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Spider-Man has been one of the world's most popular superheroes for more than sixty years—but why has the character endured through so many radically different versions? In this episode, we trace the history of Spider-Man from Stan Lee's original Peter Parker through the Sam Raimi films, the MCU, and all across the Spiderverse. Along the way, we ask what actually makes Spider-Man . . . Spider-Man. Peter Parker? The powers? The costume? Uncle Ben? Or is the character built around something deeper—the idea that great power creates responsibility, sacrifice, failure, and the obligation to keep getting back up?

Why has Batman remained one of the world's most popular superheroes for nearly 90 years? From the dark, pulp-inspired Batman of 1939 to Adam West's colorful 1960s TV series, Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, and even The LEGO Batman Movie, Batman keeps reinventing himself. In this episode, we trace the history of Batman to discover what makes the character so enduring—and what separates a great Batman adaptation from one that misses the mark. How much can you change Bruce Wayne, Gotham City, the tone, the setting, or even Batman himself before he stops being Batman? And what can Batman teach us about the difference between honoring an artistic tradition and merely copying it?

What could Dolly Parton and Wendell Berry possibly have in common? One embraced rhinestones, celebrity, mass media, and an audience of millions; the other championed farming, limits, local community, and resistance to consumer culture. Yet both offer surprisingly powerful models for Christian artists. In this episode of Believe to See, we compare these two very different artistic lives and explore what they can teach us about living faithfully as a Christian artist.

Words like "rules" and "tradition" tend to make us squirm We're creative! Aren't we supposed to break free of the ordinary? Join the roundtable as the hosts discuss the necessity of learning, understanding, and practicing the "rules" in order to unleash our own creativity.

Some artists find fame while they're living . . . and may wind up forgotten once they're gone. For others, that script is flipped. Join the hosts at the roundtable as they share stories of artists whose works were only truly appreciated after their deaths. Why was their brilliance overlooked when they were alive? What led to their eventual (re)discovery and acclaim? Is it tragic, or inspiring, or a bit of both? ("Obscurity" by Brian Wight used with permission.)

Our modern culture seems to struggle with how to treat food. Sometimes it's a nuisance to choke down that protein bowl so we can get back to the "real" work. Other times, it's a struggle not to overindulge in our food-flooded society. And at others, food is broken down into its scientific components so that it no longer matters what it tastes like or if we enjoy it, as long as we're getting our macro- and micronutrients and calorie counts optimized for the body we want. But is that how we should treat food? Are we missing something? Join us as we discuss the pitfalls and problems with our relationship to food in modern 21st century America.

Our culture has become terribly serious about not taking anything seriously. From satire and postmodernism to the internet's endless layers of irony, we've become afraid to be earnest. Some artists have called for a rebellion against this irony, and renewed emphasis on "New Sincerity." But irony still has its benefits. And too much earnestness has its own set of pitfalls. Matt, Mandy, and Christina explore the benefits and dangers of both earnestness and irony.

It's not easy to feel grounded in our busy, 21st century lifestyles. Our spiritual journeys can feel truncated, stale, or simply seem another "to-do" list item to improve upon. But what if we could renew our spiritual journeys by way of our ordinary lives? How might ancient practices give us a foundation from which to do it? Join us as we talk to author Danielle Mellema about how she has learned to practice the ancient ways in her ordinary days as an author, wife, and mother of four young children.    Danielle's book Ancient and New: Storied Pathways of the Kingdom Coming is available to order from her website: daniellemellema.com.

Join Mandy's conversation with oil painter Nicole Beck and road trip photographer Isaac Hans — both members of the Anselm Society Arts Guild. Nicole and Isaac discuss how storytelling is integral to their work, from inception to public showings. (Warning: You're going to want to attend more gallery shows after this episode, and you'll never see them the same way again.)

How much Arthurian art have you seen? Chances are, it's more than you think. From medieval illuminated manuscripts to seemingly vague romantic paintings of knights on horseback wooing maidens with flowing hair, join the hosts for an exploration of visual depictions of Arthurian legends across the centuries.

For more than a thousand years, the legends of King Arthur have been retold, expanded, and reinvented. In this episode, we trace the remarkable evolution of the Arthurian legends from the shadowy origins in post-Roman Britain through Saxon England and the French courts, up through Victorian writers and into the modern day.    Along the way, we explore how each generation reshaped the legend and why Arthur remains one of the most enduring figures in Western literature. More than the story of a single king, Arthur's journey is the story of how great myths survive: by continually adapting while remaining unmistakably themselves.

What did C.S. Lewis mean when he said that George MacDonald's Phantastes "baptized my imagination"? Meredith Finch is the writer of the new graphic novel adaptation of Phantastes from Cave Pictures Publishing. We discuss the unique challenge of adapting a dreamlike and deeply symbolic novel into a visual medium, the meaning behind some of MacDonald's most memorable images and episodes, and why this strange fairy tale still speaks to modern readers.

Dovetailing with last week's episode on the ownership of stories, Matt, Mandy, and Sarah discuss the mysterious and oft-maligned world of fanfiction. Is it a silly way for mostly young women to get validation and fix the problems they see in other stories? Or is it a low-stakes environment to hone skills and experiment with identity? What is fanfiction's appeal and value, and what can it show us about its subjects? Join the digital pub table to learn more about fanfiction and its purpose in continuing the conversation with the works it pays homage to.

For most of human history, nobody "owned" the great stories. Nobody owned Achilles, Beowulf, or King Arthur. These tales belonged to civilization itself—passed down, expanded, and reinterpreted generation after generation. Every age added something new, and every storyteller helped keep the stories alive. In many ways, the old myths survived precisely because people kept taking up the tale.   But today, our greatest myths are often locked behind copyright law and corporate canon. Spider-Man, Darth Vader, and even Middle-earth exist as carefully controlled intellectual property guarded by massive entertainment companies and teams of lawyers. So which approach creates healthier culture? Are stories better protected as private property, or shared as a cultural inheritance? At the digital pub table, we explore the history of intellectual property, the evolution of mythology and fan fiction, and how Christians should think about storytelling, creativity, and what it really means to "own" a story.

What if we've misunderstood the Inklings? When most of us think of the Inklings, we picture C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien: two brilliant minds meeting in an Oxford pub and changing literature forever. But that's only one part of a much bigger story. G. Connor Salter joins the Anselm Digital Pub table to discuss his new book, The Other Inklings. It explores the often-overlooked members of the Inklings, and how they shaped Lewis, Tolkien, and the Christian imagination. What emerges is a powerful idea--great stories don't come from isolated geniuses. They come from communities.