snæfellsnes.
An interview with Sigrún Guttormsdóttir Þormar at Snorrastofa about the life and legacy of Snorri Sturluson.
Saga Thing hosts John and Andy interview Icelandic tour guide Björn Grímsson about how Icelanders encounter the sagas through school, tourism, audiobooks, and national identity.
An interview with Dr.
John and Andy celebrate their 10th anniversary with a special segment featuring Rob and Jamie from Totalus Rankium, testing how well they know each other.