Wade Center

How do you adapt a book like The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis into a ballet? Julianna Rubio Slager, Artistic Director for Ballet 5:8, sits down with Crystal and David to discuss her company's upcoming performance of The Great Divorce for the Wheaton College Artist Series on November 1st, 2019. Julianna and the Downings explore the themes and characters from Lewis's supernatural tale about heaven an...

Many know that Joy Davidman, C.S. Lewis's wife, converted to Christianity as an adult. Joy's Jewish identity and background, however, are often overlooked. Dr. Andrew Barron, Director of Jews for Jesus Canada, sits down with Crystal and David Downing to discuss Joy's "Jewish mind" and her influence on Lewis later in life.

'Rhetoric' is often a byword for hollow or negative speech. In truth, rhetoric is the art of persuasion. This week, Dr. Jim Beitler discusses his new book, Seasoned Speech: Rhetoric in the Life of the Church . Of the five figures featured in Beitler's book, we discuss the rhetoric of C.S. Lewis and Dorothy L. Sayers. What can we learn from their example, and how can properly "seasoned speech" assi...

Dorothy L. Sayers produced not just detective novels but stage and radio plays as well as vernacular translations of Dante's Divine Comedy , all for the masses. She aimed her work squarely at the non-elite or the "vulgar" masses. But why? This week, Dr. Christine Colón, Professor of English at Wheaton College, sits down with Crystal Downing and Marjorie Mead to discuss her new book, Writing for th...

Since his death in 1936, the voluminous work and razor sharp wit of G.K. Chesterton have impacted generations of Christians, especially Catholics. Brian Daigle, Headmaster of Sequitur Classical Academy in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, sits down with David and Crystal to discuss Chesterton's ongoing legacy and impact, not only as a journalist and novelist but as a theologian and Christian thinker.

Is the man buried in Poet's Corner a great poet? In this week's episode Don W. King, Professor of English at Montreat College, sits down with Crystal and David to discuss the poetry of C.S. Lewis. Why did Lewis succeed as a novelist but not as a poet? Also, why did Lewis marry Joy Davidman but not Ruth Pitter, a fellow English poet?

Dr. Harry Lee Poe argues that C.S. Lewis fell "in love with a story," and that he kept telling this "there and back again" story "over and over again." Dr. Poe is the Charles Colson Professor of Faith and Culture at Union University and an indirect descendant of Edgar Allan Poe. In this week's episode, he sits down with Crystal and David to discuss his latest project as well as his thesis about Le...

The recently released "Tolkien" movie, starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins and directed by Dome Karukoski, is shining a light on J.R.R. Tolkien's early life but does it offer an accurate picture? Dr. Holly Ordway and Laura Schmidt sit down with Crystal and David to offer their expert opinions on the film and discuss several missed opportunities. Their conclusion: Sometimes the truth about Tol...

Why would anyone forge C.S. Lewis's signature? It turns out, there is a thriving market for used and rare books by Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the other Inklings. Indeed, collectors pay thousands of dollars for a signed copy! Crystal and David sit down with Stan E. Shelley, of Shelley and Son Books, to learn about forged signatures and the fascinating world of rare books. Stay tuned until the end t...

President of Wheaton College, Dr. Philip Ryken sits down with Crystal and David this week to discuss his 2017 book The Messiah Comes to Middle-earth . Dr. Ryken addresses the inspiration for his book, based on his 2015-2016 Hansen lectures. He also discusses the difference between allegory and "applicability" in Tolkien, as the creator of The Lord of the Rings was famously averse to one-on-one cor...

Scholars are fond of calling the Victorian era "the age of doubt" and skepticism. In this week's episode, Crystal and David discuss with Dr. Timothy Larsen the topic of his recent book, "George MacDonald in the Age of Miracles," a product of the Hansen Lectureship Series at the Wade Center. Dr. Larsen discusses the ways in which MacDonald sought to counteract skepticism and reclaim a belief in the...

What or who inspired J.R.R. Tolkien as he created  The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings ? Most scholarship focuses on sources from the Middle Ages that inspired Tolkien's timeless tales. However, in this week's episode Dr. Holly Ordway sits down with Dr. David Downing and Laura Schmidt (Wade Archivist) to discuss the overlooked modern sources and authors who influenced Tolkien, based on her forthco...

Dr. K. Alan Snyder discusses why Lewis is so famous in America as well as Lewis's own thoughts about America based on the research from his new book America Discovers C.S. Lewis: His Profound Impact . Tune in as Drs. Crystal and David Downing dig into Snyder's theories about why C.S. Lewis resonates so deeply with Americans.

Dr. Stephanie L. Derrick sits down with Dr. Crystal Downing to discuss her recent book  The Fame of C. S. Lewis: A Controversialist's Reception in Britain and America . They analyze the reasons why Lewis is so much more famous and well-loved in America than in Britain. Derrick also shares some of the fascinating stories and lesser-known tales of Lewis from her research in England.

This week's episode features an inspiring and insightful interview with Reverend Dr. Malcolm Guite about the intersection of theology, literature, and the arts. Drs. Crystal and David Downing also discuss Guite's conversion encounter as well as the impact of Romantic poets like Shelley, Coleridge, Blake, and C.S Lewis on his spiritual journey and worldview. Malcolm is the Chaplain and a Bye-Fellow...

Dr. Michael Ward, a ward-winning author of  Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis   and  The Narnia Code: C.S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens , discusses his best-selling books and thesis about the secret theme that lies behind and which knits together all of the seven books in  The Chronicles of Narnia . Dr. Ward also discusses with Drs. Crystal and David Do...

New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan stops by the Wade Center to discuss her newly-released book, Becoming Mrs. Lewis . Patti discusses with Drs. Crystal and David Downing the inspiration behind her work of historical fiction that depicts the love story between Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis. Patti also discusses the process of writing her book, insights she gleaned about Joy and Jack, an...

In  the final excerpt from our interview with Douglas  Gresham ,  things get rather personal. Doug discusses his reaction upon first discovering that the Wade Center was collecting the Lewis family papers. He also opens up about  h is  and his wife's conversion stories as well as his family.  

Douglas  Gresham  returns for part two of our interview to talk about his responsibility to steward the estate and legacy of his stepfather, C.S. Lewis. Doug shares some be hin d-the-scenes detail about C.S. Lewis's practice of offering counseling at the Kilns, including to one royal visitor!  He  also shares some humorous and touching stories about everything from a short kayaking trip, to Lewis...

Douglas Gresham, stepson of C.S. Lewis, sits down to discuss his memories of growing up with Lewis. In this first of three interviews, Doug opens up and shares some very personal memories about the deaths of C.S. Lewis and his mother. Stick around until the end to catch his comments about the future of the Chronicles of Narnia movie series.