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A discussion on beauty in art and culture and its place in the Catholic faith.
Episodes
Sunday Dec 10, 2023
Sunday Dec 10, 2023
After an unexpected hiatus, Risking Enchantment is back. In this episode we’re taking a look at some classic family movies and what they can tell us about our attitudes towards growing up, and our modern tendency to stay in a perpetual adolescence. We’re looking at the kingdom of Vulgaria in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, where children are illegal but the toy maker is in high demand from the Baron and Baroness. We are also discussing Jim Henson’s Labyrinth where Sarah goes on a journey to leave behind some of her childish ways, and toys, in order to step up to her responsibilities and make new friends.
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:
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
Labyrinth (1986)
“You Have No Power Over Me”: When David Bowie Was Satan (A Tribute Of Sorts)
Childless society gone to the dogs, warns Pope
"On Three Ways of Writing for Children" by C.S. Lewis
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
"The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot
"How T.S. Eliot Predicted the Coming of Male Millennials"
"The Drift from Domesticity" by G.K. Chesterton
What We're Enjoying at the Moment
Phoebe: A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter
Rachel: Offerings by Typhoon (album)
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
Thursday Oct 26, 2023
“Fiction is hard if not impossible to write because fiction is so very much an incarnation art…The fact is that the materials of the fiction are the humblest. Fiction is about everything human and we are made out of dust, and if you scorn getting yourself dusty, then you shouldn’t try to write fiction. It’s not a grand enough job for you.” - Flannery O’Connor
In this episode we are joined by Shane Jenkins to discuss the mystery of the author Flannery O’Connor. We delve into her personal writing, in her prayer journal, her letters and her essays, in order to try to understand her and her writing. Much touted for her Catholicism, nevertheless many readers, especially Catholic readers, struggle with the bleak and grotesque imagery in her writing. While the power of her fiction stands on its own, in this episode we take a look at how Flannery’s personality, so vivid in her personal writing, helps position and give context to her fiction in a way that opens it up for readers today.
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Shane Jenkins
Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson @shanekins
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
Works Mentioned
Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose by Flannery O’Connor
The Habit of Being by Flannery O’Connor
Prayer Journal by Flannery O’Connor
The Complete Short Stories by Flannery O’Connor
Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor
Bishop Barron Presents | Ethan and Maya Hawke - Understanding Flannery
Wildcat (2023)
Flannery O'Connor Collection, Word on Fire Classics
What We’re Enjoying at the Moment:
Shane:
Typhoon
The 1975
John Lucas
Rachel
The Bear
Saturday Oct 07, 2023
Saturday Oct 07, 2023
“The perfect stillness of the night was thrilled by a more solemn silence. The darkness held a presence that was all the more felt because it was not seen. I could not any more have doubted that He was there than that I was. Indeed, I felt myself to be, if possible, the less real of the two.”
—William James
In this episode of Risking Enchantment, we are delighted to welcome back Katie Marquette, host of the podcast Born of Wonder, to talk about the experience of liminal spaces, what it means to encounter the numinous, and how we interpret this in our lives of faith. We discuss the Eucharist as the meeting point between heaven and earth, but also the moments of the 'thinning of the veil' to be found in nature and even our own homes.
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
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Rachel was also previously a guest on the Born of Wonder podcast. To listen to that episode, click here: Falling in Love with Words: Nora Ephron and You’ve Got Mail with Rachel Sherlock
Works Referenced:
Born of Wonder: S4:9 EP51: The Lure of the Edge and Trying to Capture it
Born of Wonder: S4:10 EP52: Thin Places: Lifting the Veil Between Heaven and Earth
A Photographer at the Ends of the Earth
Thomas Joshua Cooper | The World's Edge
Rudolf Otto's 'Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans' of the Numinous Experience
The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis
The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis
'Effing the Ineffable' by Roger Scruton
Letters to Malcolm by C.S. Lewis
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham
What We're Enjoying At the Moment:
Katie: Three Blind Mice by Agatha Christie
Rachel: House of David by Molly O'Mahony
Friday Sep 22, 2023
Friday Sep 22, 2023
"The man on his holiday becomes the man he might have been, the man he could have been, had things worked out a little differently. All men are equal on their holidays: all are free to dream their castles without thought of expense, or skill of architect. Dreams based upon such a delicate fabric must be nursed with reverence and held away from the crude light of tomorrow week."
