SPLANCHNICS: The Society for the Preservation of Literature, the Arts, Numinosity, Culture, Humor, Nerdiness, Inspiration, Creativity & Storytelling

Today we discuss whether The Chronicles of Narnia should be read in chronological order or in order of publication. Clare has strong opinions about this one. Hannah doesn't care either way, but that may change... You already have your own copy of The Chronicles of Narnia, right? Wait...what? You don't??    Let us help you rectify that unacceptable situation right now: head over to our Bo...

Clare and Hannah share some more of the songs that rocked their worlds. Turns out they both really love heavy metal. Who knew? Clare's songs: "I See Fire" -- metal version ! Performed by Malinda and Violet Orlandi " Clean Up Your Room " by Akira the Don featuring Jordan Peterson " What Faith Can Do " by Kutless Hannah's songs: " A Question " by Bom...

The four temperaments have been around since Hippocrates, who theorized that our human behavior is influenced by the quantities of various fluids present in our bodies. The four temperaments are: Sanguine (blood), Choleric (Yellow bile), Melancholic (black bile), and phlegmatic (phlegm). Clare (a sanguine) and Hannah (a melancholic) plumb the depths of the human psyche in their discussion of the t...

Clare shares some of her veterinary exploits. WARNING: This episode is gross. If any of the following words or phrases gross you out, you may wish to forgo listening: Poop Vomit Bile Rectum Rectal exam Ringworms Anal gland Wheel of vomit "Head falling off" Moist If you enjoy funny vet stories, you might enjoy the books of James Herriot, a veterinarian plying his trade in the beautiful Yo...

Whether you're writing a book, a movie, or a play, there are three elements you need to think about when creating a character. Clare and Hannah discuss these three things, debate whether James Bond is funny, and discover that they both struggle to say the word "nemesis." We’d love to hear your thoughts! Click here to send us a text message! Support the show We provide links and othe...

In this episode, Hannah and Clare continue to talk about Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World," through the lens of one of our favorite "Star Trek" episodes. We also manage to mention "Abolition of Man" again. See if you can spot it! Brave New World by Aldous Huxley includes adult themes. Listener discretion is advised. We’d love to hear your thoughts! Click here to...

In this episode, Clare and Hannah come off the reservation and step into a Brave New World where people are made in bottles, Henry Ford is God, and the police are armed with water-pistols. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley includes adult themes. Listener discretion is advised. Please enjoy this hilarious video from The Onion about how Disney grows childhood stars in their advanced genetic engineeri...

Don't be fooled by the title. We're still talking about Shakespeare. This time Hannah and Clare talk about the elements of tragedy and comedy, why the Lancasters had to look good in the histories, and what kind of play The Tempest is anyway. We’d love to hear your thoughts! Click here to send us a text message! Support the show We provide links and other resources to help you find and en...

Hannah finally uses her drama degree! In this episode, our mother-daughter duo discuss Shakespeare, its challenges, its beauty, and its relevance to us today. This week's installment of "Splanchnics Math:" According to Clare (3:50), Shakespeare was born in 1864 and died in 1616 at the age of 52. This is, of course, incorrect. He lived to be 248 and lived his life going backwards in...

Spanning 18 centuries, Walter M. Miller's "A Canticle for Leibowitz" follows a Catholic monastery's attempts to preserve knowledge through several apocalypses. In this episode, Clare and Hannah talk about very serious topics like the cyclical nature of history, mankind's self-destructive nature, buzzards, and a random shark. We also mention C.S. Lewis, but that's a gi...

Clare and Hannah share some of their favorite songs and explain why music is an essential part of character development. We manage to quote both Plato and Michael Jackson. Hannah's picks: I'm a Funny Dame (Eartha Kitt): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3l1K13naLM Blue Healer (Birdtalker): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL4AP-n091M Simple Man (Jason Manns With Friends cover): https://www...

“To have a thought, you have to have a thing that can have a thought.” In this episode, Clare and Hannah continue to geek out about robots, but to be honest we spend more time discussing humans. Typical humans, always talking about ourselves. We talk about the nature of beauty, being stewards of the earth, and something called an a priori  cognitive structure. I feel smarter already. Check out the...

