Preternatural Investigations

In which the main themes that have emerged over the course of this podcast series are drawn out and something is said of what life…

In which the idea of wildness and the relationship between the human and the wild are explored. Some problematic approaches to wildness are flagged up…

In which the role suffering plays in creating art is explored and the idea of the tortured artist is contrasted with that of the artist…

In which a number of songs that celebrate evil characters are examined and the question ‘why do good people enjoy songs about bad people?’ is…

In which the ways the communities we belong to are shown to affect our sense of self and our ability to find magic, meaning and…

In which a contrast between the way folk music is seen in England and the US leads to speculation about the role of Harry Smith’s…

In which an old, traditional ceremony – The Ancient Castleton Garland Ceremony – is compared with a new, invented one – the burning of the…

In which an examination of M.R. James’ approach to writing ghost stories leads to a distinction between two ways of thinking about the past, the…

In which the enchanting music of The Pied Piper, the natural magic of The Secret Garden, and other fictional portrayals of magic are examined and…

In which the idea that the sense of wonder we are born with automatically diminishes as we mature is brought into question. The factors that…

In which a return to Mid Wales triggers a kind of charged and magical experience that feels like a portal onto a more intense world.…

In which the concept of the preternatural is introduced and the importance of a preternatural realm lying between the natural and the supernatural is argued…