Risking Enchantment

“He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen came into his dreams. He began to say to himself: ‘Perhaps I shall cross the River myself one day.’ To which the other half of his mind always replied: ‘Not yet.’”

• J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

In this episode of the podcast Rachel and Phoebe discuss their love of autumn, the glory of its natural splendour and the joy to be found in the rituals of decoration homes and drawing in from the elements. But within this discussion is an exploration of the seeming boom in the commercialisation and content packaging of the season, seen across social media and even high street shops. Among the points discussed are René Girard’s theory of mimetic desire, how social media draws us into both inspiration and envy, and how to find a balanced way to embrace the season.

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 Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

WOF 348: The Power of Mimetic Desire w/ Luke Burgis, The Word on Fire Podcast

Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life by Luke Burgis

The Sorrows of Autumn - Born of Wonder Podcast

Daydress 

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Persuasion by Jane Austen 

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montegomery

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien edited by Humphrey Carpenter

Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montegomery

Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

Thomas Wingfold, Curate by George MacDonald

The Hawk in the Rain by Ted Hughes

‘October’ by Edward Thomas

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment

Rachel: See How They Run (2022)

Phoebe: A Tangled Web by Lucy Maud Montegomery

‘But my dear Sebastian, you can’t seriously believe it all’

‘Can’t I?’

‘I mean about Christmas and the star and the three kings and the ox and the ass.’

‘Oh yes, I believe that. It’s a lovely idea.’

‘But you can’t believe things because they’re a lovely idea.’

‘But I do. That’s how I believe.’

• Brideshead Revisited

Risking Enchantment returns for its autumn/winter season. As promised our first episode back is about Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. We discuss the novel in terms of its theme of the idolization of beauty, and look at how beauty both pulls characters away from God and draws them close to Him. We compare Sebastian’s childlike and childish approach to beauty and life, with Charles’ devotion but ultimately superficial love of beauty and art. At the heart of the discussion is Waugh’s self-proclaimed theme of the operation of divine grace, and how beauty provides an opportunity for this grace to be received.

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

Worked Referenced

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

Brideshead Revisited (TV mini series, 1981)

Scoop by Evelyn Waugh

“A Twitch upon the Thread: Grace in Brideshead Revisited” by Annesley Anderson

“Brideshead Revisited During Lent” by Patrick Tomassi

“The rejection of beauty in Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited” by Laura White

“From Arcadia to Ascesis: the necessary loss of pleasure in Brideshead Revisited” by Joanna Bratten

The Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment

Rachel: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

Phoebe: The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge

"Romance is the deepest thing in life; romance is deeper even than reality."

- G.K. Chesterton

In this last episode of Risking Enchantment before the summer break, Rachel and Phoebe share their experience of watching musicals from the Golden Age of Hollywood. We discuss their peculiar charm, the effects of the era in which they were made, from cultural mores to filming techniques, and why they are a beautiful resource for those looking to see God's beauty in the world.

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

Films Referenced and Recommended in this Episode

• Singin' in the Rain

Other Works Referenced

Manalive! by G.K. Chesterton

The Healing Power of Gene Kelly by Emily Kubincanek

'Why Hollywood Matters', talk given by Barbara Nicholosi

'The Golden Age of Censorship' by Peter Tonguette

What We're Enjoying at the Moment

Rachel: Financial Times Cryptic Crosswords

Phoebe: Victorian Doll House Book

“The human mind has no more power of inventing a new value than of imagining a new primary colour, or, indeed, of creating a new sun and a new sky for it to move in.”

• C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

In this episode we are joined by Michael Ward, author of the award-winning and best-selling Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis and After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man. We discuss Michael’s theory, laid out in Planet Narnia, that Lewis wrote the series to have each book centred around the influence of each of the seven heavenly bodies of medieval cosmology. We also discuss Lewis’ work the need for objective truth, especially in education, in The Abolition of Man, how he represented these ideas through fiction in his Space Trilogy, in particular the last book of the series That Hideous Strength.