- R.C. Sherriff
For our first official episode back, Rachel and Phoebe reflect on the importance of holidays, and the unique opportunity they hold to show virtue and love for your family or fellow travelers. We discuss R.C. Sherriff's tender portrayal of the small family moments on their traditional trip to the sea in The Fortnight in September, and we return to Elizabeth von Arnim's The Enchanted April to look at how selfishness and a need to protect one's own experience and comfort takes away from the spirit of generosity necessary for a good holiday.
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:
The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
'The War on Holidays' Utopia of Usurers, by G.K. Chesterton
What's Wrong with the World by G.K. Chesterton
What we’re enjoying at the moment:
Phoebe: Evangelium Conference
Rachel: Open mic nights
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
"First become a person" - St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
This bonus episode is the recording of a talk I gave over this summer for the Youth 2000 summer festival on Catholic womanhood.
The slides discussed in the talk can be found by clicking the following link: Presentation Slides
To find out more about Youth 2000 Ireland and their mission click here: Youth 2000
Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod
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
Friday May 26, 2023
Friday May 26, 2023
“Healing is impossible in loneliness; it is the opposite of loneliness. Conviviality is healing. To be healed we must come with all the other creatures to the feast of Creation.” - Wendell Berry
In this, our last episode before the summer break, Phoebe is back to discuss some of our favourite children’s literature. We explore the theme of health and healing, in Goodnight Mr. Tom and The Secret Garden, and how both stories show the importance of nature and community in human flourishing. Looking to the writing of Wendell Berry we discuss how our health, our environment and our society are all interconnected, and how our faith informs how we should cultivate all three of those strands of life.
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:
Goodnight Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
‘Health is Membership’ by Wendell Berry
The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry by Wendell Berry
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
What we’re enjoying at the moment:
Phoebe: The appendices discs to The Lord of the Rings extended edition
Rachel: Sam Amidon (musician)
Saturday Apr 22, 2023
Saturday Apr 22, 2023
“My films show the world’s beauty. Beauty otherwise unnoticed.”
- Hayao Miyazaki
In this episode of Risking Enchantment I'm joined by animator Robyn Conroy to discuss the highly acclaimed Studio Ghibli, a Japanese animation company whose films offer a deep sense of the goodness of life and the beauty of nature.
Studio Ghibli is cornerstone of Japanese entertainment culture, and has reached a global audience with films like Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, and Howl’s Moving Castle. It has been instrumental in preserving the tradition of 2D animation and the vast artist talent on show in its films has been a powerhouse of inspiration for all kinds of film makers. In this episode, Robyn and I discuss Studio Ghibli’s founder, Hayao Miyazaki and how he brings audiences into his worlds of goodness and beauty. Miyazaki brings together a love of the natural world, a commitment to close observation, and a belief in the goodness of life itself. While not creating stories from a specifically Christian perspective, Miyazaki’s films are filled with wonder and awe in God’s creation, and a deep sense of morality and virtue.
Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Robyn Conroy
Follow Rachel on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow Robyn on Instagram: @robynconroyart
Watch Robyn’s short film: The Beekeeper
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast
Related Episode:
- Over the Garden Wall: Finding Dante in the Unknown
- Stranger Things in Stranger Times: Nostalgia in the Digital Age
- The Prince of Egypt: An Epic in Animation
- Cartoon Saloon: Celtic and Christian Coexistence
- Howl's Moving Castle and the Fascination of Fairy Stories
Works Referenced:
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
Whisper of the Heart (1995)
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Spirited Away (2001)
Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
Ponyo (2008)
The Red Turtle (2016)
“Miyazaki's Reality” by Michael Toscano, First Things
“The worlds of Hayao Miyazaki” by Steven D. Greydanus, Decent Films
“Animated Nature: Aesthetics, Ethics, and Empathy in Miyazaki Hayao's Ecophilosophy” by Pamela Gossin
“Studio Ghibli Finds the True, the Good and the Beautiful” by Michelle McDaniel, National Catholic Register
‘“The Earth Speaks to Us All”: A Critical Appreciation of Filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s Shintō Environmental Philosophy’ by Adam Barkman, Christian Scholar’s Review
Hayao Miyazaki | The Mind of a Master
The Conflicting Ideals of Hayao Miyazaki | Video Essay
Spirited Away Production Notes
“The Ecological Imagination of Hayao Miyazaki: A Retrospective on Four Fantastical Worlds” by Isaac Yuen, Orion Magazine
“Hildegard of Bingen's Lament for the Environmental Crisis Caused by Human Sin” by Nathaniel Campbell, Church Life Journal
The Poems and Prose of Gerard Manly Hopkins
Maxims II
What We’re Enjoying at the Moment
Rachel: Cargo by Pio Hartnett
Robyn: Djo
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Monday Apr 17, 2023
Apologies for re-releasing this old episode, there was a technical issue which needed to be resolved. New episode of Risking Enchantment coming soon. Thank you for your patience!
