The Optimistic Curmudgeon

Failures of Modern Feminism - with Larissa Phillips (9x3)

Larissa Phillips, columnist at  @thefreepress , shares her journey into and out of feminism. Raised in a radical Leftist family, Larissa experienced first hand the limitations of her own physiology. Over the course of her adulthood, she found peace and joy with her husband, her children, and now her farm. This is a rambling conversation that concludes with a discussion of Larissa's work teaching adults essentials of literacy. Check out her work via links below.

"How I Became a Wife" - https://www.thefp.com/p/larissa-phillips-becoming-a-wife-marriage

Larissa's Free Press author page: https://www.thefp.com/w/larissa-phillips

"Toward Ruin or Recovery" on  @Quillette  (Warning: paywalled) - https://quillette.com/2024/03/20/toward-ruin-or-recovery-celeste-marcus-liberties-journal-yascha-mounk-feminist-metoo/

The Volunteer Literacy Project - https://www.volunteerliteracyproject.org/ 

In the House of Tom Bombadil - with C.R. Wiley (9x2)

C.R. Wiley of  @TheTheologyPugcast  explains who Tom Bombadil is. Wiley wrote In the House of Tom Bombadil with  @CanonPress , and that book opens a wide ranging conversation about masculinity, femininity, dominion, domination, dating, Adam, and the work of the logos in Tolkien's Legendarium. It's a wonderful discussion mostly grounded in The Fellowship of the Ring. Enjoy!

Links: In the House of Tom Bombadil - https://canonpress.com/products/in-the-house-of-tom-bombadil

The Theology Pugcast - https://thetheologypugcast.com/

Touchstone Magazine - https://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/author.php?id=939 

Greta Gerwig, Narnia, and the Culture War: Joseph Holmes (9x1)

Joseph Holmes advances his theory of feminism in contemporary Hollywood: only women are allowed to be positive spiritual figures. Holmes argues that Hollywood has shifted from "men bad, women good" and the "religious or atheist" dichotomy to "men are religious, women are spiritual." As such, Holmes thinks it fits Greta Gerwig's pattern to cast a female voice (rumored to be Meryl Streep) for Aslan in Netflix's forthcoming adaptation of The Magician's Nephew. If you love Narnia, enjoy thinking about Christian filmmaking, or have opinions about the Kendrick brothers' films, don't miss this one!

Topics of discussion include: Barbie, Little Women, House of David, and more.

This episode was inspired by Holmes' essay, "Greta Gerwig’s Aslan And The Coming Faith-Based ‘Gender Culture War’" on Religion Unplugged - https://religionunplugged.com/news/2025/5/9/greta-gerwigs-aslan-and-the-coming-faith-based-gender-culture-war

Also - Check out Joseph Holmes's podcast The Overthinkers here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-overthinkers/id1510271421

Joseph's website: https://www.josephholmesstudios.com/

Coming Soon - Jim vs. the Future - check out the IMBD listing here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33087557/

 

Wrapping the Re-Enchanting Inklings - Season 8 Finale (8x13)

Dr. Josh Herring reflects on Season 8: The Re-Enchanting Inklings, drawing out connections between guests and suggesting what this season of The Optimistic Curmudgeon says about modernity, the Inklings, and our need to encounter reality.

With shoutouts and callbacks to Annie Crawford, Andrew Lazo, Christiana Hale, Holly Ordway, Landon Loftin, Austin Freeman, Brent Weeks, Steve Beebe, Michael Ward, Sarah Waters, and Rhys Laverty.

Many thanks to this season's sponsors: The C.S. Lewis Institute, and America's Christian Credit Union!

https://americaschristiancu.com/personal/

https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/

We'll be back in the fall of 2025 with Season 9! Until next time, seek the good, live the true, and enjoy the beautiful.

C.S. Lewis' Skepticism & The Silver Chair: A Conversation with Annie Crawford (8x12)

Annie Crawford explains Dr. Michael ward's theory of "donegality," and shows how reading The Silver Chair as C.S. Lewis's lunar novel helps explain the difference between Aslan's Country and the muddled world below. This conversation is largely based on an article Annie wrote for An Unexpected Journal entitled "Finding Faith in Fairy Tales: Answers for Modern Skeptics from C.S. Lewis's The Silver Chair" and Annie explains the nature of modern skepticism and how Lewis works in philosophical responses in the Green Lady's temptation and then Puddleglum's response. Pascal's Wager, the Ontological Argument, Plato's Cave, Freud, Marx, Feurbach, and more---all nestled within The Silver Chair.

Link to Annie's article: https://anunexpectedjournal.com/finding-faith-in-fairy-tales-answers-for-modern-skeptics-from-c-s-lewiss-the-silver-chair/

Sponsor link - America's Christian Credit Union - https://americaschristiancu.com/personal/ 

Till We Have Faces: A Conversation with Fr. Andrew Lazo (8x11)

Fr. Andrew Lazo offers his interpretation of C.S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces as Lewis's "best book." Lazo reads the novel through The Four Loves, and contends that Lewis's entire project, as it develops across a lifetime of spiritual writing, culminates in this final novel. This conversation also features discussion of the Mere Christians conference, differing views on definitions of love, and lots of Lewisian details. With shoutouts to Michael Ward,  @PintsWithJack , @C.S.LewisUndiscovered , and many friends, this is an episode to savor.

