Podcast: Harry Potter and the Sacred Text

It’s the English class you didn’t know you missed and the meaningful conversations you didn’t know you craved. Join Vanessa Zoltan and Casper ter Kuile as they bring thought, reflection and laughter to Harry Potter; not just as novels, but as instructive and inspirational texts that will teach us about our own lives. Relive the magic chapter by chapter as they explore themes such as commitment, revenge and forgiveness. This podcast creates time in your week to think about life’s big questions. Because reading fiction doesn’t just help us escape the world, it helps us live in it.

Persistence: The Cave (Book 6, Chapter 26)

February 20, 2020 00:40:14 Comments Off

Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Persistence in chapter twenty-six of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This week we discuss Voldemort’s fatal flaws, Harry’s great strengths, and the imminent loss of Dumbledore will all its impli…

Indignation: The Seer Overheard (Book 6, Chapter 25)

February 13, 2020 00:33:29 Comments Off

Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Indignation in chapter twenty-five of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This week Casper and Vanessa discuss Trelawney’s defensiveness, Dumbledore’s injured hand, and the sometimes cyclical nature…

Regret: Sectumsempra (Book 6, Chapter 24)

February 6, 2020 00:42:04 Comments Off

Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Regret in chapter twenty-four of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This week we are joined by writer, pastor, and theologian Nadia Bolz-Weber, who shares an opening story about the way that accidents weigh …

Memory: Horcruxes (Book 6, Chapter 23)

January 30, 2020 00:37:56 Comments Off

Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Memory in chapter twenty-three of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Bitterness: After the Burial (Book 6, Chapter 22)

January 23, 2020 00:41:05 Comments Off

Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Bitterness in chapter twenty-two of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Affirmation: The Unknowable Room (Book 6, Chapter 21)

January 16, 2020 00:37:22 Comments Off

Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Affirmation in chapter twenty-one of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Owl Post Edition: How to Be in Community with Burns Stanfield

January 9, 2020 00:48:48 Comments Off

How and why should we be in community? This week, Vanessa and Casper are joined by Reverend Burns Stanfield from 4th Presbyterian in Boston.

A Christmas Poem: Sick by Shel Silverstein

December 25, 2019 00:02:02 Comments Off

Every Christmas, Casper likes to read us a poem. This year it’s Sick by Shel Silverstein.

Good Will: Lord Voldemort’s Request (Book 6, Chapter 20)

December 19, 2019 00:38:40 Comments Off

Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Good Will in chapter twenty of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Harmony: Elf Tails (Book 6, Chapter 19)

December 12, 2019 00:36:13 Comments Off

Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Harmony in chapter nineteen of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.