"The humans, who can think, are so afraid of those who cannot think..." In this episode, the first half of a two-part discussion, Clare and Hannah chat about the progress of robotics over the years, laying the groundwork for the second part, where we get super-duper philosophical and stuff.  We’d love to hear your thoughts! Click here to send us a text message! Support the show We provid...

In our second episode about Lord of the Flies, things go hog wild. For your very own copy of Lord of the Flies, stampede to Clare’s Bookshop.org store. It’s in the Splanchnics Book Club section (across from the in-store cafe…) Special thanks to The Twilight and Donald Kozinski from AnimeRevProductions . We’d love to hear your thoughts! Click here to send us a text message! Support the show We prov...

Clare and Hannah discuss William Golding's classic 1954 novel, Lord of the Flies . Like all civilized people, they pass the pig mug, and things get philosophical. Clare is an independent author who would love it if you checked out her books! If you like exciting thrillers featuring normal people overcoming their deepest flaws and confronting their worst fears, you  might enjoy The Keys of Dea...

Clare (Gen X) and Hannah (Millennial) talk about how different generations were shaped by technology, historical events, and in Clare's case, a whole lot of geopolitical mayhem. Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation! We’d love to hear your thoughts! Click here to send us a text message! Support the show We provide links and other resources to help you find and enjoy the things we talked about on this e...

Clare and Hannah watch Denis Villeneuve's 2021 film adaptation of Dune and immediately sit down to talk about it. We're both big fans of Duke Leto, and Hannah keeps wanting to talk about the Gom Jabbar for some reason. Dune by Frank Herbert (This link goes to our Bookshop.org store , where you can pick up your own copy of this SF/Fantasy essential.) If you'd like to support us more...

Clare and Hannah continue to dive down the rabbit hole and talk about Richard Adam's beloved 1972 adventure novel Watership Down . In Part 2 of this discussion, we talk about the qualities of a great leader: trusting your followers, offering peace to hostile neighbors, and saving the lives of random mice. Splanchnics is a labor of love for your mother-daughter team of hosts, but please consid...

Clare and Hannah talk about Clare's favorite childhood book: Watership Down ! Spoiler alert: this book has nothing to do with sinking nautical vessels. We talked briefly about Watership Down in Season 1, Episode 3 ("Hobbits and Rabbits and Gnomes…Oh My!" -- an episode about our favorite childhood books). But on today's episode, we dive "down the rabbit hole" into Rich...

Clare and Hannah may look exactly the same, but they're a lot different under the surface. One of them is introverted, and the other is extroverted. I wonder if you can guess which is which? The Temperament God Gave You by Art and Laraine Bennett. Not a personality test, but a way of discovering your temperament , which predicts the way you respond and react to the people and events of your l...

Clare and Hannah talk about the Plague, amputations, and blood spurting everywhere. Just your typical breakfast table conversation.  Follow us, on Instagram if you wish: @splanchnics_podcast Intro and outro music (“Splanchnics Riff)” composed and performed by Clare T. Walker. We’d love to hear your thoughts! Click here to send us a text message! Support the show We provide links and other resource...

Clare and Hannah had so much to say about the Martian Chronicles, we decided to record another episode about it. We talk almost exclusively about Hannah's favorite story in the book, and we manage to sneak a C.S. Lewis reference in there, too. This one gets pretty existential (which it usually does if you let Hannah talk for too long). Click through to Clare’s Bookshop.org store and pick up y...

This episode, Clare and Hannah leave the planet in our discussion of Ray Bradbury's Science Fiction classic, The Martian Chronicles. To purchase your own copy of this excellent book, take the nearest interplanetary transport to our Bookshop.org store and go to the "Splanchnics Book Club" section. You'll get a nice discount, you'll support independent book stores, and you&a...

Clare and Hannah talk about the positive effects of handcrafts: sewing, gardening, cooking, and building your own home! "Every tool invented by mankind is an extension of man's hand or mind." (CTW) The books we mentioned in this podcast: A Handmade Life: In Search of Simplicity by William S. Coperthwaite Ox-Cart Ma n by Donald Hall, illustrated by Barbara Cooney The Little Book of H...

We've both been reading Tolkien recently! It's a different experience every time, so we decided to share what stood out to us. Hannah dissects the theme of power and corruption throughout the legendarium, from Feanor to Frodo. Clare shares her favorite passages from the Lord of the Rings about how beauty brings healing to the hardened heart. You already have numerous copies of The Silmar...