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Wodcast

E1 - When Faith and Doubt Hold Hands | with Elif Shafak

6/17/20261 hr 25 min

What happens when faith and doubt learn to dance together? In this opening conversation of the Wodcast, bestselling novelist Elif Shafak joins Benjamin Aston and Mabel Evans for a wide-ranging exploration of language, love, storytelling and the search for wisdom in a noisy world. Together they discuss the ancient meanings hidden inside words, why different cultures understand love in different ways, the forgotten goddess of writing, the importance of oral storytelling, and what Elif calls "inner democracy" the practice of making space for the many voices within ourselves. Drawing on her novels, her spiritual curiosity, and her lifelong relationship with stories, Elif reflects on the tension between certainty and wonder, information and wisdom, roots and belonging, and why slowing down may be one of the most radical acts of our time. This episode is an invitation to listen more deeply: to language, to each other, and to the stories that shape who we become. ───── Topics include: • Faith and doubt • The many meanings of love • Language and identity • Storytelling and oral tradition • Inner democracy • Wisdom in the digital age • Women, memory and forgotten histories • Nature, listening, and belonging ───── Thank you to our sponsors: Summerour Architects https://summerourarchitects.com/ Trunk Clothiers https://www.trunkclothiers.com/ ───── More from the Wodcast: ➟ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wod.cast/ ➟ Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wodcast/id1896893830 ➟ Youtube - https://youtube.com/@wodcast_channel?si=sQbEXy6-mO6lOLvB ➟ Substack - https://wodcast.substack.com/ ➟Website https://wodcast.co.uk/ ───── See you next Wednesday for our word reflection ‘mini-episode’ where hosts Mabel & Ben deep dive into Elif’s ‘weight-baring’ words✨

Clips

Love Should Change You
Information ≠ Knowledge ≠ Wisdom
Faith Needs Doubt
Inner Democracy Concept
Staying Versus Falling
Turning Anger Into Art
Meaning of “Gurbet”

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Benjamin Aston· Host0:00

    [birds chirping] [wood thudding] [gentle music] Welcome to the WordCast.

  2. Mabel Evans· Host0:10

    Here we explore the power and beauty of words.

  3. Benjamin Aston· Host0:13

    We're your hosts. I'm Ben.

  4. Mabel Evans· Host0:16

    And I'm Mabel. And today's guest is novelist Elif Shafak. We hope you enjoy the episode.

  5. Elif Shafak· Guest0:23

    Very good to see you.

  6. Benjamin Aston· Host0:26

    So good to see you again.

  7. Elif Shafak· Guest0:27

    Yeah.

  8. Benjamin Aston· Host0:27

    It's been over a year.

  9. Elif Shafak· Guest0:28

    I know. Can you believe it?

  10. Benjamin Aston· Host0:29

    Oh.

  11. Elif Shafak· Guest0:30

    Yes.

  12. Benjamin Aston· Host0:30

    Hardly, but yeah, it- Yeah ... a lot has changed, I guess.

  13. Elif Shafak· Guest0:33

    Yeah, but I remember it so fondly. Yeah.

  14. Benjamin Aston· Host0:35

    I'm glad you do.

  15. Elif Shafak· Guest0:36

    Last time.

  16. Benjamin Aston· Host0:36

    I mean, so do I.

  17. Elif Shafak· Guest0:36

    I'm so, so happy to see you.

  18. Benjamin Aston· Host0:38

    And I would like to start by saying thank you, um, simply because your words, especially the ones that created There are Rivers in the Sky, completely changed my life. It was at your book launch that I got introduced to Mabel.

  19. Mabel Evans· Host0:51

    Yay.

  20. Benjamin Aston· Host0:51

    [laughs] So you were- Love it ... the matchmaker.

  21. Mabel Evans· Host0:54

    Aw.

  22. Elif Shafak· Guest0:54

    I love that.

  23. Mabel Evans· Host0:55

    That's amazing.

  24. Elif Shafak· Guest0:56

    Yeah.

  25. Mabel Evans· Host0:56

    It's beautiful. It felt like rivers meeting- Exactly ... and converging into something- Exactly ... which is just- Oh, my God.

  26. Elif Shafak· Guest1:01

    That g- makes me so happy.

  27. Mabel Evans· Host1:03

    Yeah.

  28. Elif Shafak· Guest1:03

    That's fantastic.

  29. Mabel Evans· Host1:04

    Mm. It's a pleasure to meet you.

  30. Elif Shafak· Guest1:05

    It's very nice.

  31. Mabel Evans· Host1:06

    I've been very excited for today.

  32. Elif Shafak· Guest1:07

    Such, such a joy for me. Yeah.

  33. Mabel Evans· Host1:08

    Yeah.

  34. Elif Shafak· Guest1:08

    Thank you.

  35. Benjamin Aston· Host1:09

    And together with Mabel's brilliance, we're now bringing the WordCast to life, so- Yeah ... it's amazing that you're joining for a, a second interview, I guess.

  36. Elif Shafak· Guest1:17

    I know. I know. It's wonderful. And you're based in London.

  37. Mabel Evans· Host1:20

    Yeah. Yeah.

  38. Elif Shafak· Guest1:21

    That's beautiful.

  39. Mabel Evans· Host1:22

    Yeah.

  40. Elif Shafak· Guest1:22

    So great.

  41. Mabel Evans· Host1:23

    Yeah.

  42. Benjamin Aston· Host1:23

    [laughs] And to start off, I, I revisited our first conversation- Have you? ... where we spoke about the role of grandmothers-

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