“You may learn something, and whether what you see be fair or evil, that may be profitable, and yet it may not. Seeing is both good and perilous.”
- The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
In this episode of Risking Enchantment we’re discussing one of our favourite topics: The Lord of the Rings. We’re taking a look at the way Tolkien’s characters are often forced to make decisions and take action with very limited information. We also explore Tolkien’s theme of the tendency to despair that can be caused by receiving too much information, especially through magical means, a theme with great relevance today especially when drawn in comparison to technology and the transmission of news online. We look at the way that Tolkien’s interest in this element of his story impacts his writing approach, crafting the books in their leapfrogging narrative style, as well as the possible origins of this interest in his work as a signal’s officer in World War 1.
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 Referenced
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings (dir. Peter Jackson) Appendices Bonus Material
“JRR Tolkien, World War One Signals Officer” by Elizabeth Bruton
The Road to Middle Earth by Tom Shippey
Dracula by Bram Stoker
What we’re Enjoying at the Moment
Phoebe: Dracula by Bram Stoker
Rachel: Winters in the World by Eleanor Parker
Both: Living (2022, dir Oliver Hermanus)
Saturday Apr 01, 2023
Saturday Apr 01, 2023
“Do not fear death, but rather the unlived life. You don't have to live forever. You just have to live.” - Tuck Everlasting
In this episode, Rachel and Phoebe explore a variety of stories that explore the desire for immortality, and the challenge of embracing the reality of death. Beginning from perhaps a surprising starting point, the teen fantasy film Tuck Everlasting, we move into the depictions of the temptations to grasp eternal life in J.R.R. Tolkien’s work and in C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew. We draw out the parallels to the conceptions of unfallen Man in the Bible. We also discuss how we need to embrace the time that is given us, not to grasp on to our youth but to look forward to the future, both in this life and the next.
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
Tuck Everlasting (2002)
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
Leaf by Niggle by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Tolkien’s Modern Reading by Holly Ordway
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien edited by Humphrey Carpenter
About Time (2013)
‘"The Gift of Death": Tolkien's Philosophy of Mortality’ by Grant C. Sterling
Groundhog Day and the Meaning of Time, Born of Wonder podcast
What we’re Enjoying at the Moment
Phoebe: Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes by Mollie Panter-Downes
The Thing about Austen podcast
Rachel: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
Saturday Mar 11, 2023
Saturday Mar 11, 2023
‘Out of the east came the Magi bearing gifts,
hastening in their journey to the Christ child;
but now Irish scholars arrive from western lands,
bringing their precious gifts of learning’.
- Sedulius Scottus
As we’re approaching the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, we’re turning our focus to the patron saints of Ireland, St. Patrick and St Brigid. Greg Daly joins us to discuss the modern conceptions and celebrations of these saints: who they were as historical figures, who they weren’t as pagan deities, and how to approach their many miracle stories from our current perspective. We delve into the incredible achievements and faith of early Christian Ireland, and highlight the issues around the current trend of erasing faith from the celebration of Irish saints and Irish history in general.
Wishing our listeners a very happy St. Patrick’s Day.
“Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit!”
Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod
Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Greg Daly
Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast
Follow Greg on social media: @GregDalyIC, @thirstygargoyle
http://thethirstygargoyle.blogspot.com/
Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com
Find out more about Leaven Magazine at https://leavenmagazine.ie/
Works Mentioned:
A History of the Irish Church 400-700 AD
The Life of St. Brigid of Kildare by Cogitosus
“Distant glimmerings of Irish light”, Leaven by Fr Conor McDonough
“An unlikely saviour: Without folklore and folk traditions, Catholicism in Ireland might not have survived centuries of persecution and oppression”, Leaven by Francis Young
Ireland's Golden Age: 'The work of angelic, not human, skill’
“The New Paganism” by Hilaire Belloc
Heretics by G.K. Chesterton
What we’re enjoying at the moment:
Greg: Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series)
Rachel: Bleak House by Charles Dickens