Journey of the Monkey King

By: Caoimhe Ní Chaoimh & M.J. Stokes
Listen for free

  • Summary

  • Journey to the West is one of the most influential books ever written and has inspired countless stories, including Monkie Kid, Dragon Ball and BBC’s Monkey, but has been obscure in the West. Caoimhe Ní Chaoimh hosts a lighthearted chapter by chapter discussion of the novel with her friend, comedian M.J. Stokes. New episodes come out every second Wednesday.
    ©2020-2024 Caoimhe Ní Chaoimh & M.J. Stokes
    Show more Show less
Art Comedy & Humor Literary History & Criticism World
Show more Show less
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2
Episodes
  • Introductions

    Introductions
    May 12 2020

    Caoimhe and M.J. talk about the novel Journey to the West and why they wanted to make a podcast about the incredibly famous novel that no one has heard of.

    Links:

    • “List of media adaptations of Journey to the West” on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_media_adaptations_of_Journey_to_the_West

    • Episode artwork from A Modern Journey to the West by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi: https://yoshitoshi.net/series/journeywest.html

    • Journey of the Monkey King on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/monkeykingpod

    • Journey of the Monkey King on the Fediverse: https://mastodon.ie/@monkeykingpod

    • M.J. on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emjaystokes

    • Caoimhe’s website: https://oakreef.ie

    • Buy us a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/monkeykingpod
    Show more Show less
    14 mins
  • #1—Laser Monkey & Chinese Unicorn Giraffe

    #1—Laser Monkey & Chinese Unicorn Giraffe
    May 13 2020

    Caoimhe & M.J. discuss the first chapter of Journey to the West and get side tracked by laser eyes and what exactly the word “unicorn” is a translation of.

    Links:

    • “Qilin” on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qilin

    • “Ming treasure voyages” on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_treasure_voyages

    • “Buddhist cosmology” on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Buddhist_cosmology&oldid=955126741#Earthly_realms

    • Episode artwork is a 1666 painting of a Qilin by Kanō Tannyū, as photographed by Sailko: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Periodo_edo,_kano_tan’yu,_uccelli_volanti_e_animali_che_corrono,_1666,_02.JPG

    • Journey of the Monkey King on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/monkeykingpod

    • Journey of the Monkey King on the Fediverse: https://mastodon.ie/@monkeykingpod

    • M.J. on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emjaystokes

    • Caoimhe’s website: https://oakreef.ie

    • Buy us a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/monkeykingpod
    Show more Show less
    35 mins
  • #2—The Secrets of Immortality & Self-replicating Monkeys

    #2—The Secrets of Immortality & Self-replicating Monkeys
    May 20 2020

    Journey to the West chapter two, featuring immortality, unwholesome meats and the Epic of Gilgamesh being gay.

    Spoilers for The Good Place between 3:18 and 04:45 when we discuss some existential issues.

    Links:

    • “Epic of Gilgamesh” from In Our Time by BBC Radio 4: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b080wbrq

    • “Chinese units of measurement” on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chinese_units_of_measurement&oldid=952184981#Length

    • “Wu Cheng’en” on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Cheng’en

    • “Flann O’Brian” on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flann_O’Brien

    • Episode artwork from A Modern Journey to the West by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi: https://yoshitoshi.net/series/journeywest.html

    • Journey of the Monkey King on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/monkeykingpod

    • Journey of the Monkey King on the Fediverse: https://mastodon.ie/@monkeykingpod

    • M.J. on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emjaystokes

    • Caoimhe’s website: https://oakreef.ie

    • Buy us a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/monkeykingpod
    Show more Show less
    51 mins

What listeners say about Journey of the Monkey King

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com reviews

Amazon reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Ijw

too many digressions

less personal philosophy and more information about The monkey King. I'm interested in the story but they keep heading into personal and baseless conjecture.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Cherry

Good story but they talk to much

I really like the story but they don’t go deeper into the details of it and I’m lazy so I don’t want to read it myself which leads to lack of information for me.

Ps I do like some of the digressions though

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!