Banyan Stories

Support the show

Help the banyan grow.

Banyan Stories is free, and always will be. If it has become part of your family's evenings, you can help us research, write and record more stories, and get special episodes as our thanks.

Ways to support

Supporter

$5 a month

or $50 a year, two months free

  • Every special episode, including new ones as they arrive
  • A private player page and your own podcast feed
  • Cancel any time

One special episode

$3 each

Yours to keep

  • Choose any special episode below
  • Listen on the web or in your podcast app
  • No subscription

Prices are in Canadian dollars and include any sales tax. Payments are handled securely by Stripe; we never see your card.

Special episodes

For supporters

Specials are stories of their own, and bonus episodes that go deeper into a story you already know. They're researched and reviewed just like every public episode.

Season 1: The Ramayana, Night by Night

Special

The Ramayana, Night by Night, part 1: The Prince Who Broke the Bow

Rama, his brothers and Sita are introduced as the sage Visvamitra leads two young princes into the forest, and Rama lifts a bow no one else could even move. Where the epic begins, and how it was first sung.

Special

The Ramayana, Night by Night, part 2: Fourteen Years in the Forest

A coronation turns into an exile. Rama keeps his father's promise, and his brother Bharat makes a promise of his own, ruling with Rama's sandals on the throne.

Special

The Ramayana, Night by Night, part 3: The Golden Deer

A shimmering golden deer, a clever trick, and the brave old bird Jatayu. Plus a notebook surprise about a famous detail that isn't in Valmiki at all.

Special

The Ramayana, Night by Night, part 4: The Monkey King’s Promise

Rama makes a friend for life in Hanuman and an ally in the monkey king Sugriva, and an old bird points the way to Sita.

Special

The Ramayana, Night by Night, part 5: Hanuman in the Asoka Grove

Hanuman searches a city of gold by moonlight and finds Sita in a grove of trees. A ring, a jewel, and the bravest message ever carried.

Special

The Ramayana, Night by Night, part 6: The Bridge Across the Sea

Rama's army builds a bridge across the ocean, a brother changes sides for what is right, and a sleeping giant is very hard to wake.

Special

The Ramayana, Night by Night, part 7: The Lamps of Ayodhya

The long journey home: a flying chariot, a brother who waited fourteen years, and a kingdom lit up for a homecoming. Plus where the story goes next in other tellings.

How it works

  1. Choose and pay

    Pick a plan or an episode and pay on Stripe's secure checkout. We only ask a grown-up's email.

  2. Get your private link

    You land on your own page, and we email the link so you can always find it.

  3. Listen your way

    Play episodes in the browser, or add your private feed to your podcast app.

Enter the email you paid with, and we'll send your private link again.

Questions

Will the podcast stay free?

Yes. Every regular episode stays free on the website and in podcast apps.

How do I cancel?

Open your private page and choose “Manage subscription”. You keep listening until the end of the period you've paid for. Episodes you bought one at a time stay yours.

Can I get a refund?

Yes, within 14 days. See terms and refunds.

What do you do with my details?

We keep your email so we can send your link, and Stripe keeps the payment details. We never ask for a child's information. See privacy.