Welcome to Mythogin
What We Do
Mythogin is an independent project dedicated to the examination of American culture by studying its roots in the stories we tell each other. We define culture as a force that shapes economic prosperity, national security, and the potential of every individual to achieve their life goals.
The most influential stories shape culture for generations and become cornerstones of civilization. These take on mythic qualities that define human values and human aspirations. We study mythic storytelling not as fantasy, but as a living structure that informs our beliefs, identity, and actions.
Who Mythogin Is For
Storytelling is not reserved for authors or artists alone — it is central to how societies explain themselves, transmit values, and respond to crisis. Understanding stories is therefore essential to cultural renewal. We aim to spark curiosity, foster respectful debate, and encourage wider engagement with the narratives that organize modern life.
All of us are consumers, transmitters, and producers of culture; we all have a stake in understanding the stories that shape our shared reality.
The Genesis of Mythogin
The name Mythogin was coined to represent the underpinnings of myth and the ways in which values and identity are transmitted and shaped throughout society.
In English, many words associated with movement and creation trace back to the root gen, echoing the Greek gennao, meaning “to give birth.” But the root gen also overlaps with the Semitic root “JNN.” This word, pronounced “jin,” means to conceal, and thus became the basis for hidden forces or spirits that influence human affairs. Some of this was popularized in Persian myths, such as One Thousand and One Nights. Centuries later, this influenced the English conception of “genies,” which make appearances in stories like “Aladdin.”
Mytho-gen literally means “to give birth to myth,” but Mytho-gin takes a wider lens — examining not only how myths arise, but how stories evolve, decay, and are repurposed within modern economic and technological systems.
We intentionally chose a name distinct from commercial branding efforts that seek to commodify mythic language without engaging its deeper significance.
How We Work
Through critical analysis and creative exploration, we invite objective examination of our culture. We analyze the values, principles, and worldviews embedded in stories, and how they influence beliefs and actions. This gives readers tools to form their own conclusions about the significance of those stories.
The Fierce Urgency of Now
When informed political debate collapses into binary identity politics, self-identity becomes central to the survival of the nation-state. If identity is tightly bound to an “us vs them” worldview — “heroes vs villains” — reality is replaced by fantasy. A fantasy cannot survive the war it produces.
But this is not the American story. Americans, more than any other people, have envisioned themselves as champions of freedom, opportunity, and prosperity. Our ideals—articulated in the Declaration of Independence and the Federalist Papers, and concretized in the Constitution— recognize that prosperity and security rely on an American identity that is broad, inclusive, and equitable: “We the people,” not “we the tribe,” “we the elite,” or “we the minority.”
