Hope is Kindled
A podcast devoted to the way stories shape us, sharpen us, and sometimes… save us.
Hope is Kindled is a literary podcast that explores classic and powerful works of literature through the lens of self-discovery, moral reflection, and enduring hope. Each episode delves into a single book, essay, or story, examining its themes, characters, and psychological depth, and connects it to timeless questions about the human condition.
What makes the podcast unique is its blend of literary criticism and warmth. It uses biographical, psychological, and historical criticism, along with personal reflection and cultural commentary—including references to Doctor Who, The Muppets, and classic film.
Please let us know what you think of our episodes, if you have any ideas for future episodes or to share your experiences looking searching for hope in the literary world.
Episodes
67 episodes
The Death and Life of Dith Pran
In this personal episode of Hope is Kindled, we explore The Death and Life of Dith Pran—the true story of survival, courage, and the enduring responsibility to bear witness.Through the life of Dith Pran, journalist, sur...
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Our friend Helena guest hosts this adventurous and deeply reflective episode of Hope is Kindled, we dive beneath the surface of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne, a story of exploration, mystery, and the co...
The Calico Cat at the Chibineko Kitchen
In this warm and quietly uplifting episode of Hope is Kindled, we step into the gentle, healing world of The Calico Cat at the Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi, a story where food, memory, and kindness come together to mend...
William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale
In this richly layered episode of Hope is Kindled, we journey into one of William Shakespeare’s most unusual and profound works: The Winter’s Tale.A play that begins in jealousy and tragedy, and ends in something resemb...
Remains of the Day
In this reflective episode of Hope is Kindled, we explore The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, a quiet, devastating meditation on duty, dignity, and the cost of a life lived in emotional restraint.Through the chara...
Montesquieu & de Tocqueville
In this thought-provoking episode of Hope is Kindled, we turn from literature to philosophy, exploring the enduring ideas of Montesquieu and Alexis de Tocqueville, two thinkers whose insights continue to shape democracy, liberty, and t...
Blood on the Forge
In this powerful and unflinching episode of Hope is Kindled, we explore Blood on the Forge by William Attaway—a haunting portrayal of the Great Migration and the human cost of industrial progress.Through the story of th...
The Bell Jar
In this deeply introspective and emotionally powerful episode of Hope is Kindled, we enter the fragile, airless world of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, a novel that has never felt more urgent, more personal, or more necessary.
Silas Marner
In this deeply personal and restorative episode of Hope Is Kindled, we turn to George Eliot’s Silas Marner, a quiet, significant novel about exile, bitterness, and the long road back to life. And, once again, this episod...
The Last Unicorn
In this deeply personal and unexpectedly powerful episode of Hope is Kindled, produced in my own voice, we journey into Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn, a work that arrived not just as a story, but as a thunderbolt of emoti...
Traveling Mercies
In this episode of Hope is Kindled, we turn to Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott, a book that speaks with rare honesty about faith, grief, doubt, and the long, uneven road toward healing. This episode grew out of a m...
The Diving Bell & The Butterfly
What does it mean to be free?In this short episode of Hope is Kindled, we journey into Jean-Dominique Bauby’s unforgettable memoir The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Struck by locked-in syndrome after a massive stroke, Bauby wa...
Last Men Out
This is a pivotal episode of Hope is Kindled, and one of the most poignant we’ve ever recorded.Thanks to Bob Drury and Tom Clavin, Last Men Out takes us to back in time to bear witness of the final hours of the Vietnam ...
Night by Elie Wiesel
There are some books that resist hope—not because they lack meaning, but because they refuse comfort. Night by Elie Wiesel is one of those works. It confronts us with the Holocaust not as distant history, but as lived reality: a world ...
FLOW by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
What keeps a human being whole when the world feels chaotic, overwhelming, or fractured?In this episode of Hope is Kindled, we explore Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a groundbreaking work that asks...
Always Coming Home
What does hope look like when it isn’t loud, triumphant, or driven by conquest?In this episode of Hope is Kindled, we return to Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin, a deeply unconventional and quietly radical work that imag...
A Wrinkle in Time
What if love, imperfect, emotional, stubborn love, really is the strongest force in the universe?In this episode of Hope is Kindled, we take a deep and thoughtful journey into A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, a sto...
A Christmas Carol
Tonight on Hope is Kindled, we step into the snow-dusted streets of Victorian London and revisit one of the most enduring stories ever told: A Christmas Carol. Through Dickens’ words, and the many ways this story has echoed throu...
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
In this scorching, psychedelic plunge into Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, we chase the ghost of the American Dream through burning desert highways, casino neon, shattered illusions, and chemical weather systems that...
The Tempest
In this episode of Hope is Kindled, we set sail into Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the Bard’s final and most mysterious play, a story of storms, forgiveness, and the quiet power of letting go.Through psychological, histori...
The Princess Bride
In this side-splitting and heartwarming episode of Hope is Kindled, we journey into one of the most beloved stories ever told: The Princess Bride by William Goldman, a tale of true love, high adventure, fencing, fig...
The Prophet
In this luminous episode of Hope is Kindled, we turn to Khalil Gibran’s timeless masterpiece The Prophet, a book that has guided hearts for more than a century and continues to sing to the human spirit. Blending poetry and par...
Mindset
In this episode of Hope is Kindled, I return to a book that helped me during one of the most difficult transformations of my life — Carol S. Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. I didn’t read it from a place o...
The Cider House Rules
Welcome back to Hope is Kindled, where stories help us rediscover our moral compass and our shared humanity. In this episode, we explore John Irving’s The Cider House Rules — a powerful reflection on compassion, choice, and th...
Fly! Find Your Own Wings and Soar Above Life’s Challenges
In this uplifting and deeply personal episode, Hope is Kindled takes flight with FLY!: Find Your Own Wings and Soar Above Life’s Challenges by Paralympic legend Lex Gillette.Told in my own voice, this episode explores h...
