Pursuing wisdom through primary and secondary worldsMythic Mind is a conversation about stories, thought, and the inner life. We read literature and philosophy, talk through film and games when they help, and ask what these works reveal about the soul, the good life, and the Christian imagination. Hosted by Andrew Snyder, Ph.D., professor of theology and philosophy, the show gathers fellow readers and thinkers around a common table. Some episodes are lessons. Most are recorded discussions. All of them aim at seeing more clearly, not merely consuming more content. New seasons take up a shared theme across the Fellowship...
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Sep 28, 2026 · 43:36
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/Juoxi8xM5eQ Socialism is often sold as justice, necessity, or the only way to win. This Exploring the Psyche episode asks a harder question:…
Sep 21, 2026 · 1:15:52
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/iXr8KuutfW0 When Boethius lost everything, Lady Philosophy told him the wound beneath the wound: you have forgotten who you are. That diagnosis…
Sep 15, 2026 · 1:16:15
In this Mythic Mind Exploring the Psyche conversation, Dr. Andrew Snyder talks with licensed therapists Jeremy Kee and Tyler Finders about the value of home: roots and…
Sep 10, 2026 · 1:17:57
Anxiety is usually treated as a disease to be eliminated. Medication and psychotherapy have their place, but what if, in our pursuit of so-called mental health, we are…
Aug 31, 2026 · 1:25:21
In this inaugural episode of our fall "Exploring the Psyche" season, I discuss "living well" with Tyler Finders and Jeremy Key, both of whom are clinical psychotherapists and…
Aug 27, 2026 · 6:21
Between podcasts with professionals in the field, discussions of philosophy, film, and video games, Inkwell articles, a course on Kierkegaard, and more, Mythic Mind will be…
Aug 10, 2026 · 13:01
C.S. Lewis's That Hideous Strength is a profound, still very underread story that provides penetrating insights into the growing forces of dehumanization that drive much of our…
Jul 28, 2026 · 20:11
[This episode is best as video. Watch at https://youtu.be/tFrz6G_Avg4. Starting at the beginning of August, we will begin transitioning away from Patreon to our new home at…
Jul 25, 2026 · 16:43
In this lecture from his "English Poems and Poets" course, classical teacher Josh Traylor provides a broad overview of literary Romanticism 19th century England. Josh has listed…
Jul 20, 2026 · 34:41
In this lecture from his "English Poems and Poets" course, classical teacher Josh Traylor explains what Romanticism is, what it is not, why it is ambiguous, and how we should…
Jul 16, 2026 · 34:39
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/_XTGWHb0iDY Tolkien once wondered whether a film could cut Helm's Deep. In the book it still teaches how hope arrives at dawn, and how a…
Jul 13, 2026 · 10:55
What does the future hold? What has been let go by the past? How should we view the moving horizon? In this episode, I draw from Tolkien's letters, The Lord of the Rings, and his…
Jul 9, 2026 · 1:38:20
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/1jTkmfAQ9SI We live amid tribal AI arguments: every machine-made frame is "slop," or every model is just a new paintbrush. This Mythic Mind…
Jul 6, 2026 · 34:10
What is the American heritage? To whom does it belong? For this special episode of Mythic Mind, we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of…
Jul 3, 2026 · 34:39
We are continuing our Lord of the Rings study with the Book III, Chapters 1-6. Purchase the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, here: Purchase Course Watch the…
Jun 29, 2026 · 4:10
From Norse legend to Christian Anglo-Saxon poetry to the skies of Middle-earth, we are taking a look at Earendil the Mariner, the first enduring character of Tolkien's…
Jun 25, 2026 · 45:36
We are continuing our Lord of the Rings study with the Book II, Chapters 6-10. Purchase the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, here: Purchase Course Watch the…
Jun 22, 2026 · 10:55
