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A discussion on beauty in art and culture and its place in the Catholic faith.
Episodes
Wednesday Apr 30, 2025
Wednesday Apr 30, 2025
“The glory of colour, which was his chief gift, is a strange blend of dark beauty and almost spectral luminosity.” - A.Kelly
In this episode Rachel and Phoebe put a spotlight on one of Ireland’s great artists: Harry Clarke. Famed for his stained glass art, Clarke’s work can be found in churches throughout Ireland, exhibiting his astounding use of colour and his distinctive figurative style. We discuss his place in Irish art history and his work establishing a distinctively Irish style in the 20th century. We contrast his religious work with his secular, often literary based pieces, and his use of gothic and grotesque elements in both. And we discuss how Clarke’s distinctive style draws the humanity out in his depictions of saints and his biblical scenes.
Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson
Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Works Mentioned:
To see the stained glass pieces discussed in this episode, visit the Risking Enchantment Substack.
Dark Beauty: Hidden Detail in Harry Clarke’s Stained Glass by Lucy Costigan and Michael Cullen
Poems / by Theodore Maynard ; with an introduction by G.K. Chesterton
Alarms and Discursions by G.K.Chesterton
Orthodoxy by G.K Chesterton
What We’re Enjoying at the Moment
Phoebe: Murder on the Orient Express (on stage)
Rachel: A Spring Harvest by Geoffrey Bache Smith
Friday Mar 14, 2025
Friday Mar 14, 2025
"I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them."
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
In this episode, Jacob Moran returns to join me on a dive back into Middle-Earth, this time to explore the character of Frodo Baggins. Even among fans of The Lord of the Rings, Frodo comes in for a deal of criticism and even maligning, usually centred around his likeability and his failure at the end of the quest. Yet to misunderstand Frodo is to misunderstand a crucial part of what Tolkien is saying about heroism and virtue. In this episode Rachel and Jacob discuss Frodo's qualities, his example of self-sacrifice and his willingness to lay down even his likeability in order to save his friends and his home.
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock and Jacob Moran
Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Works Mentioned:
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, ed Humphrey Carpenter
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot
What We're Enjoying at the Moment:
Rachel: Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
Jacob: DnD campaign planning
Saturday Feb 08, 2025
Saturday Feb 08, 2025
"I was feeling like I never was young
Followed a dream and a strange desire
You picked me up in the dead of the night
And gave me a chance to move on inside of your mystery"
- You're Still a Mystery, Bleachers
In this February episode of Risking Enchantment, Matthias Conroy joins after a five year absence to talk about one of our favourite bands and albums, Strange Desire by Bleachers.
Bleachers is founded and fronted by pop producer extraordinaire Jack Antonoff. While he is most famous for his work co-writing and producing the music of Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey and The 1975, Jack’s band Bleachers gives him the space to explore emotions and experiences close to his heart, namely love, grief, sorrow and hope. While in no way a Christian album, Strange Desire gives a depth of wisdom to the experience of love that gives us glimpses of divine love. Even the album’s title ‘Strange Desire’ has an almost Augustinian quality, hinting at our restless hearts yearning for the world beyond our senses. In the episode we discuss and explore the themes of the album and show how we can encounter God in unlikely places in our life and in our culture.
Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson
The Risking Enchantment Substack account: https://riskingenchantment.substack.com/
Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
For links to the works mentioned in this podcast, visit our substack post below:
https://riskingenchantment.substack.com/p/strange-desire-and-the-mystery-of
What We’re Enjoying at the Moment:
Matthias:
David Bennet Piano - YouTube Channel
Rachel:
A Father Who Keeps His Promises by Scott Hahn
Saturday Jan 11, 2025
Saturday Jan 11, 2025
"[T]he life and work of the Forerunner, especially as presented in the gospel of John, greatly illuminates the poetic character of Christian life—indeed of all life"
- Dwight Lindley, "The Poetics of John the Baptist"
Risking Enchantment is back for 2025 and for our first episode of the year we’re taking a look at St. John the Baptist. We discuss a fictionalised depiction of his imprisonment by Henriette Brey, a 20th-century Catholic writer, as well at looking at how this foremost of saints is represented in art and how his very life and divine mission gives us a lens to understand art from a Christian perspective.
Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson
Important Links:
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The new Risking Enchantment Substack account: https://riskingenchantment.substack.com/
Sign up as a paid subscriber in order to receive our monthly newsletter of recommendations.
