Everyday Magic

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Wisconsin Public Radio

Prx, Philosophy, Knowledge, Wpr, Ttbook, Wisconsin, Society & Culture

4.7 • 844 Ratings

🗓️ 12 October 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What would it be like to live in a world where magic is still alive? Not weird, not woo-woo, just ordinary. 400 years ago, consulting a magician in downtown London was as unremarkable as calling a plumber today. Even now, there are places where magic never died – like Iceland, where 54 percent of the population believes in elves, or thinks they might exist.

Original Air Date: October 12, 2024

Interviews In This Hour:
Why do Icelanders believe in elves? — Deborah Harkness uncovers the real history of witches — Practical magic and the “cunning folk” of Tudor England

Guests:
Nancy Marie Brown, Deborah Harkness, Tabitha Stanmore

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Once, magic was everywhere. Landscapes held myths and stories. A tree could be sacred. A rock could be a
0:14.1	portal to the underworld. Wizards and spellcrafters walked among us. What would it take to re-enchant life today
0:23.8	to reclaim a bit of that tingly sense
0:26.3	of magical possibility without giving up vaccines
0:30.3	and smartphones?
0:32.9	Maybe it's all in how we see the world.
0:35.7	Maybe magic is still everywhere. Today, on to the best of our
0:41.8	knowledge, everyday magic. From WPR. It's to the best of our knowledge. I'm Anstrain Champs.
1:05.3	What would it be like to live in a world where magic is still alive?
1:10.9	We're headed up to Vermont's northeast kingdom today to meet a woman who is doing her best
1:15.6	to live a magical life, Icelandic style.
1:21.2	You know, I have Icelandic horses, I have Icelandic friends, I have an Icelandic dog, I wear
1:25.4	Icelandic sweaters all the time.
1:30.3	This is Nancy Marie Brown. She's introducing Stephen me to the horses.
1:35.3	Hi. And the dog.
1:37.3	So what's her name again?
1:38.3	Her name is Edda.
1:40.3	And her job in Iceland that originally would have been to scare away the ravens and the eagles that were flying over the sheep.
1:48.7	And Edda is a collection of poetry written in Iceland in the Middle Ages.
1:54.5	So she's named for one of the things that I study.
1:59.0	So can we just walk around a little bit and see horses?
2:01.8	You want to see horses?
	...

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