We continue through our 2025 course on The Lord of the Rings with a focused presentation on the character of Sauron. Purchase the entire course, including our recorded live…
Jun 18, 2026 · 1:04:09
We are continuing our Lord of the Rings study with the Book II, Chapters 1-5. Purchase the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, here: Purchase Course Watch the…
Jun 15, 2026 · 8:31
We continue our Lord of the Rings study with a detour to Plato and a different ring of power. Purchase the entire course, including our recorded live meetings, here: Purchase…
Jun 11, 2026 · 1:25:48
We are continuing our Lord of the Rings study with the Book I, Chapters 6-12 (The Old Forest to Flight to the Ford). Purchase the entire course, including our recorded live…
Jun 8, 2026 · 33:00
Tolkien is known to despise allegory, but he is also clear that fiction, including his own, has a relationship with the primary world that can be used as a conduit for truth. In…
Jun 4, 2026 · 1:21:44
We are continuing our Lord of the Rings study with the Prologue to Book I, Chapter 5 (A Conspiracy Unmasked). Purchase the entire course, including our recorded live meetings,…
Jun 1, 2026 · 19:12
We begin our Lord of the Rings study with the beginning of Tolkien's world: the Ainulindalë, which tells of the making of Arda and the primordial fall of the devilish Melkor.…
May 28, 2026 · 15:46
In this new series of Mythic Mind, I will be providing my lessons from the exclusive Lord of the Rings study that we did in early 2025. This is a short introduction to that…
May 25, 2026 · 34:33
Neil deGrasse Tyson told Piers Morgan that we do not need to appeal to God to answer cosmological questions because the empirical sciences have demonstrated sufficient…
May 18, 2026 · 48:25
While it is certain that any number of things may be "really going on," it is not difficult to make the case that the modern internet-saturated culture is plagued by unhealthy…
May 11, 2026 · 49:15
We were recently promised UFO/UAE files that would fundamentally disrupt biblical Christianity. In a shocking turn, these promises were not delivered, but this was a good…
May 4, 2026 · 56:26
In this episode of C.S. Lewis and the News, I discuss the ominous renaming of ICE to the N.I.C.E. and what our reception of King Charles reveals about our democratic ideals. This…
Apr 30, 2026 · 15:17
In this episode, I introduce C.S. Lewis and the News, a new series (and hopefully one day new show) that examines the moving pieces of our world through the timeless writing of…
Apr 27, 2026 · 42:33
If God has perfect knowledge of all time, do we actually have choices to make? To what extent can our wills possibly be free? In this final episode of Life, Death, and Meaning…
Apr 23, 2026 · 56:30
In this bonus episode from Josh Traylor's Paradise Lost course, Josh shares some wisdom on studying literature. Whether you are interested in studying literature professionally…
Apr 20, 2026 · 31:13
What is time? What is its relationship with eternity? Does God's perfect knowledge of negate our apparent free will? As we continue through the Boethius section of "Life, Death,…
Apr 16, 2026 · 56:19
As we continue through Joshua Traylor's Paradise Lost course, Josh discusses Books XI and XII. Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here:…
Apr 13, 2026 · 42:43
What is the relationship between Fate and Providence? As we continue through "Life, Death, and Meaning with Beowulf and Boethius," I discuss Book IV Boethius's The Consolation of…
Apr 9, 2026 · 38:19
As we continue through Joshua Traylor's Paradise Lost course, Josh discusses Book X. Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here:…
Apr 6, 2026 · 18:38
Patron and Mythic Mind contributor Jack Keoseyan recently wrote an article for our Substack titled, "Arda Healed, not Arda Unmarred," in which he discusses Tolkien's Athrabeth…
Apr 2, 2026 · 41:15
As we continue through Joshua Traylor's Paradise Lost course, Josh discusses Books IX. Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here:…
Mar 30, 2026 · 40:04
As we continue through the Boethius section of "Life, Death, and Meaning with Beowulf and Boethius," we take a look at Epicureanism and Stoicism, two major schools of classical…