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The video of the conference panel featuring my talk: “The Ends of the Affairs: Medieval Ideals, Modern Trysts, and the Offering of Redemption in the Works of Graham Greene and T. H. White”
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The chapter discussed in this episode: “Out of the Depths” When The Soul Is In Darkness: A Book For Those That Labor And Are Burdened by Henriette Brey
Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Works Mentioned
“Out of the Depths” When The Soul Is In Darkness: A Book For Those That Labor And Are Burdened by Henriette Brey
“The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot
“The Poetics of John the Baptist”, by Dwight Lindley - Dappled Things
L’Apparition by Gustave Moreau
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Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grunewald
John the Baptist by Donatello (V&A Hall of Casts)
Saint John the Baptist by Leonardo da Vinci
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Bacchus by Leonardo da Vinci
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What We’re Enjoying at the Moment
Phoebe: Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
12 Angry Men
Rachel: When Harry Met Sally
Word on Fire Bible Series
Saturday Nov 09, 2024
Saturday Nov 09, 2024
"I can imagine that if there existed a God who loved, the devil would be driven to destroy even the weakest, most faulty imitation of that love. Wouldn’t he be afraid that the habit of love might grow, and wouldn’t he try to trap us all into being traitors, into helping him extinguish love."
- Graham Greene
This episode of Risking Enchantment features a recording of paper given by Rachel Sherlock at this year's Fall Conference held by the de Nicola Institute for Ethics in Culture in Notre Dame University, held in conjuction with the Biennial Catholic Imagination Conference. the theme was Ever Ancient, Ever New: On Catholic Imagination. The focus of the conference was on the literary arts and so this paper was part of a panel on the author Graham Greene.
Host: Rachel Sherlock
Follow Rachel on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Find out more about the conference: https://ethicscenter.nd.edu/programs/fall-conference/2024-ever-ancient-ever-new/
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod
Sunday Sep 22, 2024
Sunday Sep 22, 2024
“I am not a reformer nor an embalmer! I am not a ‘reformer’ (by exercise of power) since it seems doomed to Sarumanism. But ‘embalming’ has its own punishments.”
-J.R.R. Tolkien
For this episode we are delighted to be joined by Dr. Holly Ordway, Fellow of Faith and Culture at the Word on Fire Institute. We discuss her recent title, Tolkien's Faith: A Spiritual Biography, which traces Tolkien’s experience of the Catholic faith throughout his life, how he integrated it into his daily practices, his personal life and his work. We discuss his early religious experiences, his opinions on changes in the liturgy, and the ways he integrated his work and faith in his translation work especially on the Book of Jonah.
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Dr Holly Ordway
Follow Rachel on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow Holly on social media: @HollyOrdway
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Find out more about Holly at http://www.hollyordway.com/
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod
Works Mentioned
Tolkien’s Faith: A Spiritual Biography by Dr Holly Orday
Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages by Dr Holly Ordway
The Letters of J.R.R Tolkien
Tolkien and the Great War by John Garth
What We’re Enjoying at the Moment
Holly: The Three Investigators Series by Robert Arthur, Jr.
Rachel: The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
Saturday Jun 08, 2024
Saturday Jun 08, 2024
“I'm capable of a great jerk, an effort, and then a relaxation—but steady, every-day goodness is beyond me. I must be a moral kangaroo!”
-Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
In our final episode before the summer break, Phoebe and Rachel are joined by their good friend, and long-time Risking Enchantment listener, Jacob Moran, to discuss his favourite novel: Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell. We discuss how Gaskell demonstrates the precariousness of the moral life, even or perhaps especially in middle class and comfortable lives. The novel highlights the need to cultivate every-day virtue and how easily we can stray from our principles. We explore these themes through the various contrasting characters, including Molly Gibson with her steadfast virtue in difficult circumstances, her step-mother Mrs Gibson with all her facade of care.
We hope you enjoy the summer and we look forward to returning with more Risking Enchantment episodes in September.
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson, Jacob Moran
Follow us on social media: Rachel: @seekingwatson Jacob: @piousmouse
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Works Mentioned:
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Keeping Your Word: Unfashionable Virtues in North and South - Risking Enchantment
‘Advice’ by Robert Crawford
What We’re Enjoying at the Moment
Collective Recommendation:
The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel - Jenny Nicholson
Phoebe:
Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot - performed by CityLit Theatre, Chicago
Rachel:
Wildcat (2023)
Jacob:
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Tuesday May 07, 2024
Tuesday May 07, 2024
“Joyful singing and music is likewise a constant invitation to believers and to all people of good will to work hard to give humanity a future rich in hope.”
