"I have seen beauty thrive in the most fragile of places. I have seen the book. The book that turned darkness into light."

In this episode I am joined by Robyn Conroy to discuss the representation of Celtic and Christian heritage in the animated movies, The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea by Irish animation company Cartoon Saloon. Along with highlighting the beautiful artwork of these movies we also delve into how Catholics can interact with other kinds of cultural traditions and beliefs.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Robyn Conroy

Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson @robynconroyart

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works Mentioned:

The Beekeeper trailer

Cartoon Saloon

The Secret of Kells

Song of the Sea

Revealing The Secret of Kells, Part 1, Image Journal

Decent Films - The Song of the Sea, Review

Song of the Sea Blog 

 "On Fairy-Stories" Tree and Leaf: Including Mythopoeia by J.R.R. Tolkien

"Three Objections to Fairy Tales and C. S. Lewis's Response"

"Great Films for Kids: Song of the Sea"

"Fairy Tales" All Things Considered by G.K. Chesterton

Folk Catholicism, Wikipedia

The Importance of Myths and Fairy Tales for Christian Children, Catholic Exchange

What We're Enjoying at the Moment

Robyn: Man in the High Castle, TV series

Rachel: Great British Bake Off

‘Friendship is not only the message of the gospel, it is also the best medium for conveying it. As our Lord says ‘I no longer call you servant I now call you friends.’

- Dr. Scott Hahn

In this episode Maria and I discuss our excitement at the upcoming canonisation of John Henry Newman. We explore what Newman has taught us about friendship and the particular role it played in his own life and spiritual journey. We also take a moment to highlight our favourite poems of his and to mark his place in the literary world.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Maria Connolly

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works Mentioned:

Apologia Pro Vita Sua by John Henry Newman

'A Letter Addressed to the Duke of Norfolk on Occasion of Mr. Gladstone's Recent Expostulation'
Certain Difficulties Felt by Anglicans in Catholic Teaching, Volume 2 by John Henry Newman

In His Own Words: Newman on Friendship

Dr Scott Hahn on Newman's conversion

‘Sermon on Love of Relations and Friends’ by John Henry Newman

‘Sermon on Personal Influence, the Means of Propagating the Truth’ by John Henry Newman

Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis

'Tolstoy and the Cult of Simplicity' by G.K. Chesterton

'The Parting of Friends' by John Henry Newman

Snapdragon by John Henry Newman

'The Death of Gerontius' by John Henry Newman

'The Queen of Seasons' by John Henry Newman

What We're Enjoying at the Moment:

Maria: Georgette Heyer novels

Rachel: You've Got Mail

"Christ wanted love to be called his single commandment. This we owe to all men. Nobody is excepted.”

- Bartolomé de las Casas

In this episode I am joined by Conor Gaffey to discuss some of the most well known stories about Christian and Catholic missionaries. At turns revered and despised, missionaries remain as fascinating figures in modern storytelling. We discuss the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, as well as the films, The Mission, directed by Ronald Joffé and Silence, directed by Martin Scorsese. Taking these narratives as a starting point we discuss what it means to introduce Christianity to a culture, the failings and virtues of historical missions and what it means to be brought to the edge of faith.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Conor Gaffey

Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson, @ConorGaffey

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works Mentioned:

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

The Mission, directed by Roland Joffé

Silence, directed by Martin Scorsese

Decent Films Reviews: The Mission (1986)

Decent Films Reviews: Silence (2016)

What We're Enjoying at the Moment

Conor:

The Lion King (2019)

Spirit by Beyoncé

Rachel:

Nothing Arrived (Acoustic) by Villagers

‘I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good. Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can.' Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

We're delighted to be back from our summer break and we've launched back into the thick of things. In this episode Phoebe and I are looking at the novels of Jane Austen and what her heroines can teach us about holding onto moral integrity and our Christian call to overcome our personal failings to love with true freedom. 

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

Works Mentioned:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Emma by Jane Austen

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Persuasion by Jane Austen

The History of England’  by ‘a partial, prejudiced, & ignorant historian’ (Jane Austen)

'Jane Austen’s Morality of Marriage' by Guy McClung, The Imaginative Conservative

'Polite Lies: The Veiled Heroine of Sense and Sensibility' by Susan Morgan, Nineteenth-Century Fiction

The Habit of Being by Flannery O'Connor

'In Defense of Fanny Price: Why You Don’t Like Mansfield Park as Much as You Should' by Haley Stweart, Carrots for Michaelmas

Fountains of Carrots Podcast

'How to go to Confession', Catholic Stuff You Should Know

What we're enjoying at the moment

Phoebe:

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Rachel:

Band of Brothers

Chernobyl

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Ben Conroy, Matthias Conroy

Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson, @BenJDConroy, @ItsJustLupin 

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works mentioned:

The Young Pope (2016)

'Vatican newspaper finally critiques ‘The Young Pope’ — one year after its release'

'Waiting for a Young Pope' by Matthew Schmitz

The Medium and the Light by Marshall McLuhan

'Review: ‘The Young Pope’ Is Beautiful and Ridiculous' by James Poniewozik

What We're Enjoying at the Moment

Ben: Breaking Bad

Matthias: Attack on Titan

Rachel: Your Name (2016)

"Have courage, and be kind" as we take a look at some examples of modern female protagonists, the pitfalls of their portrayals and what they could learn from the lives of the saints.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock and Phoebe Watson

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works mentioned:

Barbara Nicolosi (Podcast: The Church of the Masses)

Wonder Woman

Captain Marvel

Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi

Star Wars: Rogue One

Twilight

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

Dumbo (2019)

A Wrinkle in Time (2018)

A Series of Unfortunate Events (Book series and film adaptation)

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Cinderella (2015)

Harry Potter (film series)

That Time Disney Remade Beauty and the Beast, Lindsay Ellis (YouTube video)

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

War and Peace (2016 TV series)

Anne of Green Gables

Anne with an E

Our Lady of Sorrows by Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson

Quote on Holiness by Pope Benedict XVI

Prayer of Discernment by Bl. John Henry Newman

The Life-Giving Will of the Father by Fr. Bonaventure Perquin, O.P.