Mar 26, 2026 · 51:51
As we continue through Joshua Traylor's Paradise Lost course, Josh discusses Books VII & VIII of Paradise Lost. Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube…
Mar 23, 2026 · 33:30
Can Fortune be trusted? What is true happiness? What are its illusions? As we continue through "Life, Death, and Meaning with Beowulf and Boethius," I discuss Book II & III of…
Mar 21, 2026 · 46:03
As we continue through Joshua Traylor's Paradise Lost course, Josh discusses Book VI of Paradise Lost. Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here:…
Mar 16, 2026 · 52:14
As we continue through "Life, Death, and Meaning with Beowulf and Boethius," I survey the emergence of Neoplatonism from the pre-Socratics to Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus,…
Mar 13, 2026 · 1:04:46
As we continue through Joshua Traylor's Paradise Lost course, Josh discusses Book V of Paradise Lost. Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here:…
Mar 9, 2026 · 23:14
As we continue through "Life, Death, and Meaning with Beowulf and Boethius," I discuss Book I of Boethius's The Consolation of Philosophy. Watch the video of this episode and…
Mar 5, 2026 · 1:11:33
As we continue through Joshua Traylor's Paradise Lost course, Josh discusses Book IV of Paradise Lost. Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here:…
Mar 2, 2026 · 49:36
As we continue through "Life, Death, and Meaning with Beowulf and Boethius," we enter into the Boethius sub-unit with an introduction to The Consolation of Philosophy and…
Feb 26, 2026 · 42:09
As we continue through Joshua Traylor's Paradise Lost course, Josh discusses Book III of Paradise Lost. Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here:…
Feb 23, 2026 · 23:23
In this episode, we wrap up the Beowulf portion of our "Life, Death, and Meaning with Beowulf and Boethius" study. Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube…
Feb 19, 2026 · 40:09
As we continue through Joshua Traylor's Paradise Lost course, Josh discusses Book II of Paradise Lost. Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here:…
Feb 16, 2026 · 17:30
Baldur the Beautiful dies by mistletoe, waits in Hel, and is promised return after Ragnarok. Beowulf remembers a brother-slaying that looks a lot like Hod and Baldur. What do…
Feb 13, 2026 · 1:01:31
As we continue through Joshua Traylor's Paradise Lost course, Josh discusses Book I of Paradise Lost. Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here:…
Feb 9, 2026 · 24:42
We are continuing through my Life, Death, and Meaning with Beowulf and Boethius course with the text of Beowulf from Beowulf's return to Geatland to the introduction of Wiglaf.…
Feb 5, 2026 · 32:26
As we continue through Joshua Traylor's Paradise Lost course, Josh discusses John Milton's theology. Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here:…
Feb 2, 2026 · 22:22
We are continuing through the Life, Death, and Meaning with Beowulf and Boethius course with a presentation of the Saga of the Volsungs. Watch the video of this episode and…
Jan 28, 2026 · 37:13
As we continue through Joshua Traylor's Paradise Lost course, Josh surveys Milton's other works. Watch the video of this episode and subscribe to my YouTube channel here:…
Jan 26, 2026 · 41:40
We are continuing through the Life, Death, and Meaning with Beowulf and Boethius course that I led in the Fall of 2024 with the text of Beowulf from the death of Grendel to…
Jan 23, 2026 · 9:12
Starting in February of 2026, I will be leading an 8-week study on The Silmarillion. This course will include: Weekly reading companion videos Weekly live meetings Ongoing…
Jan 22, 2026 · 30:32
In this lession from Josh Traylor's 2025 Paradise Lost course, Josh discusses Milton's treaise, "Of Education," which details a robust model of classical education. Watch the…
Jan 19, 2026 · 29:21
We are continuing through the Life, Death, and Meaning with Beowulf and Boethius course that I led in the Fall of 2024 with the J.R.R. Tolkien's essay, "The Monsters and the…
Jan 15, 2026 · 28:58
Josh Traylor led a study on Paradise Lost for Mythic Mind in 2025, and he has graciously given me permission to post his content here and on the Mythic Mind podcast. In this…
