The Dorothy L. Sayers Podcast
Episodes
Writing #5: Get Help
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You can't always go it alone. Even scholars - especially scholars? - need help. Learn how Sayers both received and rejected help on her writing.
Writing #4: To Err is Evil
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Simple mistakes are one thing. Not doing your research is another. Judging others wrongly when you haven't done your research is monstrous. In thi...
Writing #3: Dialogue, Dialect, and Diet Coke
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Most people enjoy reading dialogue, but this episode tells us some surprising ways to use dialogue in your own writing. Listen and learn about how Say...
Writing #2: Words Misleading and Words Mysterious
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do your wordsalways have to be clear? Sayers tells us when to clarify what we say and when to let it be obscure. We will look at her essay, "Poet...
Writing #1: The Stimulating Effects of Concrete
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Season 4 is about writing. As one of the most accomplished authors of the early 20th century, Sayers is a good person to teach us how to write. In thi...
Peter Wimsey and World-Building
20 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this short episode, we learn about Lord Peter's pedigree and also hear the voice of his friends through a discussion of two books: The Wimsey F...
The Seven Deadly Sins, Part 2: An Interview with Dr. Janice Brown
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we are continuing our conversation with Dr. Brown. We'll be addressing Sayers's essay, "The Other Six Deadly Sins,"...
The Seven Deadly Sins: An Interview with Dr. Janice Brown
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Have you heard the phrase Seven Deadly Sins but didn't know what they were? Or would you like to read Sayers' novels at a deeper level? Please...
What to Read Next
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You'd like to read more Sayers but don't know what to choose? This short episode is for you. We'll talk about her different types of work ...
Lewis Carroll
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lindsey and Selah talk about the influence of that great writer of "literary nonsense," a little bit about Carroll's life itself, and a ...
Satire, or Even the Parrot
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Sayers tries her hand at satire, the result is a hilarious and head-scratching little volume entitled Even the Parrot. Lindsey and her guest Sela...
Sayers International: India
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"How Free is the Press?" sounds like a pretty bland title, but it was surprisingly hard to find. And its role in the Dorothy L. Sayers legac...
The Emperor Constantine
21 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1951, Sayers wrote a play called The Emperor Constantine. Though it was only performed two times (interrupted by the death of King George VI), it w...
Are Women Human?
08 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Are women human? Or are they women? Yes and yes. But is one category treated as more significant than the other? Join us in working through Sayers' sp...
Purgatory
09 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This completes our three-part series on the afterlife via Sayers, via Dante. Listen to this episode to hear a positive view of Purgatory--even if you ...
Hell
24 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What is Hell? It's a place, yes. But it's also an attitude. It's when we call something evil when it's actually good. Hell's not just a place where pe...
Heaven
11 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone knows Heaven that to describe Heaven as simply a cloud and a harp is childish. But what is it, exactly? Sayers tries to answer that question ...
A Few Ways to Think About the Trinity
28 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Trinities are all around us, according to Sayers's masterpiece, The Mind of the Maker. In this episode, we'll discuss how Sayers shows us that the Tri...
Dorothy and Jack: An Interview with Gina Dalfonzo, Part 2
13 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In part 2 of this interview, we get Gina's thoughts on how, or if, we should separate a writer's work from his personal life, as well as her insights ...
Dorothy and Jack: An Interview with Gina Dalfonzo, Part 1
27 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dorothy and Jack is a biography of friendship. Most of us have heard of C.S. Lewis' group of friends called The Inklings, but Lewis enjoyed other sign...
On Asking Bad Questions
13 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are no bad questions, are there? Yes, there probably are. Sayers, Chesterton, and Lewis all have something to say about asking questions that sh...
More Sayers for More People
31 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Maybe you don't care about Sayers or don't like her writing. But the truth is that she has more to offer us than her books. Her life had qualities we ...
Dorothy and Dante
24 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Once you've successfully written murder mysteries, lay theology, radio dramas, and stage dramas, what else is left? Why not try your hand at re-interp...
Charles Williams and Coinherence, Part 2
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we read a striking scene from Sayers's play, The Just Vengeance. We learn more about how to share each other's burdens, at leas...
A Man Called Charles Williams, A Thing Called Coinherence, Part 1
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sayers had a friend named Charles Williams, who had a theory called Coinherence. This man and his idea figured largely in her later work. In this epis...
The Lost Tools of Learning
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"For the sole true end of education is simply this: to teach men how to learn for themselves; and whatever instruction fails to do this is effort spen...
Creed or Chaos? Part 2
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sayers once proclaimed, "I have nothing to give you but the Creeds." What did she mean by that? Using her essay, "Creed or Chaos?," we will discuss &n...
Creed or Chaos? Part 1
16 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What are the creeds of the Church? And what have they got to do with Sayers? Or rather, what has she to do with them? In this episode, we discuss her ...
Why Work?
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we have jobs? What would it be like if we loved what we produced more than the money that we earn? In this episode, Sayers suggests that to wor...
Sayers on Trash (Also, Why the 'L'?)
02 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"The Other Six Deadly Sins" and "Why Work?" are two lectures-turned-essays in which Sayers talks about trash, or rubbish. She connects the problem of ...
Advice on Writing
25 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We discuss some of the things that made Sayers such a likable writer. We then encounter some of Sayers's own writing advice, which is helpful for casu...
Avoiding "Bible Talk"
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The BBC has asked Sayers to write a radio drama on the life of Christ, but the project ignites some drama of its own. It also gives Sayers an opportun...
The Letters, or an argument with Lewis
10 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Exchange between Sayers and C.S. Lewis on artistic integrity and the duty of the artist.