-Pope Benedict XVI
In this episode we are joined by Katie Marquette, host of the Born of Wonder podcast. We discuss our love of music, what can learn about the human desire to write new songs about our common experiences, and how participating in the creation of music unites us to the music imbued in God’s creation.
Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Katie Marquette
Listen to Katie’s podcast: Born of Wonder
Follow Rachel on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow Katie on social media: @bornofwonder
Read Katie on Substack: https://bornofwonder.substack.com/
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Join Katie Marquette on a pilgrimage to Ireland: https://www.bornofwonder.com/come-to-ireland-with-me
Rachel was also previously a guest on the Born of Wonder podcast. To listen to that episode, click here: S7:10 EP102: Taylor Swift and the Power of Collective Experience with Rachel Sherlock
Works Referenced:
Music is fundamentally joy, says this professor of music
Pope Benedict XVI and The Power of Music
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons
What We’re Enjoying at the Moment
Katie: Les Misérables [Katie’s recent episode on this topic: S7:12 EP 104: The Economy of Love in Les Miserables with Maddie Dobrowski]
Rachel: Detectorists
Thursday Apr 18, 2024
Thursday Apr 18, 2024
"We are watchful for works written in a contemporary idiom that yet reach the roots of fundamental questions, that honor the almost three-thousand-year-long conversations committed to these questions, and that incite our hunger for the splendor of truth."
Masthead for Wiseblood Books
We are delighted to welcome to the podcast Mary Finnegan, deputy editor at Wiseblood Books, a small Catholic press which fosters works of fiction, poetry, and philosophy. In our episode today we discuss the process of publishing, how to strive for excellent in craft while encouraging new writers, and publishing as a vocation. We dive into Dana Gioia's essay "The Catholic Writer Today" and address the problems facing Catholic writing and publishing in our current times.
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Mary Finnegan
Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson @maryraphaela
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod
Wiseblood Books: https://www.wisebloodbooks.com/
University of St Thomas: Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Dappled Things: https://www.dappledthings.org/
Works Mentioned
"The Catholic Writer Today" by Dana Gioia - Article in First Things
The Catholic Writer Today by Dana Gioia - Monograph by Wiseblood
Mystery and Manners by Flannery O'Connor
"Christianity and Poetry" by Dana Gioia - Article in First Things
Christianity and Poetry by Dana Gioia - Monograph by Wiseblood
Under Satan's Sun by Georges Bernanos
The Demons: A Double-Volume Novel by Heimito von Doderer
Seneca: The Madness of Hercules, Translated and Introduced by Dana Gioia
Memory's Abacus: Poems by Anna Lewis
Painting Over the Growth Chart: Poems, by Dan Rattelle
Works of Mercy by Sally Thomas
How to Think Like a Poet by Ryan Wilson
What We're Enjoying at the Moment
"A Theology of Fiction" by Cassandra Nelson
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
Saturday Mar 30, 2024
Saturday Mar 30, 2024
“What does the Lord want of me? Of course, this is always a great adventure, but life can be successful only if we have the courage to be adventurous, trusting that the Lord will never leave me alone, that the Lord will go with me and help me.”
– Pope Benedict XVI
For this episode of Risking Enchantment, Rachel and Phoebe discuss Arthur Ransome’s series of children’s books known as the Swallows and Amazons series. These books are full of wonder and imagination as well as practical detail, as they follow a group of children spending their holidays in the Lake District of northern England. The children sail, set up camp, climb mountains and have many delightful adventures. In our podcast discussion we explore the importance of this sense of adventure for both children and adults, and how this relates to our spiritual lives and how we embrace God’s plan for us. We discuss the balance of duty and responsibility with the sense of freedom that this kind of adventuring perspective brings, and we highlight the connection with Creation that can come from being out in nature.
Works mentioned in this episode
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
Swallowdale by Arthur Ransome
Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Matilda by Roald Dahl
‘Swallows and Amazons for Ever!’ Slightly Foxed, by Jim Ring
Spe Salvi by Pope Benedict XVI
S2:9 EP18: Wonder in a Digital Age, Born of Wonder podcast
“Swallows, Amazons and Adventure, Part 1” by Jon Sparks
“Oxford Junior Dictionary’s replacement of ‘natural’ words with 21st-century terms sparks outcry”, The Guardian, Alison Flood
What We’re Enjoying at the Moment:
Phoebe: BBC’s Hildegard von Bingen - In Portrait (1994)
Rachel: Knitting