Jan 12, 2026 · 56:17
Who is Beowulf? What is Beowulf? Who is the legendary Shield Sheafson? What is Grendel? What is the relationship between the paganism of the setting and the Christianity of the…
Jan 8, 2026 · 52:18
Josh Traylor led a study on Paradise Lost for Mythic Mind in 2025, and he has graciously given me permission to post his content here and on the Mythic Mind podcast. This is…
Jan 5, 2026 · 30:34
We are continuing through the Life, Death, and Meaning with Beowulf and Boethius course that I led in the Fall of 2024 with an introduction to Beowulf. Watch the video of this…
Jan 2, 2026 · 17:40
Become a patron of Mythic Mind at patreon.com/mythicmind. For the rest of 2026, the discount for annual patronage is increased to 50%! Watch the video of this episode and…
Dec 29, 2025 · 1:59:00
Several members of the Mythic Mind fellowship met together to discuss standout books, movies/shows, and games that we engaged with in 2025. Become a patron of Mythic Mind at…
Dec 22, 2025 · 10:35
Across the domains of literature, philosophy, video games, and movies, I discuss some of the place Mythic Mind has been in 2025 and where we are going in 2026. Become a patron…
Dec 15, 2025 · 51:36
Tashlan is unveiled as a demon god. "The Problem of Susan" True Narnia is revealed. In this episode, we continue our series on the Fiction and Philosophy of C.S. Lewis with The…
Dec 8, 2025 · 39:04
In this episode, we continue our series on the Fiction and Philosophy of C.S. Lewis with The Magician's Nephew. Become a patron and/or enroll in a course at…
Dec 1, 2025 · 26:36
In this episode, we continue our series on the Fiction and Philosophy of C.S. Lewis with The Horse and His Boy. Become a patron and/or enroll in a course at…
Dec 1, 2025 · 37:30
In this episode, we continue our series on the Fiction and Philosophy of C.S. Lewis with The Silver Chair. Become a patron and/or enroll in a course at patreon.com/mythicmind.…
Dec 1, 2025 · 9:52
In this episode, we continue our series on the Fiction and Philosophy of C.S. Lewis with an introduction to The Silver Chair and The Horse and His Boy. Become a patron and/or…
Nov 24, 2025 · 50:02
In this episode, we continue our series on the Fiction and Philosophy of C.S. Lewis with Prince Caspian & The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Become a patron and/or enroll in a…
Nov 17, 2025 · 46:06
In this episode, we continue our series on the Fiction and Philosophy of C.S. Lewis with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Become a patron and/or enroll in a course at…
Nov 10, 2025 · 25:56
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/ro29Ic74aLE Narnia may be written for children, but it is still Lewis doing the writing. This introduction opens the first three Chronicles as…
Nov 4, 2025 · 1:36:06
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/bHfA0S1KzxM A bus leaves a grey town that may be hell, and thin ghosts step onto the solid outskirts of heaven. C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce…
Oct 28, 2025 · 32:41
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/gNI3hTdgXB8 Lewis's "Myth Became Fact" argues that Christianity does not abolish myth. It fulfills it: the dying god becomes historical fact in…
Oct 20, 2025 · 1:01:07
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/DIQVoUnfx6o Book Two of Till We Have Faces turns Orual's case against the gods inside out. Dreams, digging, and judgment strip the veil she wore…
Oct 13, 2025 · 1:22:33
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/1KhXO9V0PRw Orual writes her case against the gods with a veiled face and a jealous love. Till We Have Faces, Book One, is Lewis's retelling of…
Oct 6, 2025 · 21:55
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/CSaprLzGIO8 Lewis thought Till We Have Faces was his best novel. Critics shrugged; readers still finish Book One standing at the edge of a…
Sep 29, 2025 · 47:19
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/9vOF7fN0inA Lewis's third essay names the endgame: when "man's conquest of nature" becomes a few conditioners remaking everyone else, humanity…
