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
48 episodes
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...
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Episode 82
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10:17
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...
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Episode 67
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25:15
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...
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Episode 60
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10:30
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...
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Episode 46
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14:24
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...
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Episode 52
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16:48
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...
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Episode 64
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17:26
The Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit
Today’s episode is different. It may be the most important one we’ve ever done, not because of how polished or clever it might be, but because it goes to the very heart of why this podcast exists.We are going to Middle-earth, to The ...
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Episode 81
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16:06
The One Heartbeat of Hope & Faith: Les Miserables & The Book of Job
In this deeply personal episode of Hope is Kindled, we journey into two of the most profound works ever written — Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables and the ancient Book of Job. These stories, though centuries apart, speak ...
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Episode 56
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24:15
To Kill a Mockingbird
After wandering through ancient epics, storm-swept islands, shadowed courtrooms, and psychedelic buses, Hope is Kindled returns home—home to one of the most essential and beloved works in the American literary canon: Harper Lee’s
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Episode 32
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22:26
Big Magic
In this episode of Hope is Kindled, we turn to Elizabeth Gilbert’s inspiring manifesto on creativity: Big Magic. Unlike ancient epics or war memoirs, this book speaks directly to our everyday lives, urging us to live with courage, curiosity,...
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Episode 70
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14:50
Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story by Carlos Baker
I had planned to leave Hemingway for another time, but a friend reminded me that his work is too necessary, too urgent, to set aside. And so here we are, bringing Hemingway into Hope is Kindled at this exact moment, because sometimes t...
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Episode 78
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18:13
Moby Dick
This episode of Hope is Kindled has been one of the most personal journeys I’ve ever taken. I never liked Moby-Dick when I first read it—honestly, I hated it. But over time, I began to realize that the very reasons I resisted ...
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Episode 80
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27:22
Papillon
In this episode of Hope is Kindled, we turn to Papillon, Henri Charrière’s unforgettable tale of resilience, defiance, and the unbreakable human spirit. For the first time on this podcast, you’ll also hear a guest voice—...
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Episode 68
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16:47
The Odyssey
Homer’s Odyssey is vast, essential, and deeply human—and that’s exactly why this episode was so hard to write. How do you capture three thousand years of longing, shipwrecks, monsters, and homecoming in something short, meaningful, and...
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Episode 16
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21:37
S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders
Few books capture the intensity of youth—and the ache of remembering it—like S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. For so many of us, this was one of the first novels that made reading feel real: the late nights spent turning pages under the c...
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Episode 51
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12:58
The Killing Zone, My Life in the Vietnam War by Frederick Downs
his episode of Hope is Kindled may be one of the most important we have ever undertaken. Frederick Downs’s memoir The Killing Zone: My Life in the Vietnam War strips away illusions and forces us to see war as it really is: bru...
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Episode 27
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12:42
Terry Pratchett's Discworld
Far from home as a young teen—on a plane to Russia and later a bus rolling through Belarus and the Baltics—I first discovered Terry Pratchett with Witches Abroad. In those unfamiliar landscapes, Pratchett’s humor gave me joy, comfort, ...
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Episode 42
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12:01
The Iliad
This episode of Hope is Kindled has been a long time coming—and one of the most difficult to prepare. How do you begin to approach a work as vast and formidable as Homer’s Iliad? Its sheer weight can feel overwhelming: an epic...
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Episode 15
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33:35
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Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass
In this episode of Hope is Kindled, we turn to Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass—one of the most groundbreaking, soul-stirring works of American literature. Yet when I recently asked a high school senior about Whitman, he had no ...
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Episode 79
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9:19
Marcus Aurelius' Meditations
Sometimes the most meaningful journeys are the ones we never planned. This special, unplanned episode of Hope is Kindled arrives at just the right moment—and for this occasion, we are calling it Hope is Reignited. The new name...
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Episode 41
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16:36
The Spirit of Crazy Horse
As I write this, the boys and I are here in the Black Hills—land that still whispers his name, where the wind moves like memory. Crazy Horse. A leader, a visionary, a warrior whose life was marked by both quiet strength and unshakable resolve.<...
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Episode 40
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12:52
Opening the Dragon Gate
In this enlightening episode of Hope is Kindled, we journey into the hidden world of Taoist alchemy, inner cultivation, and ancient Chinese mysticism through Opening the Dragon Gate: The Making of a Modern Taoist Wizard by Che...
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Episode 39
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17:46
A Time to Kill
In this harrowing and essential episode of Hope is Kindled, we confront the brutal legacy of racism and injustice in America through John Grisham’s incendiary debut novel, A Time to Kill. Set in the deep South, this courtroom ...
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Episode 37
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11:06
