I was. I grew up on the Narnia books, "A Wrinkle in Time," Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea trilogy, the Lord of the Rings series. Years later, my kids and I squabbled over who got first dibs on the latest Harry Potter or Philip Pullman book. It took me decades to realize that my lifelong diet of magical fantasy left me with more than rudimentary Elvish, and an encyclopedic familiarity with magical creatures. It also left me with an intuitive sense that somewhere out beyond this quotidien muggle life, there is — there MUST be — another, better reality. Somewhere in the universe, magic is real. Admittedly not very accessible and tricksy as hell to use but still — real.
That’s an idea that doesn’t just live in children’s fantasy books. This week’s show explores our human longing for magic, through a number of lenses — from stage magic to religion, from online astrology memes to fortune-telling and fiction. If it inspires you to seek out some new sources of magic in your own life — let us know what you find!
—Anne