The Met Gala, that conclave, and artificial intelligence

New episode. why the pope counts, who wasn't at that gala, and how we handle AI.

Natalie Garrett

Natalie produces and narrates The Seen & Unseen Aloud podcast. She's an Anglican minister and a trained actor.

A gather of cardinals in the Sistene Chapel.

This week, Belle Tindall takes us to the Met Gala in NYC and asks whether the unseen exists; Graham Tomlin considers why the choice of the next Pope is so important and Callum Elwood asks if AI animation really is harmless fun?

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Re-enchanting

29 May 2024

1 min read

Holly Ordway: re-enchanting... Middle Earth

Why Tolkien’s world of hobbits, elves, wizards and warriors continues to enchant so many in our world.

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

a woman seated in front a mic, looks to the left will gesturing both hands to the right.

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Holly Ordway is a scholar of English literature who is a professor at the Word on Fire Institute in the USA and Houston Christian University.

Holly has written about literary and imaginative apologetics, edited and annotated a volume of Gerard Manley Hopkins' poetry, and has also gone on to publish major books on the works of one of her literary heroes JRR Tolkien. These are the award-wining Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages and the recently published book Tolkien’s Faith: A Spiritual biography.

Today we’ll be exploring Holly’s own journey and why Tolkien’s world of hobbits, elves, wizards and warriors continues to enchant so many in our world.

Visit Holly's web site.

There’s more to life than the world we can see. Re-Enchanting is a podcast from Seen & Unseen recorded at Lambeth Palace Library, the home of the Centre for Cultural Witness. Justin Brierley and Belle Tindall engage faith and spirituality with leading figures in science, history, politics, art and education. Can our culture be re-enchanted by the vision of Christianity?