The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness: John the Baptist, an Imaginative Exploration
"[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 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”
FC24: A Hint of an Explanation – Graham Greene
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
Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grunewald
John the Baptist by Donatello (V&A Hall of Casts)
Saint John the Baptist by Leonardo da Vinci
Bacchus by Leonardo da Vinci
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
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1:15:37
The Ends of the Affairs: Medieval Ideals, Modern Trysts and the Offering of Redemption in the Works of Graham Greene and T. H. White
"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
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30:40
An Integrated Faith: Tolkien’s Catholicism in his Life and Work with Holly Ordway
“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
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1:12:51
Extraordinary Virtue in Every-Day Stories: Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
“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
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1:23:50
The Creation of Music and the Music of Creation with Katie Marquette
“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
What about Bad 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
Netherlands