Podcast
The Re-Enchantment Book Club
Hosted by The Re-Enchantment Book Club · EN
In this podcast about the intersection between faith & literature, hosts Jordan Porr and Brendan Michael explore how good stories can “re-enchant” us in a disenchanted age - the longings they point us to, the excellence of their craft, and their power to redemptively impact our lives.
12episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
4w ago00:48:22Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Jordan and Brendan go through the wardrobe to discuss the deep magic of sacrificial love, the awakening of the imagination, Lewis’s iconic imagery, resurrection beauty, the renewing power of awe, the questionable allure of Turkish Delight, and their favorite “goosebump” moments. What We’re Reading: The Odyssey by Homer Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson The Dynamics of Spiritual Life by Richard F. Lovelace Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra
Transcribe →To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Apr 600:47:22Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss Great American novels, the desire for immutable justice, the inconsistency of moral judgment, the need for our immediate worlds to be put right, and the fact that on a map, small places add up to a big place. What We’re Reading: The Word in the Wilderness by Malcolm Guite This is Happiness by Niall Williams A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra
Transcribe →Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin
Mar 200:43:08Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss the power of music, the problem of pain, where we go to deal with suffering, the communal experience of lament, the cisterns we choose over the fountains of living water, showing up for the ones we love, and whether beer is in fact meant to be served cold. What We’re Reading: The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell Other Mentions: Jeremiah 2:13 REBC Episode 9 “The Gilded Six Bits” REBC Episode 2 “A Lesson Before Dying”
Transcribe →Watership Down by Richard Adams
Feb 200:40:48Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss an abundance of rabbits, the power of myth, how the telling of stories shapes us, the value of ennobling tales, whether this book is actually for children, and an unfortunate excess of rollicking. What We’re Reading: The Divided Soul by Heidi White The Unselected Journals of Emma Lion by Beth Brower Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë Other Mentions: Psalm 104 Next episode we will be discussing Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin. We hope you join us! Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra
Transcribe →Poetry Swap!
Jan 500:43:08Tap to summarizeIn this special New Year episode, Jordan and Brendan examine the poems “Alive Together” by Liesel Mueller and “As Kingfishers Catch Fire” by Gerard Manley Hopkins. They discuss what it means to marvel, the power of providence, the possibility of “missing out”, struggling to be who we are called to be, the paradox of oneness with Christ, the lilting magic of sprung rhythm, and the playfulness of God. What We’re Reading: Train Dreams by Denis Johnson Time of the Child by Niall Williams The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane The Rise & Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman Other Mentions: Poetry 180 by Billy Collins Jordan’s poets: Mary Oliver, Jane Kenyon, Ted Kooser, Li Young Lee, Denise Levertov, Jim Harrison Brendan’s poets: Alfred Lord Tennyson, Emily Barrett Browning, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Richard Wilbur George Macdonald - “The New Name” (from Unspoken Sermons)
Transcribe →Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Dec 100:44:18Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Jordan and Brendan board the Hogwarts Express to discuss the deep magic of God, worldbuilding, finding our place in a larger story, British sweets, and whether Americans find the word “Philosopher” archaic. All topped off with an irresponsible number of references to Stephen King for an episode about a children’s book. What We’re Reading: For the Life of the World by Alexander Schmemann The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare Pet Sematary by Stephen King Other Mentions: John Calvin’s sensus divinitatis Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra
Transcribe →Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
Nov 300:46:33Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Jordan and Brendan take up residence in Port William and discuss Membership, steadfast Love, what it means to live and die in the same place, visions of the Good Life, and the power of particular Fidelity. All of which is catfish optional. What We’re Reading: A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Boone: A Biography by Robert Morgan The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought by Marilynne Robinson Next episode we will be discussing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. We hope you join us! Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra
Transcribe →The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Oct 600:43:00Tap to summarizeThe Lottery In this episode, Jordan and Brendan debate what defines a Dystopia; they also discuss the day they’ll beat their swords into plowshares, the shadow side of redemptive reality, the human capacity for violence, the “what the heck is going on here” feeling, an ill-fated cupcake, and the counter-catachesis of the Christian life. What We’re Reading: So We Read On by Maureen Corrigan That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis Other Mentions: The Twilight Zone Black Mirror Dystopian Fiction Next episode we will be discussing Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. We hope you join us! Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra
Transcribe →The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Sep 100:51:53Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss the nature of dignity, the soul-crushing need to justify your existence, the cost of disordered loves, ambiguous epiphanies, the inherent value of humanity, the classist admiration for English lords, and whether or not they would have made good butlers. What We’re Reading: The Cost of the Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer The Chosen by Chaim Potok The Second Coming by Walker Percy Other Mentions: Tom Waits - “Ruby’s Arms” Luke 11, Matthew 23 Unreliable Narrators Foils Next episode we will be discussing The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. We hope you join us! Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra
Transcribe →Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Aug 401:02:21Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Jordan and Brendan gush over the scarcity of admirable literary heroes, the value of patient writing, the struggle to understand the world, the tension between perishable beauty and the far side of eternity, the power of sacramental blessing, and the art of peeling onion layers. What We’re Reading: A River Runs Through It by Norman McLean Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart by Russ Ramsey True Grit by Charles Portis Other Mentions: John Calvin - Institutes of the Christian Religion Epistolary Novel Form Romans 7:18-20 Next episode we will be discussing The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. We hope you join us! Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra
Transcribe →