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Michael Ward

Follow Rachel on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Find out more about Michael at: https://michaelward.net/

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Works Mentioned

Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis by Michael Ward

The Narnia Code: C. S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens by Michael Ward

After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man by Michael Ward

The Narnia Chronicles by C.S. Lewis

The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis

The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Manalive! By G.K Chesterton

Sherlock (TV Series)

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment

Michael: A Man for all Seasons (1966)

      Any Human Heart by William Boyd

Rachel: Sabrina (1964)

“[Paradox is] truth standing on its head to gain attention." - G.K. Chesterton

In this Easter episode of Risking Enchantment, Rachel and Phoebe discuss two of Chesterton’s books: Manalive and St. Francis of Assisi. We draw out the similarities in themes, characters, and messages between the two books, in particular the use of paradoxes and seeming contradictions, as well as the general atmosphere of vibrant and energetic virtue. The main characters of each of these books, Innocent Smith, and St. Francis of Assisi both turn the world upside down in various ways, inverting people’s expectations and confounding their preconceptions. In both cases Chesterton uses his typical contrarian charm to show his readers the wondrous gift of life through God.

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 in this Episode:

Manalive by G.K. Chesterton

St. Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

“Chesterton and Saint Francis” by Joseph Pearce

“Reason Exhausted: Paradoxes of G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis” by Sara Park McLaughlin

“Two Kinds of Paradox” by G.K. Chesterton

What We're Enjoying at the Moment:

Phoebe: Georgette Heyer Novels

Rachel: Holiday to Rome

[Joseph’s] incomparable example as a saint fortunate among so many for having lived a common life with Jesus and Mary—a life of service to Christ, a service born of love.

- Saint Paul VI on the Feast of Saint Joseph (March 19, 1966)

We’re delighted to welcome Elizabeth Lev back to the podcast. In her first episode, ​​Elizabeth Lev: Founding Christian Art and Redeeming Roman Myth we discussed her book How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art the how early Christians evangelised to the Romans through art and architecture. Now Elizabeth is joining us again to discuss her new book The Silent Knight: A History of St. Joseph as Depicted in Art. We talk about Pope Francis’ call to turn in prayer to St Joseph in our current age, the many ways that St Joseph has been represented in art throughout the centuries, and how this art can help us to cultivate a devotion to him.

Follow Elizabeth Lev:

Twitter: @lizlevrome

Instagram: @lizlevinrome

Website: elizabeth-lev.com

Elizabeth also runs Masters' Gallery Rome where you can join to get great lectures about Roman art.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, 

Follow us on social media: @seekingwatson 

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Works Mentioned:

How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art by Elizabeth Lev

The Silent Knight: A History of St. Joseph as Depicted in Art by Elizabeth Lev

Patris Corde by Pope Francis

Joseph the Worker by Modesto Faustini

Flight to Egypt by Giotto

Washing of the Feet by Giotto

St Joseph Cradling the Infant Christ by Guido Reni

Rest on the Flight to Egypt by Caravaggio

Christ Crowning Saint Joseph by Francisco de Zurbarán

St. Joseph and the Child Jesus by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Flight to Egypt by Gislebertus, Autun Cathedral

Death of Saint Joseph by Giuseppe Maria Crespi

Death of Saint Joseph by William Blake

Limbo by Sister Mary Ada

Rest on the Flight to Egypt by Barroci

Nuptials of the Virgin by Rosso Fiorrentino

The Holy Family with a Palm Tree by Raphael

Betrothed – Glimpses of the Betrothal of Mary and Joseph by Paraic Maher

The Nagasaki Martyrs by the Cuzco School

St. Joseph and the Child Jesus by Dony MacManus

The Holy Family by Janet McKenzie

St. Joseph Terror of Demons by Bernadette Carstensen

St. Joseph and the Christ Child by Francesco Grandi

What We’re Enjoying At the Moment

Face to Face: Portraits of the Divine in Early Christianity by Robin M Jensen

“The Word himself was the first Gardener. In the beginning he planted a tree in the garden of Eden that grew the fruit of immortal life"

- Vigen Guroian

In this episode Rachel is joined by Reba Luiken, director of Allen Centennial Garden at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to discuss how gardening grounds us, both in the gifts of our bodies and the gifts of Creation. We talk about how we can look to Nature to understand God, and how the seasonal year helps us to understand our faith and the sacraments.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Reba Luiken

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 in this Episode

Inheriting Paradise by Vigen Guroian

The Fragrance of God by Vigen Guroian

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Springing into the Season - Risking Enchantment

"Christ the Gardener of our Souls" by Brent Klaske, Angelus Press

"Godly Gardening", Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating by Norman Wirzba

