Narnia from A to Z

This is Home

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:44:52 PST

Take a behind the scenes look at “This is Home,” one of the songs from the Prince Caspian soundtrack, from a musician and the dad who used to read him The Chronicles of Narnia.

Guests:
Mark Foreman, author of Wholly Jesus
Jon Foreman, musician, Switchfoot

Musical Snippets Include:
Switchfoot - “Chem 6a”
Jon Foreman - “Revenge”
Switchfoot - “This is Home”

Z is for Zoo

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:44:43 PST

We think of the nature as a “resource.” Hear why C.S. Lewis would probably have chosen a different word to describe the natural world. Hear how his view of nature – influenced by his study of the Middle Ages – led him to some views of animals that ran counter to the opinions of his day. Think about why animals are represented so well in media and literature made for children.

Guests:
Michael Muth, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Wesleyan College
Robert Velarde, author of Conversations with C.S. Lewis
Paulo Ribiero, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Calvin College
Louis Markos, author of From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics
Jerry Walls, editor of C.S. Lewis as Philosopher

Y is for Yggrasil

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:44:34 PST

How did trees become such important characters in the fiction of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien?

Guests:
Louis Markos, author of From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics
Peter Schakel, author of Is Your Lord Large Enough: How C.S. Lewis Expands Our View of God
Robert Velarde, author of Conversations with C.S. Lewis
Kurt Bruner, co – author of Finding God in the Land of Narnia
Jim Ware, co - author of Finding God in the Land of Narnia
Colin Duriez, author of A Field Guide to Narnia
David Downing, author of Into the Wardrobe
Marjorie Lamp Mead, co – author of A Reader’s Guide to Caspian; Associate Director of the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College
Paulo Ribiero, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Calvin College
Paul Ford, author of Companion to Narnia

X is for Caspian X

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:44:25 PST

Does the movie that opens today effectively capture C.S. Lewis’s novel Prince Caspian?

Guests:
Peter Schakel, author of The Way Into Narnia
Colin Duriez, author of A Field Guide to Narnia
Rilian, host of NarniaWeb Podcast
Gymfan, contributor to Narniaweb.com
Claire Rossel, writer for Narniafans.com
Phil Vischer, author of Me, Myself and Bob. Screenwriter and co-producer of The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything

W is for Wood Between the Worlds

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:44:16 PST

The image that best captures the travel between universes described in The Chronicles of Narnia.

Guests:
Steven Yandell, assistant professor of English at Xavier University

V is for Valley of a Thousand Perfumes

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:44:07 PST

One of the main characters from the first book in the Chronicles is absent from the last book. Does this character’s drift away from the world of Narnia betray some kind of prejudice Lewis had against women, or is there a different point?

Guests:
Robert Velarde, author of A Conversation with C.S. Lewis
Marjorie Lamp Mead, co–author of A Reader’s Guide to Caspian; Associate Director of the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College
Gymfan, creator of Spareoom.net

U is for Universalism

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:43:59 PST

Are the world’s religions just different paths to the same God? Would a loving God send people to Hell? What did C.S. Lewis believe about these things?

Guests:
Kurt Bruner, co-author of Finding God in the Land of Narnia
Robert Velarde, author of A Conversation with C.S. Lewis
Paul Ford, author of Companion to Narnia
Jim Ware, co-author of Finding God in the Land of Narnia
David Downing, author of Into the Wardrobe
Bob Lepine, author of The Christian Husband, host of the podcast Ear Reverent

T is for Turkish Delight

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:39:19 PST

If some movie studios had gotten their way, we would have seen Edmund being tempted by a cheeseburger in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In the book by C.S. Lewis (and the version of the movie that was eventually made) Edmund is tempted by a candy that has intrigued generations of American readers.

Guests:
Paul Ford, author of Companion to Narnia
Beatrice Gormley, author of C.S. Lewis: The Man Behind Narnia
Peter Schakel, author of Is Your Lord Large Enough: How C.S. Lewis Expands Our View of God
Bob Beltz, Walden Media

Musical Snippets Include:
The David Crowder Band - “Turkish Delight”
The Second Chapter of Acts - “Turkish Delight”

S is for Shadowlands

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:39:10 PST

How do you imagine Heaven? C.S. Lewis invites you to expect more from eternity than floating on a cloud, strumming a harp.

