Dr. Michael Dodds and Professor Carol were formerly colleagues at Southern Methodist University. Dr. Dodds is now professor of music history at University of North Carolina School of the Arts and a frequent contributor to Professor Carol's courses.

In a conversation over dinner about childhood books, Michael raised some intriguing aspects of C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, and that prompted this interview. The discussion in this Part 1 focuses on Michael Ward's book Planet Narnia.