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"We make idols of our concepts but wisdom is born of wonder." Host Katie Marquette takes listeners on a sound-rich, audio adventure for your ears, exploring beauty, aesthetics, theology, literature, and art. www.bornofwonder.com
Episodes
Mar 5, 2024
Mar 5, 2024
26 min
Why do we read? Is it for edification, intellectual stimulation, or even just 'to be a smart person?' How many of our reasons are linked to a real joy in reading - like when we were kids - the kind of reading that you had you flipping the pages at night, lying out on a blanket all afternoon, the kind that had you lost stories and falling in love with characters that became completely real to you? Today I'm sharing some practical tips about how to fall in love with reading again and how important reading is - for our kids, for our family, even for our physical and mental health. Three cheers for books!
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“Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.”
Feb 27, 2024
Feb 27, 2024
57 min
The Nordic Theory of Love asserts that unhealthy dependencies inhibit our ability to truly love one another - that true love thrives under circumstances that establish independence and equality. Understanding this theory is key to understanding the economic and social policies in Nordic countries, policies that continuously have them topping out the rankings in the World Happiness Report. Nordic societies put in place social safety nets - including universal access to family leave, childcare, healthcare, and education - in order to free individuals from cycles of dependency and live more authentically. Or at least that is the theory. Does it work?
Finnish journalist and author Anu Partanen is here to explain how all these policies play out in Nordic societies and why she thinks they actually could work, especially at the state level, in the USA. I ask her all the questions I've always wanted to know about Nordic countries - How do businesses keep running if everyone is continuously taking off for maternity leave? What about those infamous wait times when you go the doctor? Is this really just a culture obsessed with conformity?
I hope this conversation gives you a lot to think about and I would love to hear your thoughts!
Guest: Anu Partanen, author of the Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life
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Feb 20, 2024
Feb 20, 2024
1hr 1 min
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Feb 13, 2024
Feb 13, 2024
49 min
Here during Valentine's Day Week, we're celebrating one of life's biggest joys: Friendship, a love that is often much devalued in our modern society. While friendship might be unnecessary in the most basic biological sense (we need parents, we need spouses, in ways that we don’t need friends), it is precisely that lack of obligation that has the potential to elevate friendship to an extraordinarily high, even near divine, place in our lives. We're going to celebrate with audio clips giving us a chance to meditate on great friendships like Anne Shirley and Diana Barry, Elphaba and Glinda, C.S. Lewis and the Inklings, Jesus and His disciples. After the main episode stay tuned for a bonus chat with Christy Isinger, all about the amazing friendships you develop when traveling on a pilgrimage - if you've been thinking about signing up for our Ireland 2024 trip, now is the time! Stay tuned for more details.
All the Pilgrimage Details here!
https://www.bornofwonder.com/come-to-ireland-with-me
Video chat with Christy Isinger and More Pilgrimage Info
https://bornofwonder.substack.com/p/ireland-chat-with-christy-isinger
“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.”
-C.S. Lewis
“No longer will I call you servants… Indeed, I have called you friends"
John 15:15
Anne of Green Gables (1985)
https://www.anneofgreengables.com/
"Friendship is Unnecessary" Substack Essay
"For Good" from Wicked
Song Recommendation: "Down by the Water" by Abigail Lappell
Find me at www.bornofwonder.com
Subscribe on Substack: https://bornofwonder.substack.com/
Feb 6, 2024
Feb 6, 2024
24 min
Jan 9, 2024
Jan 9, 2024
21 min
Very exciting announcement for 2024!!!
This year I’m partnering with Select International to lead a truly phenomenal, unforgettable tour through the saint scattered hills of Ireland.
I will have an incredible co-leader partner in the podcaster and writer Christy Isinger.
Tune in for all the details, the backstory of how this came about, how you can support me in this endeavor (prayers, spreading the word etc), the importance of going on adventures, and some new year 'hellos' and plans for the next season!
come join us on the Irish Wisdom and Wonder Tour Oct 2-11 2024!
Download the brochure
Sign up!
Born of Wonder Ireland Trip Details
Word of the Year
Saint of the Year
https://saintsnamegenerator.com/
Dec 5, 2023
Dec 5, 2023
21 min
Thank you everyone for listening and making season 6 of the podcast such a success! We're wrapping up this season with some beautiful music, end of year reflections (2 kids, no social media, more writing! A lot happening, a lot more to come), Advent listening recommendations, St. Nick's Traditions, and some encouragement to 'begin anew' always. Remember, Christmas is all about second chances. We all get to start again. What a gift that is. Wishing everyone a very Happy Advent, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
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Nov 28, 2023
Nov 28, 2023
27 min
Animals understand that winter is a time for retreat and rest. They know that surviving the harshness of winter means living differently - sometimes even entering a liminal state of being: hibernation. And while human beings don't hibernate per say, there's a lot we can learn from the rhythms of the natural world. Whether it's ignoring 'clock time,' embracing 'denning,' or 'The Watch,' there are many ways to encourage a joyful engagement with our body and mind's need for seasonal rest. As Shakespeare wrote - 'a sad tale's best for winter' - there's something about this time of year that merges the melancholy with the imaginative, the darkness with the light. Instead of hiding from the contradictions, let's embrace them.
special thanks to Chris Marquette for his piano playing on this episode!
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Nov 21, 2023
Nov 21, 2023
18 min
Today on the podcast we're celebrating - JOY! Beethoven composed his iconic 9th Symphony after he had gone completely deaf, a beautiful miracle in and of itself. We'll hear the original poem by Friederich Schiller - 'Do you feel the Creator's Presence? / Seek Him beyond the Stars! / He must live beyond the Stars.' This is an episode to put headphones on and turn the volume way up. An invitation to pause, listen, and rejoice.
Wishing everyone a beautiful holiday week! Happy Thanksgiving!
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Ode to Joy by Friederich Schiller
Joy, thou shining spark of God,
Daughter of Elysium,
With fiery rapture, goddess,
We approach thy shrine!
Your magic reunites those
Whom stern custom has parted;*
All men will become brothers*
Under your protective wing.
Let the man who has had the fortune
To be a helper to his friend,
And the man who has won a noble woman,
Join in our chorus of jubilation!
Yes, even if he holds but one soul
As his own in all the world!
But let the man who knows nothing of this
Steal away alone and in sorrow.
All the world's creatures draw
Draughts of joy from nature;
Both the just and the unjust
Follow in her gentle footsteps.
She gave us kisses and wine
And a friend loyal unto death;
She gave the joy of life to the lowliest,
And to the angels who dwell with God.
Joyous, as His suns speed
Through the glorious order of Heaven,
Hasten, brothers, on your way
Exultant as a knight victorious.
Be embraced, all ye millions!
With a kiss for all the world!
Brothers, beyond the stars
Surely dwells a loving Father.
Do you kneel before Him, oh millions?
Do you feel the Creator's presence?
Seek Him beyond the stars!
He must dwell beyond the stars.
Nov 14, 2023
Nov 14, 2023
51 min
Medieval Christians talked about Jesus in ways that can shock us today - Jesus as Mother, as Lover. These evocative ways of viewing Christ can open us up to a surprisingly rich and imaginative spirituality. Today on the podcast Katie is joined by Dr. Grace Hamman, author of the excellent new book, "Jesus through Medieval Eyes: Beholding Christ with the Artists, Mystics, and Theologians of the Middle Ages." We'll discuss the unique spirituality of the medieval world - the saints, monastics, and mystics who wrote of Christ in strange and beautiful allegories, and what all of this can teach us today.
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