If The Inklings CCA sparked a desire to learn more about the British literary geniuses of the twentieth century, look to The Marion E. Wade Center’s podcast.
The Wade Center, part of Wheaton College, is a research hub, a reading library, and a museum dedicated to seven British Christian authors: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkein, Dorothy L. Sayers, George MacDonald, G. K. Chesterton, Owen Barfield, and Charles William.
The center’s abundant resources draw in curious minds who seek to interact with living literature and grow in their faith. The co-directors of The Wade Center, David C. Downing, a C.S. Lewis scholar, and Crystal Downing, a Sayers devotee, host the bi-weekly podcast, which can be found on YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, or Google Play Music. The episodes range in depth and breadth, covering the literary, philosophical, historical, and religious aspects of the author’s works; scholars around the world join in the discussions as special guests.
Whether you’re walking on the treadmill or winding down for the day, take the opportunity to alleviate your mind from the intensity of our academic lives at Hillsdale and relax with discussion over the Chronicles of Narnia, or be inspired by a George MacDonald story that you’ve never heard before and now must check out at the library.
The Wade Center Podcast became my life-line during the lock-down of my senior year of high school. Episodes like “Romance at the Wade: C. S. Lewis, Romanticism, Sehnsucht, and the Wade Authors” and “Mysticism & C. S. Lewis: Venturing into the Region of Awe” unlocked intellectual adventures. An episode about Lewis’s faith journey led me to his autobiography “Surprised by Joy,” MacDonald’s “Phantastes,” Chesterton’s “Orthodoxy,” and metaphysical poetry in one fell swoop.
If you can make it to Wheaton, you can poke your head into Lewis’s personal wardrobe at The Wade Center museum. But while here at Hillsdale, listen to its podcast and it will bring you into a deeper understanding of the magical world of Britain’s most imaginative minds.