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

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.
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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

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Thank you to our sponsors:

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See you next Wednesday for our word reflection ‘mini-episode’ where hosts Mabel & Ben deep dive into Elif’s ‘weight-baring’ words✨