EP 43: Leigh Melander & Brad Olson
Tue Jan 13 2026
In this episode of The Podcast With A Thousand Faces, mythologist Leigh Melander joins longtime friend and fellow Campbell scholar Brad Olson for a wide-ranging, playful, and deeply human conversation about myth, imagination, and meaning.
Drawing from their shared history at Pacifica Graduate Institute and their long involvement with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, Leigh and Brad explore myth not as a static archive of ancient stories, but as a living, breathing way of seeing — one that quietly shapes how we understand ourselves, our culture, and the world we’re making together.
Along the way, Leigh brings her full mythic lineage into the room: her background in cultural mythology and psychology, her longtime leadership with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, and her work as co-founder of Spillian, a regenerative center for imagination and creativity in the Catskills. She shares how her scholarship and creative practice converge around play, frivolity, and the imaginal as serious forces for transformation — whether through ritual, community, writing, or her evolving SpillianQuest project, a mycelial web of tools and adventures designed to help people create meaning in times of change.
What emerges is a conversation rooted in friendship and intellectual play — a reminder that myth doesn’t give us answers so much as it sharpens our questions. It’s an invitation to loosen our grip on the literal, re-enter the imaginal, and remember that myth is still alive, thinking through us, and quietly asking us to participate.
Learn more about Leigh and Spillian at https://spillian.com/
For more information on the MythMaker Podcast Network and Joseph Campbell, visit JCF.org.
To subscribe to our weekly MythBlasts go to jcf.org/subscribe
The Podcast With A Thousand Faces is hosted by Tyler Lapkin and is a production of the Joseph Campbell Foundation. It is produced by Tyler Lapkin. Executive producer, John Bucher. Audio mixing and editing by Tristan Batt.
All music exclusively provided by APM Music (apmmusic.com)
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In this episode of The Podcast With A Thousand Faces, mythologist Leigh Melander joins longtime friend and fellow Campbell scholar Brad Olson for a wide-ranging, playful, and deeply human conversation about myth, imagination, and meaning. Drawing from their shared history at Pacifica Graduate Institute and their long involvement with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, Leigh and Brad explore myth not as a static archive of ancient stories, but as a living, breathing way of seeing — one that quietly shapes how we understand ourselves, our culture, and the world we’re making together. Along the way, Leigh brings her full mythic lineage into the room: her background in cultural mythology and psychology, her longtime leadership with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, and her work as co-founder of Spillian, a regenerative center for imagination and creativity in the Catskills. She shares how her scholarship and creative practice converge around play, frivolity, and the imaginal as serious forces for transformation — whether through ritual, community, writing, or her evolving SpillianQuest project, a mycelial web of tools and adventures designed to help people create meaning in times of change. What emerges is a conversation rooted in friendship and intellectual play — a reminder that myth doesn’t give us answers so much as it sharpens our questions. It’s an invitation to loosen our grip on the literal, re-enter the imaginal, and remember that myth is still alive, thinking through us, and quietly asking us to participate. Learn more about Leigh and Spillian at https://spillian.com/ For more information on the MythMaker Podcast Network and Joseph Campbell, visit JCF.org. To subscribe to our weekly MythBlasts go to jcf.org/subscribe The Podcast With A Thousand Faces is hosted by Tyler Lapkin and is a production of the Joseph Campbell Foundation. It is produced by Tyler Lapkin. Executive producer, John Bucher. Audio mixing and editing by Tristan Batt. All music exclusively provided by APM Music (apmmusic.com)