Goodmakers Podcast with Paul Anleitner

Find out more about the updated mission and vision for Goodmakers Guild in 2027 at: www.goodmakersguild.com James Taylor Foreman's work is about what technology is doing to rootedness, storytelling, and art. He created The Metaphor on Substack, and his essays have been published in Inkwell, The Dispatch, and Chisel. His screenplays have been pitched to CBS, Paramount, and Apple, and he is currently working on a science fiction novel. Nathan Fray is the Co-Founder of Prospect a new patronage for the modern age. He is also the Co-Founder of Dialect Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting artists, entrepreneurs, technologists, and scholars. Nathan was an original co-founder and drummer of the music collective United Pursuit (2008). Find out more about Prospect at: prospect.art 

John Mark McMillan, a platinum-selling singer-songwriter and creator of Flirting with Enchantment, joins Paul Anleitner for a searching conversation about meaning after disenchantment. They explore the loss of music and purpose, the stories that shape human life, faith beyond religious practice, cynicism’s traps, and why success cannot replace transcendence. They also discuss art, suffering, heroic virtue, and building a culture rooted in sacrificial love.

Malcolm Guite, an English poet, Anglican priest, and Arthurian scholar, explores how stories can renew a fractured culture. They journey through Arthur’s Christian kingdom, the Grail’s Gospel origins, and Merlin’s meeting of pagan wisdom with faith. Guite also examines myth, irony, despair, wounded lands, and the calling of Christian artists to create truth-bearing work.

James Taylor Foreman, writer and former Silicon Valley narrative strategist, recounts his path from atheism back to Christianity and his work on culture and the contemporary vibe shift. He discusses ritual, re-enchantment, mythology, the influence of Jordan Peterson, and how storytelling and community reshaped his faith journey.

Philip Levens, a showrunner and screenwriter behind Smallville, Ascension, and Knight Rider, blends myth, philosophy, and genre craft. He discusses embedding symbolism into TV, how Hollywood values intellectual property, the shift toward darker antihero stories, and new indie pathways for distinctive filmmaking. Practical advice on pitching, mastering craft, and making resonant, hopeful stories appears throughout.

Dan Jurgens, legendary comic writer-artist who created Doomsday and Booster Gold, talks comics origins and mythic influences. He explains why he killed Superman and how that choice reaffirmed core values. He describes inventing Doomsday, reactions to darker stories, and how creators shape characters. He previews upcoming projects and shares practical advice for aspiring writers.

Paul Anleitner, cultural theologian and author, reflects on his new book and why story shapes belief and identity. He probes the meaning crisis, the limits of pure self-authoring, and the turn from irony to sincerity. He explores how shared narratives, tradition, and renewed institutions can rebuild communal flourishing and practical culture change.

Glen Scrivener, Church of England minister and director of Speak Life UK, explores whether the UK is experiencing a religious vibe shift. He discusses rising church interest among young men, changing social cachet of Christianity, public faith by athletes and influencers, and why liturgy, weird doctrine, and civilizational concerns are drawing seekers today.

Annie Crawford, cultural apologist and C.S. Lewis scholar who studies how stories shape imagination. Jonathan Pageau, liturgical artist and symbolist who recovers traditional narratives. They discuss why retelling fairy tales matters now. They explore inversion, post-deconstruction sincerity, logos and myth, remembering as cultural repair, and the role of community, sacrifice, and ritual in renewing meaning.

Jordan Hall, writer on civilization-scale ideas and technological change, joins to unpack sudden agentic AI breakthroughs. He recounts AI building an iOS app, maps which jobs face displacement, and explores market, economic, and geopolitical ripple effects. The conversation also frames AI in theological terms and offers practical heuristics for choosing a cooperative, human-centered path forward.