Prayer of Abandonment by Thomas Merton

The Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Liseux

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment
Phoebe:
Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
The Club of Queer Trades by G.K. Chesterton

Rachel:
Eighth Grade

"Then whoever was born a poet became an architect... in the direction of architecture,—gushed forth through that art, and its Iliads assumed the form of cathedrals." - Victor Hugo

This week's episode comes from Rome, where we discuss the heritage and perspective that architecture gives to the Catholic faith. We discuss the recent fire at Notre Dame and look into Victor Hugo's famous novel on the cathedral to find out why these buildings hold a special place in our faith and history.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock and Phoebe Watson

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works and Authors mentioned:

Elizabeth Lev 

Built Form of Theology: The Natural Sympathies of Catholicism and Classicism

Elizabeth Lev on Notre Dame

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (This Will Kill That)

To make Britain Richer, Make Britain Beautiful

The Neuroscience of Architecture: The Good, the Bad—and the Beautiful

The Liturgical Arts Journal

What We're Enjoying at the Moment

Phoebe 

TV: Erased

Book: The Wanderings of Clare Skymer by George MacDonald

Rachel

Film: The Sisters Brothers

"The romance of the police force is thus the whole romance of man. It is based on the fact that morality is the most dark and daring of conspiracies." - G.K. Chesterton

In this episode we discuss Detective Fiction and the Detection Club, and whether or not this genre has a uniquely Catholic lens.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock and Chloe Chloe

Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson and @ChloeAMDG

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works and Authors mentioned:

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

“The Blue Cross,” The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

Chesterton.org

"The Great Detectives: G.K. Chesterton – Father Brown" by John Peterson

The Club of Queer Trades by G.K. Chesterton

"Detective Fiction Reinvention and Didacticism in G. K. Chesterton’s Father Brown" by Clifford James Stumme

"Detective fiction and the religious imagination" by David A. King

"A Defence of Detective Stories" by G.K. Chesterton

Taken by the Flood by Agatha Christie (Poirot)

Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie (Poirot)

Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie (Poirot)

The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie (Miss Marple)

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

"The Christian World of Agatha Christie" by Nick Baldock

Creed or Chaos?: Why Christians Must Choose Either Dogma or Disaster (Or, Why It Really Does Matter What You Believe) by Dorothy L. Sayers

Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers

The Belief of Catholics by Ronald Knox

The Viaduct Murder by Ronald Knox

"Studies in Sherlock Holmes" Essays in Satire by Ronald Knox

Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

"The Catholic Novels of Graham Greene" by Edward Short

"What Makes Great Detective Fiction, According to T. S. Eliot" by Paul Grimstad

East Coker by T.S. Eliot

What We're Enjoying at the Moment

Chloe: Downton Abbey

Rachel: The Bookcase, Carlisle, G.K's Weekly: A Sampler

"Even when they explore the darkest depths of the soul or the most unsettling aspects of evil, artists give voice in a way to the universal desire for redemption"

 In this episode we look at the approaches Catholics and Christians can have in encountering evil and violence in film.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock and Phoebe Watson

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works and Authors mentioned:

Christians and Movies: The Danger Within, Not Without - Patheos

"No Movies Please, We’re Catholic" - National Catholic Register

Why Do People like Violent Movies - Psychcentral

Faith and Film Criticism: The Challenge of the Catholic Critic - Decent Films

Inter Mirifica

What is Wrong with Movie Violence? - LA Review of Books

Painfotainment - Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History

Experiencing Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” - JStor

A Good Man is Hard to Find - Flannery O’Connor

Flannery O’Connor and the Violence of Christianity - Word on Fire

Passion Confessions

Christian Art and the Use of Violence - The Common Vision

The Scandal of Forgiveness in Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

Movies Discussed:

The Passion of the Christ

Mad Max: Fury Road

Hacksaw Ridge

You Were Never Really Here

Requiem For a Dream

Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment

Phoebe: Holy Week Liturgies

Rachel: Guys and Dolls, War Horse (Play)

“Our Lady, upon which all my own small perception of beauty both in majesty and simplicity is founded.” - J.R.R. Tolkien. In this episode of Risking Enchantment we discuss the female characters of The Lord of the Rings, and Middle Earth in general. We look at Tolkien's approach to women characters, the ideals and flaws they portray and how his Catholic faith informed his ideas of femininity.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock and Maria Connolly

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works and Authors mentioned:

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

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 Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, ed. Humphrey Carpenter

The Gospel According to Tolkien by Ralph C. Wood

The Once and Future King by T.H White

Risking Enchantment Episode 6: The Fall of Chivalry in Arthurian Legend

Secret Fire: The Spiritual Vision of J R R Tolkien by Stratford Caldecott 

YouTube: The History of Galadriel- Lord of the Rings Lore

YouTube: Shelob Lore - Lord of the Rings Lore

Beren and Luthien by J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien

What We’re Enjoying At the Moment

Rachel: Ronald Knox's Murder Mysteries

Tea with Tolkien