All Things Considered

All Things Considered episodes:

• 04.21.2024

  Jesus Christ Superstar

  Jonathan Thomas joins the audience in the Swansea Arena to watch the musical 'Jesus Christ Superstar' on its 50th anniversary tour. He speaks to three expert guests; Swansea born singer and song writer Steve Balsamo whose award winning performance of...

  
• 04.14.2024

  Parkinson's and Me

  Minister and biker Sean Stillman gives a searingly honest insight into a life that's been turned upside down since his diagnosis some three years ago, after experiencing a number of strange symptoms. Sean is a Christian minister at...

  
• 04.07.2024

  Jean Pierre Sibomana

  While attention is understandably focussed on the latest horrors of the Gaza-Israel conflict, it’s easy to forget that in Ukraine and dozens of other countries, people are also being forced from their homes, seeing communities destroyed, and living in daily...

  
• 03.31.2024

  The Price of Faith

  Recent figures suggest that Christianity is now one of the most widely persecuted religions in the world. Rosa Hunt speaks to three people who have had experience of persecution in countries where to follow Christ demands a high price - sometimes...

  
• 03.24.2024

  Bablin Molik, Lord Mayor of Cardiff

  Dr Bablin Molik holds a PhD in Biology from Cardiff University with a specialism in Glaucoma. Today she is CEO of the charity Sight Cymru and Lord Mayor of Cardiff. She speaks with Azim Ahmed about her her role as...

  
• 03.03.2024

  Does Religious Broadcasting Matter?

  This week the Media Bill has been scrutinised and debated in the House of Lords. The aim is of the bill is to reform decades-old legislation for Public Service Broadcasters (including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and S4C), but in...

  
• 02.25.2024

  Steve Chalke

  Two students from a school in Bristol were fatally stabbed last month – and the one person many journalists sought out for comment was a Baptist minister. Not because he knew them, but because he heads the academy...

  
• 02.11.2024

  Skanda Vale

  Azim Ahmed visits one of Wales' most fascinating religious communities, now celebrating 50 years since it was founded in a peaceful corner of Carmarthenshire, near the village of Llanpumpsaint. This monastery and temple complex is devoted to worship and...

  
• 02.04.2024

  "I'm still Dorrien"

  This weekend the Right Reverend Dorrien Davies has been enthroned as the 130th Bishop of St Davids in a cathedral which is the mother church of a large diocese covering the west Wales counties of Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion. ...

  
• 01.28.2024

  Ashes to Ashes

  In light of the discovery of a rare medieval cemetery in the Vale of Glamorgan, Azim Ahmed explores funerary customs today. Dr Andy Seaman, a specialist in early medieval archaeology from the University of Cardiff, shares his findings on location...

  
• 01.21.2024

  A Sound Night's Sleep

  Sleep is said to be a gift from God, but what happens when you can't drift off at night, or you regularly wake up in the small hours? Rosa Hunt investigates the science and spiritual purpose of sleep. Roughly...

  
• 01.14.2024

  Seasons and Spirituality

  We’re three weeks into January - Christmas seems a distant memory, the weather pattern this month has ranged from flooding to freezing cold temperatures, and there’s still a couple of months to go before the clocks go forward, when the...

  
• 01.07.2024

  Dr Grahame Davies

  Roy Jenkins speaks to the Church in Wales' newly-appointed Director of Mission and Strategy, the poet and writer Grahame Davies. Before his recent appointment to the church of which he has been a lifelong member, Grahame served as deputy private...

  
• 12.31.2023

  St Davids 900: highlights

  This year All Things Considered marked the 900th anniversary of St David's recognition by Pope Callixtus II as patron saint of Wales, when he declared that two pilgrimages to St Davids were worth one to Jerusalem. Across the seven weeks...

  
• 12.24.2023

  Four Christmas Cards from Llandaff

  Delyth Liddell introduces four Christmas cards from Llandaff Diocese. Will and Jude Souter are from Urban Crofters church in Roath; Edwin Counsell is at St Illtud's in the Vale of Glamorgan; Mark and Ruth Greenaway-Robbins are at Margam Abbey; and...

  
• 12.17.2023

  Jesus, Mary and the Qur'an

  The birth of Jesus is an important even for both Muslims and Christians, but there are some key differences in how the nativity story is told. For any Christians expecting to hear about donkeys and asses, innkeepers and shepherds there's...

