Welcome to The Authority, Slate’s deep dive into the world(s) of HBO’s His Dark Materials. Each week, Slate’s scholars of experimental theology Dan Kois and Laura Miller discuss the new HBO series and Philip Pullman’s original trilogy. This week, they’re discussing episode 7, “The Fight To The Death,” in which Lyra travels to Svalbard and meets lofur Raknison, the ruler of the panserbjørne.

Join the conversation:

Email: [email protected]

Dan Kois on Twitter: @dankois

Laura Miller on Twitter: @magiciansbook

Podcast production by Phil Surkis, with engineering assistance from Melissa Kaplan.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices