The C.S. Lewis podcast

Latest Episodes:

Alister McGrath: Has technology outgrown our ability to control it? Oct 19, 2026

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Just because we can do something, does that mean we should? What happens when our technology advances faster than our ability to control it? And have we created things we may no longer be able to stop? C.S. Lewis scholar Alister McGrath joins Ruth Jackson to explore the striking warnings about science, power and unintended consequences hidden within The Magician's Nephew and what they might have to say to a world grappling with AI and rapidly advancing technology. But Lewis' story also confronts a much older problem: suffering. Drawing on the devastating loss of his mother as a child, Lewis knew that pain couldn't simply be explained away. So why does Aslan weep? Can suffering ever be understood? And what kind of hope is possible when there isn't an easy answer? + Support us here: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate + Subscribe to The CS Lewis podcast: https://www.premier.plus/cs-lewis-podcast + For more shows, free ebook and newsletter visit our website: https://premierunbelievable.com/

Alister McGrath: Why are we attracted to things that aren't good for us? [Magician's Nephew part 1] Oct 12, 2026

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Can something – or someone – be beautiful, charismatic and deeply dangerous at the same time? And why is the world so rarely as simple as “good people” and “bad people”? With Greta Gerwig bringing The Magician's Nephew to the screen, C.S. Lewis scholar Alister McGrath joins Ruth Jackson to explore the surprisingly grown-up questions hiding inside one of Lewis' children's stories. From a world literally sung into existence to a beautiful but terrifying villain, they explore why Lewis believed imagination and beauty can reveal things that reason alone cannot. And why beauty should never be confused with goodness. Plus, why are Lewis' most dangerous characters often his most charismatic? And what can Narnia teach us about our own vulnerability to power, temptation and people who aren't quite what they seem? Subscribe & Support 🎥 Never miss an episode! Subscribe on YouTube: The C.S. Lewis Podcast🎙️ 👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡 🔗 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes - absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 📢 Follow us Instagram: https://instagram.com/premierunbelievable Facebook: https://facebook.com/premierunbelievable Tik Tok: https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievable X: Premier Unbelievable? (@UnbelievableFE)

Andrew Lazo: Can atheism actually lead you to God? Oct 06, 2026

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Can becoming an atheist ever be a step towards God? What if walking away from religion is sometimes more honest than pretending to believe? Are reason and evidence really enough to explain why we change our minds? In Early Prose Joy, Lewis wrote: "It is time, for religion’s sake, to hymn the joys of atheism.” For him, rejecting shallow, superstitious or half-hearted religion could sometimes be an intellectually honest step towards discovering something deeper. But, what eventually changed Lewis’ mind? C.S. Lewis scholar and Episcopal priest Andrew Lazo joins Ruth Jackson to explore how reason, imagination, longing and experience came together in Lewis’ journey from atheism to Christianity and why changing his beliefs ultimately changed the way he lived. Plus, what might Lewis make of today’s spiritually curious generation? Could our hunger for beauty, nature, relationships, music and meaning be clues pointing towards something more? For Early Prose Joy: https://www.jstor.org/stable/48599470 Subscribe & Support 🎥 Never miss an episode! Subscribe on YouTube: The C.S. Lewis Podcast🎙️ 👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡 🔗 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes - absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 📢 Follow usInstagram: https://instagram.com/premierunbelievable Facebook: https://facebook.com/premierunbelievable Tik Tok: https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievable X: Premier Unbelievable? (@UnbelievableFE)

Andrew Lazo: Did C.S. Lewis get his own conversion story wrong? Sep 29, 2026

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What can Lewis' journey from atheism to belief tell us about how and why we change our minds? C.S. Lewis famously described himself as “the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England”. But an unpublished manuscript appears to reveal something extraordinary: Lewis may have misremembered when his conversion actually happened. Lewis scholar and Episcopal priest Andrew Lazo joins Ruth Jackson to tell the remarkable story of Early Prose Joy - Lewis’ previously unpublished account of his journey from atheism to belief - and the moment he realised: “Lewis got it wrong!” Yet, this is about much more than correcting a date. What really caused Lewis to abandon atheism? What role did grief, reason and desire play? Why did he keep rewriting the story of his conversion? And did Lewis eventually discover that what he had been searching for all along wasn’t actually joy, but love? Subscribe & Support 🎥 Never miss an episode! Subscribe on YouTube: The C.S. Lewis Podcast🎙️ 👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡 🔗 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes - absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 📢 Follow us

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Andrew Lazo: How C.S. Lewis changed the minds of atheists, scientists and prisoners Sep 21, 2026

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What do an atheist scientist, a Watergate prisoner and the author of Interview with the Vampire have in common? C.S. Lewis changed the way they thought. Lewis scholar and Episcopal priest Andrew Lazo grew up in an unbelieving home and first encountered Narnia simply as a great adventure. Years later, during a crisis of faith, Lewis saved Andrew's intellectual life. He joins Ruth Jackson to uncover the remarkable stories of people whose lives took unexpected turns after encountering Lewis, from Interview with the Vampire author Anne Rice and pioneering geneticist Francis Collins, to Watergate figure Chuck Colson and former white supremacist Joseph Pearce. Plus, hear Andrew's fascinating experience of C.S. Lewis the matchmaker! Why can a writer who died more than 60 years ago still have this effect on people? And what was it about Lewis’s approach to doubt, reason, beauty and belief that continues to resonate today? Subscribe & Support 🎥 Never miss an episode! Subscribe on YouTube: The C.S. Lewis Podcast🎙️ 👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡 🔗 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes - absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 📢 Follow usInstagram: https://instagram.com/premierunbelievable Facebook: https://facebook.com/premierunbelievable Tik Tok: https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievable X: Premier Unbelievable? (@UnbelievableFE)

Has God slammed a door in your face? Tyler Staton on suffering Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

Why does C.S. Lewis still speak so powerfully to people decades after his death? Tyler Staton, lead pastor of Bridgetown Church and author of After Amen, joins Ruth Jackson to explore what Lewis can still teach us about prayer, suffering, desire, imagination and finding God when he seems absent. From Mere Christianity and The Weight of Glory to A Grief Observed, The Screwtape Letters and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Tyler reflects on the Lewis ideas that have shaped his own faith and helped him through cancer. They discuss: • Why imagination matters for faith • What apologetics can learn from Lewis’s storytelling • Whether our deepest desires point to God • How to notice God in ordinary life • What to do when prayer feels unanswered • Why honest doubt can itself become prayer • Where to start if you are new to C.S. Lewis Tyler’s advice when God feels absent is striking: “We pray our doubt.” Subscribe to The C.S. Lewis Podcast for conversations exploring the life, theology, imagination and enduring influence of C.S. Lewis. Discover more at cslewispodcast.com Subscribe & Support 🎥 Never miss an episode! Subscribe on YouTube: The C.S. Lewis Podcast🎙️ 👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡 🔗 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes - absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 📢 Follow us

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C.S. Lewis: How an atheist became the man behind Narnia | Alister McGrath Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

You’ve listened. Now you can watch. The C.S. Lewis Podcast is coming to YouTube, bringing the life, imagination and extraordinary ideas of the man behind Narnia to video for the first time. In our first episode, host Ruth Jackson sits down with renowned C.S. Lewis scholar Professor Alister McGrath to explore one of the biggest questions of all: What is life actually for? They uncover Lewis’s remarkable journey from aggressive atheism to Christianity, the impact of war and suffering on his beliefs, why books became “dangerous” to his atheism, and how he brought reason and imagination together. And what would Lewis make of us today? Instagram, selfie culture, anxiety, identity and our constant need to prove ourselves? From The Chronicles of Narnia to Mere Christianity, discover why Lewis still speaks so powerfully to the modern world. Subscribe to the new C.S. Lewis Podcast YouTube channel for conversations exploring Lewis, Narnia, faith, doubt, suffering, imagination and much more. Already a listener? Welcome. Now you can watch. Subscribe & Support 🎥 Never miss an episode! Subscribe on YouTube: The C.S. Lewis Podcast🎙️ 👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡 🔗 Get bonus content, updates, fascinating articles, and early access to new episodes - absolutely free! Join now at www.premierunbelievable.com 📢 Follow us

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Why does Philip Pullman hate The Magician's Nephew? Aug 31, 2026

Show notes

Is it our fault when something bad happens? Can suffering ever be redeemed? In the final part of their discussion, Caleb Woodbridge and Damien Walter unpack Philp Pullman's critique of one of CS Lewis' most beloved Narnia stories. Along the way, they venture into the worlds of Star Trek and Lewis' Ransom Trilogy, asking whether science fiction can offer the hope and meaning we long for or whether we're still searching for a bigger story to live by. Plus, what did JRR Tolkien think of Dune? + Support us here: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate + Subscribe to The CS Lewis podcast: https://www.premier.plus/cs-lewis-podcast + For more shows, free ebook and newsletter visit our website: https://premierunbelievable.com/

Philip Pullman vs CS Lewis: Do we need a true myth? Aug 24, 2026

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Is Christianity judgemental? Was Lewis too quick to judge his own characters? Can our imagination point us to the truth? From Star Wars and Doctor Who to His Dark Materials, Caleb Woodbridge and Damien Walter explore why myths continue to shape our imagination. Is there a "myth-shaped hole" in the human mind? Are we wired to search for meaning through story? Their discussion ranges from Lewis' idea of Christianity as the "true myth" to liberal humanism, imagination, truth and some of the most common criticisms levelled at Lewis. This is the second part of a programme originally broadcast on the Unbelievable? podcast. Listen next week to hear the final part of the conversation. + Support us here: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate + Subscribe to The CS Lewis podcast: https://www.premier.plus/cs-lewis-podcast + For more shows, free ebook and newsletter visit our website: https://premierunbelievable.com/

Why did Philip Pullman call Narnia a "filthy lie"? Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

Did CS Lewis really get Susan so wrong? Philip Pullman's famous attack on The Chronicles of Narnia sparks a fascinating discussion as Christian writer Caleb Woodbridge and science-fiction critic Damien Walter unpack the infamous "problem of Susan", accusations of sexism and whether CS Lewis' stories are morally dangerous. This is the first part of a programme originally broadcast on the Unbelievable? podcast. Listen next week to hear part two of the conversation. + Support us here: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate + Subscribe to The CS Lewis podcast: https://www.premier.plus/cs-lewis-podcast + For more shows, free ebook and newsletter, visit our website: https://premierunbelievable.com/

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