  
• 12.10.2023

  Universal Declaration of Human Rights @ 75

  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed on 10th December 1948, is seen by many to be a milestone document in human history. Drafted in the aftermath of the Second World War, it set out basic rights that belong to...

  
• 12.03.2023

  Bob Chilcott

  Our guest today is one of the world’s most widely performed contemporary composers and arrangers, as well as an acclaimed choral conductor. Born in 1955, singing as a choir-boy in his local church ignited a musical spark in Bob...

  
• 11.26.2023

  Amazing Grace

  To judge from the number of recordings (they run into the thousands) Amazing Grace is one of the world's most popular hymns. And yet this global 'hit' was many years in the making. Penned by a former slave trader turned...

  
• 10.22.2023

  Disney 100

  The shimmering opening chords of 'When You Wish Upon a Star' means just one thing in the minds of many – the start of a magical journey into a 'whole new world', with princesses, princes, tribal chiefs, fairy godmothers, magic...

  
• 10.08.2023

  Siôn Brynach

  Today's guest joins us 6 months into new role as CEO of Cytûn, Churches Together, Wales. He embarks on a key ecumenical role at a challenging time: fewer people in Wales consider themselves Christian, there's a slump in congregations...

  
• 08.13.2023

  St David 900: The Well-Travelled Saint

  This year marks 900 years since St David’s place at the centre of Welsh identity was given international recognition by Pope Callixtus II. Two pilgrimages to St Davids, it was pronounced, were equivalent to one to Rome; a later version...

  
• 08.06.2023

  Hanan Issa. The National Poet of Wales

  With the National Eisteddfod being held on the Lleyn Peninsula, our focus this week is poetry. Azim Ahmed is in conversation with Hanan Issa, the first female Muslim National Poet of Wales. She’s completed the first year of a three-year...

  
• 07.23.2023

  The Rt Revd Gregory Cameron, Bishop of St Asaph

  “I want to build a church in which people can be themselves”. Delyth Liddell is in conversation with one of the most senior figures in the Anglican Church in Wales. The Right Reverend Gregory Cameron, son of a south Wales...

  
• 07.16.2023

  Caroline Leighton

  Monastic life may seem remote to many. But beloved films such as the Sound of Music, documentaries, and television dramas like Call the Midwife mean that some will share an idea of what nuns are and what they do,...

  
• 07.09.2023

  The Bible: A Dangerous Book?

  Earlier this year in Utah, a western state of the USA, the King James Bible was banned in Elementary and Junior School Libraries in the Davies County school district. The ban was due to what one parent dubbed the ‘violent...

  
• 06.25.2023

  St David 900: 5 - Pilgrimage

  Fr Matthew Roche-Saunders, a Catholic priest from the parish of Aberystwyth is in Rome, following in the footsteps of faithful pilgrims across the centuries. 900 years ago this year, as recorded by the English historian William of Malmesbury, Pope...

  
• 06.04.2023

  Churches Unlocked

  This week marks the start of the 'Churches Unlocked' festival in South Wales running between the 3rd and 11th of June. During this time thirty churches will be welcoming the public for events; from bell ringing taster sessions to...

  
• 05.28.2023

  Bishop Stuart Bell

  Stuart Bell was once rector of one of the most thriving churches in Wales: St Michael's Aberystwyth. These days, his former curate (now Archbishop) Andrew John commands Anglican clergy to keep him at arm's length, and neither to receive communion...

  
• 05.21.2023

  And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind

  As Easter draws to a close, Christians around the world will be focussing on the Day of Pentecost which comes a week today. This major festival has been given other names too - Whit Sunday or Whitsun for short. It’s...

  
• 05.14.2023

  Muslim Mental Health

  Azim Ahmed looks into some of the issues affecting mental wellbeing among the Muslim community in Wales and beyond. Whilst younger people might now be well versed in the language and lexicon of mental health, some older people may...

  
• 05.07.2023

  Defender Of The Faith

  This week sees the Coronation of King Charles III. Whilst the Coronation service itself is rooted in ancient Christian traditions and symbols, it breaks new ground, with a ‘faith procession’ of eight non-Christian clerics leading the way into Westminster...

  
• 04.30.2023

  Art and Faith

  Jonathan Thomas goes on a journey around Wales to meet three contemporary artists; Karen Jones in Anglesey, Mark Cutliffe in Swansea and Lois Adams in Treforest, Pontypridd. He finds out how their faith informs and inspires their art. Mark...

