I Might Believe in Faeries

What are the mysterious beings known as fairies? Can they be defined? How have fairy encounters in Europe changed over the centuries?
Dr. Francis Young returns to the show to discuss his new book, Fairies: A History, by Polity Books (2026). Dr. Young traces fairies and fairy encounters from pagan Europe all the way to the 21st Century. He argues that it is not useful to think of fairies as beings that can be proved and documented scientifically, but experienced through a type of perception. Have we moderns lost this type of perception?
What does Tolkien’s conception of Faerie have to do with all of this?
How did the Reformation and the Enlightenment impact fairy belief?
We discuss all of this and more in this episode of IMBIF.
Fairies: A History: https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=fairies-a-history--9781509566778
Dr. Young can be found on Twitter.com @DrFrancisYoung
His substack is Francis Young
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Logo Art by Linnea Kisby
This podcast and its content may not be used for training and developing A.I. systems without permission.
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A bold, new story for the 21st Century.
Charles Shoultz has had the dream to write a modern story that would rival the great tales of old. He has finally begun to release his story in pieces, like an old magazine serial. Let me tell you, he does not disappoint.
Writer and poet, C. A. Shoultz joins me on the show to discuss his first book, Technocracy. We talked about his background in poetry as well as the background to his story.
This has the potential to be something big, so check it out!
Follow Shoultz on substack: C.A. Shoultz
The website to find the story is here: https://www.cashoultz.com/
Find C. A. Shoultz on Twitter.com @HarrierMagnus
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Follow me on Twitter @AaronIrber
Subscribe to my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@imightbelieveinfaeries7563
Subscribe to my Substack -
Donate to my Patreon - I Might Believe in Faeries https://www.patreon.com/imightbelieveinfaeries
Like my Facebook page - I Might Believe in Faeries
Battle Of The Creek by Alexander Nakarada | https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Logo Art by Linnea Kisby
This podcast and its content may not be used for training and developing A.I. systems without permission.
*************************************************************************************************************


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aaronirber.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, I am joined by the award winning fantasy author, Tim Powers, and my friend, iSamwise, to discuss Tim’s newest book, The Mills of the Gods (Baen 2025).
We talked about pagan gods, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Alexander Scriabin, and all of the weird things going on in post-WWI Paris.
Enjoy!
The Mills of the Gods can be found here: https://www.baen.com/Chapters/9781668073018/9781668073018.htm
iSamwise has a YouTube channel that can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/@iSamwise
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Follow me on Twitter @AaronIrber
Subscribe to my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@imightbelieveinfaeries7563
Subscribe to my Substack for updates on the show, essays, and more!

Like my Facebook page - I Might Believe in Faeries
Battle Of The Creek by Alexander Nakarada | https://www.serpentsoundstudios.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Logo Art by Linnea Kisby
This podcast and its content may not be used for training and developing A.I. systems without permission.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aaronirber.substack.com/subscribe

In this special episode, I am a guest on Thomas Mirus’ Catholic Culture podcast. We discussed Tolkien’s darkest story, The Children of Hurin.
Thomas gave me permission to publish the episode on my own show as well. The original episode was published here: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/tolkiens-darkest-tale-w-aaron-irber/
Thomas Mirus can be found on Twitter.com @CatholicPods and on Substack Thomas Mirus
Here are the original notes from the Catholic Culture podcast:
The darkest, and perhaps most underrated, story J.R.R. Tolkien ever wrote was the tale of Túrin Turambar, a great man of the First Age of Middle-Earth, whose life was ruined by the curse of Morgoth (Tolkien’s Satan-figure) and by his own pride. The tale, which resembles a Greek tragedy, was given its longest and most satisfying version in the posthumously published book The Children of Hurin.
Aaron Irber, host of a podcast “about stories, myths, and Catholicism”, joins Thomas to discuss this underappreciated work by Tolkien.
-Aaron’s podcast, I Might Believe in Faeries
Theme music: “Franciscan Eyes”, written and performed by Thomas Mirus. Download the Catholic Culture Podcast soundtrack.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aaronirber.substack.com/subscribe

Today, I am joined by my friend Gregorio Montejo to discuss a subject that has caused a minor controversy in the world of re-enchantment and Traditionalist Catholicism. I am talking about a book titled Mysticism, Magic & Monasteries: Recovering the Sacred Mystery at the Root of Reality (Os Justi Press, 2024) by Dr. Sebastian Morello. In this book, Dr. Morello argues for the integration (possibly re-integration) of neoplatonic and hermetic thought into the Church. What does this mean? What does this look like? We discuss all this, critiques of the book, and much more.
Gregorio Montejo can be found on Twitter.com @KtistecP
Gregorio’s substack, Past Master, can be found here.
Books by Sebastian Morello:
Mysticism, Magic & Monasteries can be found here.
The World as God’s Icon can be found here.
Morello’s Critics and Responses:
Hermetic Tradition or Catholic Tradition? A Critique of Sebastian Morello by Matthew Minerd, Thomas Mirus, Matthew Scarince
Dialogos on Magic with Drs Morello and Minerd from The Meaning of Catholic



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aaronirber.substack.com/subscribe