Why are there so many books and movies about World War Two? It has something to do with evil, bravery, and the hope that people can still be good even in impossible times.

Why do we tell so many stories about the World Wars? What is it about these stories that draw us back again and again?

Because we're still trying to make sense of the trauma they inflicted.

Because we long to be united around a common foe with other brave people that we call our friends.

Because we need to believe that people will choose to be good in impossible times.

In this episode of Speaking with Joy, Joy looks at Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, The Lord of the Rings, John Williams’ music for Schindler’s List, and more.

ABOUT SPEAKING WITH JOY

A podcast that explores pieces of great art and discusses how art shapes our character and our world. Hosted by Joy Clarkson, this wonderful addition to our podcast family gives listeners the chance to delight in classics you might have missed.

Subscribe on iTunes | Podbean | Stitcher | RSS

More on Anselm Podcasts
When Bad People Make Good Art
When Bad People Make Good Art

There’s an artist who does great work. And then we learn the artist did something terrible in their personal life. Can we enjoy the art on its own terms and sift out the artist’s mistakes? Or are the artist and the art so intertwined that we can’t separate them?

The Freedom of Limits
The Freedom of Limits

Brian, Sarah, Jeremiah, and Christina consider “maybe there’s a way to learn to be the kind of person who is sharpened, grown, and even set free by limits,” with Count Rostov from Amor Towle’s A Gentleman in Moscow as their guide.

Our Stories Need "Undaunted Joy"
Our Stories Need "Undaunted Joy"

Author Shemaiah Gonzales’s latest book is Undaunted Joy: The Revolutionary Act of Cultivating Delight. She joins the pub table to discuss the implications of telling stories that cultivate authentic joy.

Why Should We Care About Jane Austen's Bookshelf?
Why Should We Care About Jane Austen's Bookshelf?

Using Rebecca Romney’s book Jane Austen’s Bookshelf as a guide, Sarah, Matt, and Mandy discuss adding forgotten authors into the literary canon.

Shakespeare and the Dallas Cowboys
Shakespeare and the Dallas Cowboys

Matt invites Luke Moja—his friend and resident 90s sports expert—to the digital pub table to discuss the enduring myth-making and real-life Shakespearean drama that is the Dallas Cowboys.

Do Audiobooks Count As Reading?
Do Audiobooks Count As Reading?

What are the benefits (and drawbacks) of audiobooks? Of e-readers? Of old-fashioned paper books? The cohosts debate all this and more during this roundtable.

Daughters of Bronze--Ashlee Cowles
Daughters of Bronze--Ashlee Cowles

Ashlee Cowles discusses the ways she grounded her new novel in history, and how she was able to find hope—even in the doom of Troy.

Great-Souled Living
Great-Souled Living

Brian, Sarah, Matthew, and Christina ask, “What if the reason you feel too small, too broke, or too ordinary to be generous is actually a spiritual problem masquerading as humility?”

"A Christmas Oratorio" by W.H Auden
"A Christmas Oratorio" by W.H Auden

Brian and Sarah read a short poem to help us all enter out of Christmas and into the New Year.

BEST OF Believe to See: Is It a Christmas Movie?
BEST OF Believe to See: Is It a Christmas Movie?

To celebrate the holidays, Believe to See is re-airing episodes from past Christmases. Or should we say from Christmas Past?

"Is It a Christmas Movie?" first aired on December 3, 2022.