Link to Mere Christians: Inspiring Stories of Encounters with C.S. Lewis - https://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christians-Inspiring-Stories-Encounters/dp/1946708321

Sponsor Link: America's Christian Credit Union - https://americaschristiancu.com/personal/

 

Medieval Cosmology, Enjoyment, and Feminine Identity: A Conversation with Christiana Hale (8x10)

Christiana Hale, author of Deeper Heaven: A Reader's Guide to C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy, discusses her essay on pleasure and contemplation in Life on the Silent Planet: Essays on Christian Living from C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy. Medieval cosmology, Perelandra, closing out the teaching season, the Un-Man's temptations of the Green Lady, right and wrong femininity, and more feature in this wide-ranging conversation. With shoutouts to Canon Press, New Saint Andrews College, Thales College, and the Undiscovered Lewis Conference, this conversation ties together a variety of institutions.

Link to Deeper Heaven: https://www.amazon.com/Deeper-Heaven-Readers-Lewiss-Trilogy/dp/1944482563/

Link to Life on the Silent Planet: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Silent-Planet-Christian-Trilogy/dp/1949716252/

Sponsor Link: https://americaschristiancu.com/personal/ 

Arthuriana in C.S. Lewis: A Conversation with Dr. Holly Ordway (8x9)

Dr. Holly Ordway discusses her essay "Arthur in Edgestow" in Life on the Silent Planet: Lessons in Christian Living from C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy. She explain Lewis's love of Arthurian legends, the choices Lewis makes in incorporating, adapting, and tweaking elements of the Arthurian legendarium in That Hideous Strength. With discussion of Charles Williams, Roger Lancelyn Green, and Merlin, this is a delightful interview with one of the foremost Inklings scholars. Enjoy!

Dr. Ordway's website - https://hollyordway.com/

Books discussed in the interview

Link to Life on the Silent Planet: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Silent-Planet-Christian-Trilogy/dp/1949716252/

Link to The Inklings and King Arthur: https://www.amazon.com/Inklings-King-Arthur-Williams-Barfield/dp/1944769897/

Link to Taliessin through Logres: https://www.amazon.com/Taliessin-through-Logres-Region-Arthurian/dp/0802815782/

Sponsor link: America's Christian Credit Union - https://americaschristiancu.com/personal/

 

Owen Barfield, Language, and Meaning, with Dr. Landon Loftin (8x8)

Landon Loftin, author of What Barfield Thought: An Introduction to the Work of Owen Barfield with Max Leyf, discusses Barfield's role in the Inklings, focus on language, and friendship with Lewis. The conversation draws mostly from Barfield's History in English Words. Loftin goes into specific detail about Barfield's pro-life work, and the connection between humans as rational, linguistic beings and protecting them from abortion. Lewis dedicated The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to Lucy Barfield, Owen Barfield's daughter (and Lewis's goddaughter); their friendship was rich, and Barfield's theory of language and human consciousness sits behind much of what Tolkien and Lewis wrote. Where is meaning? What is language? How does human consciousness relate to words? For these questions, Dr. Loftin is our best guide into Barfield.

Link to What Barfield Thought: https://www.amazon.com/What-Barfield-Thought-Introduction-Work/dp/1666736767

Link to The Rediscovery of Meaning - https://www.owenbarfield.org/selected-books/the-rediscovery-of-meaning/

Sponsor Link: https://americaschristiancu.com/personal

 

Tolkien & Theology - with Austin Freeman (8x7)

Dr. Austin Freeman discusses his book, Tolkien Dogmatics. Doctrines of creation, eschatology, angels, demons, and Christian living all receive major consideration. Along the way, we discuss Kevin Vanhoozer, reflect on the 2024 election (we recorded on November 5, 2024), "Leaf by Niggle," what's happening theologically in the act of creating a story, and more. Austin tells us his view of Amazon's Rings of Power, and we discuss the nature and role of imaginative apologetics. Austin takes on woke Tolkien, and explains just how significant Tolkien's faith was for the legendarium.

Books referenced in the show:

Tolkien Dogmatics - https://www.amazon.com/Tolkien-Dogmatics-Theology-Mythology-Middle-earth/dp/1683596676/

Apologetics and the Christian Imagination - https://www.amazon.com/Apologetics-Christian-Imagination-Integrated-Defending/dp/1945125381

The Drama of Doctrine - https://www.amazon.com/Drama-Doctrine-Canonical-Linguistic-Christian/dp/0664223273/

Theology, Fantasy, and the Imagination - https://www.amazon.com/Theology-Fantasy-Imagination-Religion-Culture/dp/1978712189/

Sponsor link: America's Christian Credit Union - https://americaschristiancu.com/personal

Don't forget the book giveaway contest - details are in the show introduction!