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

Beasts at Bedtime: Revealing the Environmental Wisdom in Children's Literature by Liam Heneghan

The Secret Garden by Lucy Maud Montegomery

Laudato si' by Pope Francis

The Grace of Enough: Pursuing Less and Living More in a Throwaway Culture by Haley Stewart

Things We're Enjoying At The Moment

Reba: Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee

Rachel: Mary Poppins Soundtrack, LP

“The great abstract nouns of the classical English moralists are unblushingly and uncompromisingly used: good sense, courage, contentment, fortitude…Contrasted with the world of modern fiction, Jane Austen’s is at once less soft and less cruel.” - C.S. Lewis, “A Note on Jane Austen”

In this episode, we are joined by Haley Stewart, a Catholic convert, writer, speaker, podcaster, and Managing Editor of Word on Fire Spark, their new publishing line for children and young readers. We discuss Haley’s new book, coming this March, Jane Austen's Genius Guide to Life: On Love, Friendship, and Becoming the Person God Created You to Be by Haley Stewart. We talk about the profound and vibrant ways Jane Austen explores morals and virtues in her novels. In particular we highlight the themes of prudence and constancy in Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park, respectively, as well as speaking about Austen’s peculiar genius for rendering the moral journeys of her characters. 

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Haley Stewart

Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast

Follow Haley on social media: @HaleyCarrots

Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast

Find Haley Stewart’s Work:

Jane Austen's Genius Guide to Life: On Love, Friendship, and Becoming the Person God Created You to Be by Haley Stewart

The Grace of Enough: Pursuing Less and Living More in a Throwaway Culture by Haley Stewart

Carrots for Michaelmas blog

Fountains of Carrots Podcast

Word on Fire Institute

Works Mentioned:

Jane Austen's Genius Guide to Life: On Love, Friendship, and Becoming the Person God Created You to Be by Haley Stewart

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Emma by Jane Austen

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Love and Friendship by Jane Austen, introduction by G.K. Chesterton

The Illustrated Letters of Jane Austen, Selected and Introduced by Penelope Hughes-Hallett

“A Note on Jane Austen”, Selected Literary Essays by C.S. Lewis

Things We’re Enjoying at the Moment

Haley: All Creatures Great and Small (2020 TV Series)

Rachel: Caper Board Game

“I now see that I spent most of my life in doing neither what I ought nor what I liked”.

C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

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 in this Episode:

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

“The Lost Art of Intentionality” - Word on Fire

From The Writing Life by Annie Dillard

Idle Moments: Literary Loafers through the Ages and Pages - The Slightly Foxed Podcast

The Fran Lebowitz Reader by Fran Lebowitz

Heretics by G.K. Chesterton

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden

The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise by Cardinal Robert Sarah

Wonder in a Digital Age - Born of Wonder podcast

“Burnt Norton” by T.S. Eliot

“The Three Sicknesses of U.S. Society: Racism, Poverty, and War” by Martin Luther King Jr 

What We're Enjoying at the Moment:

Phoebe: The Lord of the Rings, audiobook read by Rob Inglis

Rachel: That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

“The more we are proud that the Bethlehem story is plain enough to be understood by the shepherds, and almost by the sheep, the more do we let ourselves go, in dark and gorgeous imaginative frescoes or pageants about the mystery and majesty of the Three Magian Kings.” - G.K. Chesterton

For our last episode of 2021, Phoebe is back again to discuss the wonderful paradox in celebrating Christmas that calls for both humility and extravagance. We discuss the mystery of the Christmas story, and the deep humility that Christ demonstrates to us in coming as a child in a manager, as well as our responding call to humility and generosity. We also discuss our need for splendour in our liturgies but also in our culture and our surroundings. We delve into the magic of The Nutcracker Ballet and the splendour to be found in our own Christmas decorations.

We hope you enjoy the episode and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and blessings for the new year ahead.

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

The Nutcracker - Royal Opera House

“The House of Christmas” by G.K. Chesterton

Sermons for Christmas and Epiphany by St. Augustine

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham

By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder

What’s Wrong with the World by G.K. Chesterton

Adela Cathcart by George MacDonald

“A Letter About Christmas” by Ronald Knox

“Preface to Paradise Lost” by C.S. Lewis

All Things Considered by G.K. Chesterton

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment

Phoebe: The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

Rachel: Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives by Pope Benedict XVI