  
• 04.23.2023

  Britain's First Sheikh

  Azim Ahmed looks at the extraordinary life and work of the nineteenth century Liverpool solicitor William Abdullah Quilliam. Although brought up as a Wesleyan, Quilliam would convert to Islam after a visit to Morocco. He returned with indefatigable zeal to...

  
• 04.09.2023

  Easter postcards from Jerusalem

  The final part of a series of programmes on BBC Radio Wales marking the 900th anniversary of St David’s international recognition. David’s spiritual authority is said to have come from his reputed visit to Jerusalem in the 6th century, the...

  
• 03.19.2023

  St David 900: 4 - Miracles

  St. David is said to have performed a number of miracles, from restoring the sight of a man who was blind to the famous occasion when a hill rose up beneath him so that the crowds could hear his preaching....

  
• 03.05.2023

  St David 900: 2 - Faith, Language, Contemporary Identity

  Roy Jenkins discusses contemporary Welsh identity in Bangor with four guests: the Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Bangor Andrew John; historian Elin Jones, author of the recent book History Grounded, documenting the history of Wales; political commentator Theo Davies-Lewis,...

  
• 02.19.2023

  A Holy War?

  This week we’re marking the first anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022. Roy Jenkins explores some of the religious elements involved in this conflict. Many argue that Russia’s President Putin has been using religion to...

  
• 01.22.2023

  Canon Aled Edwards

  Roy welcomes back Canon Aled Edwards, an Anglican priest who’s spent more than half of his ministry among the politicians and officials of what’s now the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd. At the same time, he’s worked for large numbers...

  
• 01.08.2023

  Post-Christian Wales

  The recent release of Census statistics for religion suggests that the number of people with no religion now far exceeds the number of those purporting to be Christian. Roy Jenkins discusses the implication of these results with a panel including...

  
• 01.01.2023

  Magnificat - a song of hope, love and revolution

  As the Christmas festival continues, Roy Jenkins explores – with the help of a range of guests – the significance of one of the best known seasonal texts. The Magnificat is an outpouring of joy from Mary, on hearing...

  
• 12.18.2022

  The Cost of Living

  Plunging temperatures and rising fuel and food prices are all having a severe impact on all sorts of people. Roy Jenkins looks at what some churches around Wales are doing to help people trapped in the cost of living crisis...

  
• 12.11.2022

  Nativities

  It’s the most wonderful time of year, with kids jingle-belling and tea towel clad shepherds, sulking kings and young inn keepers playing their part in Nativity plays in schools and churches. Costumes, songs, proud parents, and memories created, are...

  
• 12.04.2022

  Faith in Iran

  Civil unrest in Iran, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Masha Amini in police custody, has spread across the Iranian Republic. What began as a protest for women’s rights has swelled, with demands for greater freedoms and even an overthrow...

  
• 11.20.2022

  BBC @ 100

  Roy Jenkins looks back at a century of religious broadcasting on the BBC. With a motto inspired by a Biblical source, the early BBC was avowedly Christian, and largely Anglican at that. Sir John Reith (a man lacking in neither...

  
• 11.13.2022

  Qatar, Football and Human Rights

  Roy Jenkins and guests discuss human rights and the Football World Cup with a live audience at Wrexham Glyndŵr University. The panel discussion is part of a range of programmes being broadcast by BBC Radio Wales in Wrexham this weekend...

  
• 10.23.2022

  Where Earth Meets Heaven

  This week we escape to the hills. If you explore the beautiful mountains and valleys of Wales, you don’t have to go too far before coming across an ancient Christian church founded many centuries ago by a Celtic saint who...

  
• 10.16.2022

  "It’s the book I love the most but find the hardest.”

  This week Roy Jenkins is in conversation with Siân Rees, the new Head of Bible Society in Wales who’s less than two weeks in the job. The charity has its roots in Wales with Mary Jones’s 26 mile walk to...

  
• 10.09.2022

  Food Security

  What is the true cost of food in a world facing war, inflation, and climate change? Jonathan Thomas discusses the ethics of food production with a panel of guests: Elizabeth Myendo is Tearfund's lead for disaster management in Southern...

  
• 09.18.2022

  Royalty and Religion

  At her Coronation , the late Queen took a sacred vow to become 'Defender of the Faith' - the Protestant faith, that is. That vow has been repeated by King Charles III on his formal accession to the throne, and...