Wade Center

Many Inklings fans know and love J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis both for their imaginary worlds (Narnia and Middle-earth) and for their legendary friendship. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Ron Reed—Founding Artistic Director of Pacific Theatre in Vancouver, BC—to discuss his play, Tolkien, which dramatizes how Jack and Tollers became such close companions as well as how their friendship almost fell apart.

The Lost Lewis Tapes Vol. 3 discusses C.S. Lewis' final novel in the Ransom Trilogy, That Hideous Strength. Topics include the polarizing reception of the novel, navigating academia, themes of objectivity and modernity, analysis of the character MacPhee, the Tower of Babel, and never-before-heard recordings of Lewis reading his own works.

In a quiet room at the Kilns in August 1960, C. S. Lewis recorded three audio tracks on a portable reel-to-reel tape deck. In one of those tracks, Lewis reads from Perelandra for 27 minutes, narrating in a mesmerizing and confident voice Elwin Ransom's arrival on the watery planet Venus. In this second installment of The Lost Lewis Tapes, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to listen to excerpts from this newly released audio track and to discuss the second novel in Lewis's Ransom Trilogy, Perelandra. Purchase and listen to The Lost Lewis Tapes over at the Rabbit Room for only $3. Click here to learn more about The Lost Lewis Tapes, who recorded them, and how the Marion E. Wade Center is able to make them available 60 years later.

Before he was known as a children's author, C.S. Lewis wrote science fiction. Listen to never-before-heard audio recordings of Lewis reading from his Ransom Trilogy in this exciting three-part series on Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to discuss the first novel, Out of the Silent Planet. Kidnapped and transported to the planet Mars, Elwin Ransom encounters alien creatures and powerful beings who turn his view of the world and space upside down. Purchase and listen to The Lost Lewis Tapes over at the Rabbit Room for only $3. Click here to learn more about The Lost Lewis Tapes, who recorded them, and how the Marion E. Wade Center is able to make them available 70 years later.

Most Inklings fans see George MacDonald through the lens of C.S. Lewis. Others enter MacDonald's novels through diverse doorways. In this week's episode Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to discuss this 19th century Scots author. Why was George MacDonald so important to Lewis? Why is he considered controversial? Are his writings still relevant today?

Whether it is a game of Clue or an episode of Sherlock on the BBC, everyone loves to solve a good murder mystery. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to put the detective fiction of Dorothy L. Sayers and G.K. Chesterton under a magnifying glass, and to interrogate their famous fictional sleuths, Lord Peter Wimsey and Father Brown.

If you are a serious C.S. Lewis fan, you likely know and love The Chronicles of Narnia, the Ransom Trilogy, and apologetics books such as Mere Christianity. But have you read The Discarded Image or An Experiment in Criticism? In this week's episode, Dr. Jerry Root discusses his latest book, The Neglected C.S. Lewis, with Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing. Jerry Root explains what we can learn about C.S. Lewis by reading his neglected works, especially those on literary criticism, and how those insights can illuminate Lewis's popular fiction.

Before he was famous for his books, C.S. Lewis was one of the most well-recognized voices in Britain because of his broadcasts on 'the wireless.' In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to discuss the radio broadcasts of Dorothy L. Sayers and C.S. Lewis, two of the first lay theologians invited to talk about Christianity on BBC Radio during World War II. Lewis's broadcasts would go on to be published as a best-selling book, Mere Christianity, and Sayer's talks and radio plays changed the way Britains viewed Jesus Christ and impacted the lives of millions. Listeners interested in reading Sayers's radio talks can order copies of The Christ of the Creeds, edited by Suzanne Bray, from the Dorothy L. Sayers Society.

Did the Inklings influence each other? According to C.S. Lewis, "No one ever influenced Tolkien—you might as well try to influence a bandersnatch." With her two books The Company They Keep (2008) and Bandersnatch (2015), Dr. Diana Pavlac Glyer has turned Lewis's denial on its head. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David C. Downing sit down with Glyer to discuss her groundbreaking work on the creative collaboration of the Inklings and how aspiring authors and artists can develop their own creative communities.

Most people think of C. S. Lewis as a logician and level-headed theologian. Yet Lewis's fascination with Christian mysticism can be discovered throughout his books and letters. In this week's episode, Drs. Crystal and David Downing sit down with Producer Aaron Hill to discuss how C.S. Lewis's abiding interest in mysticism shaped his writings and his own spiritual life. Explore this side of Lewis further with the help of Dr. David C. Downing's book, Into the Region of Awe (2005). Click on the link below to explore all the works mentioned in this week's episode. - https://tinyurl.com/y7ry36vl