Guests:
Phil Vischer, author of Me, Myself and Bob; Screenwriter and co-producer of The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything
Jerry Walls, editor of C.S. Lewis as Philosopher
Paul Ford, author of Companion to Narnia
Kurt Bruner, co – author of Finding God in the Land of Narnia
Marjorie Lamp Mead, co – author of A Reader’s Guide to Caspian; Associate Director of the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College

Musical Snippets Include:
Jacob’s Trouble – “Further Up and Further In”
The Vigilantees of Love – “Shadowlands”

R is for Reepicheep

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:38:55 PST

The most courageous of C.S. Lewis’s talking animals is also one of the smallest. Consider why this contrast works so well, as we look at one of the most beloved characters in The Chronicles of Narnia.

Guests:
Marjorie Lamp Mead, co – author of A Reader’s Guide to Caspian; Associate Director of the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College
Phil Vischer, author of Me, Myself and Bob. Screenwriter and co-producer of The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything
Rilian, host of NarniaWeb Podcast

Q is for Quiddity

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:38:45 PST

Familiar objects your see every day are actually great treasures. There is a wonder to the “thingness” of things that C.S. Lewis will help you recognize.

Guests:
Jerry Walls, editor of C.S. Lewis as Philosopher
Peter Schakel, author of Is Your Lord Large Enough: How C.S. Lewis Expands Our View of God
Devin Brown, author of Inside Prince Caspian

P is for Plato

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:38:36 PST

The picture we get of Heaven in C.S. Lewis’s The Last Battle owes a lot to the philosopher, Plato. He suggested that all the things we see around us are just shadows – they aren’t really real. Plato affects the way many people interpret the Bible, whether they realize it or not. Is this healthy?

Guests:
Robert Velarde, author of A Conversation with C.S. Lewis
Peter Schakel, author of Is Your Lord Large Enough: How C.S. Lewis Expands Our View of God
Jerry Walls, editor of C.S. Lewis as Philosopher
N.T. Wright, author of Evil and the Justice of God

O is for Ogre

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:38:27 PST

What exactly is an ogre? Hear a brief explanation, along with an analysis of the work of a film director known for his work with ogres, Andrew Adamson. How did he do directing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? Is there anything in the movie you wish had been different?

Guests:
Marjorie Lamp Mead, co – author of A Reader’s Guide to Caspian; Associate Director of the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College
Paul Ford, author of Companion to Narnia
Laurence Harwood, author of C.S. Lewis, My Godfather
Robert Velarde, author of A Conversation with C.S. Lewis
John Guest, rector of Christ Church at Grove Farm
Jerry Walls, editor of C.S. Lewis as Philosopher
Gymfan, contributor to Narniaweb.com, creator of Spareoom.net
Claire Rossel, writer for Narniafans.com
Rilian, host of NarniaWeb Podcast
Devin Brown, author of Inside Prince Caspian

N is for Numinous

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:38:18 PST

Why do we think of the words “awful” and “awesome” so differently? C.S. Lewis and our guests invite you to think about the opposing responses we should have toward things that are holy. And, was J.R.R. Tolkien inspired by a twentieth – century writer when naming an ancient group of people in The Lord of the Rings?

Guests:
David Downing, author of Into the Wardrobe
Louis Markos, author of From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics
Paul Ford, author of Companion to Narnia

M is for Miracle (and Mermaids)

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:38:08 PST

Hear the connection between one of C.S. Lewis’s most challenging books and his most accessible. Explore his fictional connection between disconnected worlds, including the worlds of sea and land.

Guests:
David Downing, author of Into the Wardrobe

Music Snippets Include:
DC Talk – Supernatural
The Second Chapter of Acts – Lucy’s Long Gone

L is for Lion

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:37:58 PST

Does it ever seem like the most colorful, interesting characters in books or movies are the villains? Depicting a character as both interesting and good can be very difficult. Hear how C.S. Lewis did it as we explore one of the most – quoted phrases from The Chronicles of Narnia.

Guests:
Jerry Walls, editor of C.S. Lewis as Philosopher
Colin Duriez, author of A Field Guide to Narnia
Louis Markos, author of From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics
Phil Vischer, author of Me, Myself and Bob. Screenwriter and co-producer of The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything
Kendall Payne, singer / songwriter

Music Snippets Include:
Kendall Payne - "Aslan"

K is for Kirke

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:37:49 PST

Explore the logic and imagination that existed simultaneously in C.S. Lewis. It’s rare to find someone who approaches writing with such a balance of wonder and intellect. It could be that the ability to combine the two made C.S. Lewis the greatest apologist of the twentieth century. He gave us a picture of this balance in the fictional character, Professor Kirke, who explains why it’s perfectly logical to think another world could exist through a wardrobe door.

