What if the darkness you fear is simply the part of you still waiting to be seen?
In this episode, Brady Guinn journeys from Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea to the modern myth of K-Pop Demon Hunters to explore Carl Jung’s idea of the Shadow Self—the rejected, disowned pieces of identity we’re taught to hide.
Along the way, we look at how Ged’s pursuit of his own shadow becomes a map toward wholeness; how contemporary voices like Brené Brown, Glennon Doyle, and Jen Hatmaker are giving new language to the parts of ourselves we once labeled “too much”; and how confronting what we’ve exiled can transform pain into creative energy.
We also sit with the social cost of integration—why embracing authenticity can unsettle systems that prefer our silence—and why the courage to meet our darkness with honesty is one of the most radical acts of compassion we can practice.
And in the end, we return to Tolkien, to Frodo and Sam and that quiet line:
“I have to believe he can come back… because I have to believe I can.”
Because mercy—for others, for ourselves—is where philosophy and fantasy meet.
If this conversation speaks to you, share it with someone who’s learning to hold both light and shadow, and join the dialogue @philosopherstomepodcast.
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