Sep 25, 2025 · 12:02
This is the introductory video for my course on The Elder Scrolls and Philosophy, which begins the week of 10/19. To enroll, purchase the course through the Mythic Mind Patreon…
Sep 22, 2025 · 45:47
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/voOEKAzHrk0 C.S. Lewis opens The Abolition of Man with a schoolbook that teaches students to distrust their own loves. The result, he warns, is…
Sep 19, 2025 · 52:11
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/ZX0zy5IcV0Q Two murders hit the feed in a way we were never meant to watch: Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte train, then Charlie Kirk. Grief, rage,…
Sep 15, 2025 · 1:51:43
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/PrNMmmozb2U The last chapters of That Hideous Strength throw Mark into Belbury's prison of ideas, wake Merlin as the reverse of NICE, and open…
Sep 8, 2025 · 1:28:43
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/DVpdQEdul2E Chapters 7–11 of That Hideous Strength force the fork: Jane finds St. Anne's and begins to learn obedience in love, while Mark sinks…
Aug 30, 2025 · 59:08
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/6nouFFhsDKs Preface through Chapter 6: Mark Studdock is recruited into the NICE, Jane begins to dream, and their marriage frays as Belbury's…
Aug 25, 2025 · 13:59
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/rTO6qBf0WNs Lewis called That Hideous Strength a fairy-tale for grown-ups, and it feels nothing like Out of the Silent Planet or Perelandra. The…
Aug 18, 2025 · 1:19:12
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/wpM57wego3Y Lewis's Screwtape Letters turn temptation into correspondence: a senior devil coaches a junior tempter on how to spoil an ordinary…
Aug 11, 2025 · 43:35
What inspired C.S. Lewis to write The Screwtape Letters ? Did you know that Lewis once began an angelic companion to The Screwtape Letters ? Did you know that Screwtape was once…
Aug 5, 2025 · 1:20:32
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/90QFX72HsMs Ransom is shot from Malacandra to the wave-world of Venus: floating islands, an unfallen Lady, the Un-man, and a temptation to seize…
Jul 28, 2025 · 55:10
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/hCK8UYp665A Books 7 and 8 bring Augustine to the edge of conversion: Neoplatonic light that still cannot save, the bondage of a divided will,…
Jul 21, 2025 · 21:53
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/fPU7aiJOn3k Before Ransom lands on Venus, Lewis wants you oriented: desire as echo, glory as telos, and a story driven by the end it aims at…
Jul 15, 2025 · 1:21:23
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/RUSCV-MzO5I For Mythic Mind's 100th episode, author and teacher Aaron Bair asks what fairy-story enchanted you young and still shapes who you…
Jul 7, 2025 · 1:34:18
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/0mLWBTYRhy0 Ransom is kidnapped into the heavens and discovers that Earth is the silent planet: bent, cut off, and haunted by a cosmology…
Jul 1, 2025 · 6:08
I am reviving my Substack series on Tolkien's letters, which I am also recording for Tier 2+ patrons at https://www.patreon.com/c/mythicmind. In this freebie episode, I discuss a…
Jun 30, 2025 · 55:14
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/iAWQCqZGh4I Books 5 and 6 move Augustine from Carthage toward Milan: rhetoric as career, Manichaean disappointment, Ambrose on the horizon, and…
Jun 24, 2025 · 25:43
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/8EFZ5StzhXQ The door into Lewis's so-called Space Trilogy: why Out of the Silent Planet begins the Ransom series, what to expect from the course…
Jun 17, 2025 · 1:16:03
With an added introduction, this is the first lesson in my "Fiction & Philosophy of C.S. Lewis" course, which is now being released to the public podcast. Become a patron and/or…
Jun 10, 2025 · 54:33
Watch the video: https://youtu.be/UdFP6tkKLz0 Episode IV still works because it remembers fairy tale: farm boy, empire, mentors, and a Force that asks whether you turn toward…
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