What can ancient stories teach us about creativity, courage, and our own place in the modern world?

In this episode, Stephen Roach welcomes poet and priest Malcolm Guite back to Makers & Mystics to explore his poetic retelling of King Arthur and the Holy Grail. Malcolm reflects on how these stories shaped him from childhood and why myth still carries moral and spiritual weight in a disenchanted age.

Together, they discuss the role of storytelling in recovering a sacramental vision of the world. This conversation is an invitation to re-enchantment—to slow down, commit to your craft, and take your place in the great unfolding story.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL HEAR ABOUT

Why Arthurian legend endures: its moral and spiritual resonance
Taking up the tale: how myth becomes personal meaning
Re-enchantment: seeing the world with wonder in an age of distraction
The value of slow, faithful creative practice

Artist Profile Series 18: Lilias Trotter

Lilias Trotter was a British artist, writer and visionary. It has been said that through Lilias’s contact with art critic and social philosopher, John Ruskin, she had the opportunity to become one of England’s greatest and most famous artists of her day. Yet, for her own convictions, Lilias turned away from this opportunity and followed a path that assured her of obscurity and promised no certain success.

Lilias lived forty years of her life among the Arabic people of North Africa and built significant friendships with Sufi mystics of the Sahara desert.

Resources:

Many Beautiful Things Documentary

Lilias Trotter Legacy

A Passion For The Impossible Biography

S5 E10: My Midsummer Morning with Alastair Humphreys

Alastair Humphreys has been on expeditions all around the world, traveling through over 80 countries by bicycle, boat and on foot. He was named as one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the year for 2012.

He has walked across southern India, rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, run six marathons through the Sahara desert and participated in an expedition in the Arctic, close to the magnetic North Pole.

More recently, Alastair followed in the footsteps of one of his own heroes, an Englishman named Laurie Lee who walked across Spain in 1935 earning money for food by playing his violin in bars and plazas.

In this episode, Stephen talks with Alastair about his adventures, his fears and motivations behind his lifestyle of risk and his latest book My Midsummer Morning.

Connect with Alastair Humphreys

Support The Podcast

Buy Alastair’s Book

Music from this episode:

Glassea

Daniel Birch

Aaron Strumpel

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