Risking Enchantment – Details, episodes & analysis

“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

“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

“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

Otto on the Numinous

November: A Thin Place

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

"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

"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

“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)

“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 

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)

“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)

‘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