Guests:
Robert Velarde, author of A Conversation with C.S. Lewis
Louis Markos, author of From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics
David Downing, author of Into the Wardrobe
Jerry Walls, editor of C.S. Lewis as Philosopher
Tim Downs, author of First the Dead
Kurt Bruner, co – author of Finding God in the Land of Narnia
Marjorie Lamp Mead, co – author of A Reader’s Guide to Caspian; Associate Director of the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College

J is for Joy

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:37:37 PST

If one word could sum up all of the writings of C.S. Lewis, it might be “joy.” For him, this word described more than pleasant emotions, but conveyed a sense of longing for something outside this world. Hear more about this idea that influenced so much of his work, on the latest episode of “Narnia from A to Z.”

Guests:
Louis Markos, author of From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics
David Downing, author of Into the Wardrobe
Paulo Ribeiro, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Calvin College
Kurt Bruner, co – author of Finding God in the Land of Narnia

Music Snippets Include:
Mary Ann Redmond - “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”

I is for Inklings

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:37:28 PST

Plans have been announced for a Peter Jackson - produced film adaptation of The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel that introduced Middle Earth and led into the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. C.S. Lewis heard and critiqued parts of The Hobbit when the two writers would meet as part of The Inklings, a group of writers living and working in Oxford in the 1930’s and 40’s. Hear how this group got started, how Tolkien influenced Lewis’s spiritual journey and why their relationship eventually cooled.

Guests:
David Downing, author of Into the Wardrobe
Jim Ware, co - author of Finding God in the Land of Narnia
Colin Duriez, author of A Field Guide to Narnia
Laurence Harwood, author of C.S. Lewis, My Godfather
Marjorie Lamp Mead, co – author of A Reader’s Guide to Caspian; Associate Director of the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College
John Guest, rector of Christ Church at Grove Farm
Steven Yandell, assistant professor of English at Xavier University
Peter Schakel, author of Is Your Lord Large Enough? How C.S. Lewis Expands Our View of God

Music Snippets Include:
Cambridge Singers – “Blessed Are Those”

H is for Hwin

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:37:19 PST

Find out what two horses can show you about the battle between pride and humility that goes on in your heart. It’s a discussion about two characters from The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis.

Guests:
Paulo Ribeiro, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Calvin College
Paul Ford, author of Companion to Narnia

G is for Generosity

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:37:08 PST

Find out why C.S. Lewis once described life as “a bumpy bed in a bad hotel.” Lewis’s godson, Laurence Harwood, shares a side of the author most of us have never known, explaining how Lewis used a lot of the income from his successful books.

Guests:
Laurence Harwood, author of C.S. Lewis, My Godfather

F is for Faun

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:36:57 PST

Hear how The Chronicles of Narnia began with a single image that came to C.S. Lewis while walking in a snowy wood. Guests such as Paul Ford and Colin Duriez also address the question, “In what order should I read The Chronicles of Narnia?”

Guests:
Colin Duriez, author of A Field Guide to Narnia
Beatrice Gormley, author of C.S. Lewis: The Man Behind Narnia
Peter Schakel, author of The Way Into Narnia
Jim Ware, co - author of Finding God in the Land of Narnia
Paul Ford, author of Companion to Narnia

E is for Eustace

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:36:48 PST

One of the most moving images in The Chronicles of Narnia involves a dragon trying to scratch off his own skin.

Guests:
David Downing, author of Into the Wardrobe
Dan Allender, author of To Be Told: Know Your Story, Shape Your Future
Phil Vischer, writer, co – producer of The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything
Kendall Payne, singer / songwriter

Music Snippets Include:
Kendall Payne - "Aslan"

D is for Door

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:36:38 PST

The Chronicles of Narnia begins and ends with stories of magic doorways. Why is this image so significant to these books?

Guests:
Peter Schakel, author of The Way Into Narnia
Steven Yandell, assistant professor of English at Xavier University
Louis Markos, author of From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics

Music Snippets Include:
The Hampton String Quartet - "Break on Through (To the Other Side)"
Sufjan Stevens - "Away in the Manger"

C is for Calormen

mail@nuclearity.org (Hugh Duncan) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:36:29 PST

Some present - day critics accuse C.S. Lewis of prejudice. Hear a discussion about the fairness of this accusation, and find out why one of Narnia's beloved heroes could have been named after a brand of cigarettes.

Guests:
Paulo Ribeiro, Professor of Engineering at Calvin College
Colin Duriez, author of A Field Guide to Narnia
Peter Schakel, author of The Way Into Narnia
Paul Ford, author of Companion to Narnia
David Downing, author of Into the Wardrobe