All Things Considered

Azim Ahmed and guests shine a light on a collection of ‘Lost Hymns’; long forgotten Welsh-language folk hymns recorded by oral historians at St. Fagan’s National Museum of History in the 1960s.

When musician and composer Lleuwen Steffan came across these recordings she immediately realised that they were no longer featured in contemporary hymn books. She embarked on a decade long project to track down the descendants of those recorded, and to compose music inspired by these songs. Today she brings these recordings to modern audiences, joining the recorded voices with her own compositions on piano, guitars and synthesizers.

Many of the hymns were composed as a response to the Welsh Revival of 1904, a period of intense religious fervour that swept across Wales, filling chapels, and bringing life-changing religious experiences to those part of the revivals. The songs are frank, down to earth and sometimes dark. They reflect the fragility of human experience.

Emeritus Professor Wyn James, a Welsh hymnology expert from the School of Welsh at Cardiff University sets out the historical context of these hymns. Catrin Roberts, the granddaughter of hymn collector William Morris (one of the voices in the collection) shares memories of her grandfather, and his passion for the heritage of Wales.

Lleuwen’s work is made in partnership with Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru and supported by the British Council Wales.

For centuries the singing of psalms has been a cornerstone of Christian worship and in Wales today psalms are sung in the splendour of great cathedrals and in the quiet devotion of Catholic monasteries.

While the singing of psalms has long been cherished, in some churches and denominations psalm singing has been replaced by more modern songs and worship. But a new movement called 'Psalm Roars' is challenging that notion. Led by vicar Tim Vasby Burnie, 'Psalm Roars' aim to make psalm singing accessible to everyone, regardless of whether you have a musical background, and to encourage singing that is “enthusiastic, robust, loud, and inclusive.”

Jonathan Thomas attends a 'Psalm Roar' and meets enthusiastic people learning all about psalm singing. He speaks to one of the most pre-eminent modern hymn writers of today, Keith Getty, who sets psalms to music, bringing them to contemporary audiences. Jonathan visits Llandaff Cathedral and meets Stephen Moore, Director of Music, where psalms are sung daily by the cathedral choirs. At Belmont Abbey, Abbot Brendan Thomas explains the ancient tradition of psalmody in the Benedictine Order, where psalms have been sung since its foundation in the sixth century.

This programme was first broadcast on the 30th March 2025.

Procedures are in process to find a new Archbishop of Canterbury and a new Archbishop of Wales. Both of whom retired amidst controversies over the handling of safeguarding issues, although there are no suggestions that they behaved inappropriately themselves. Azim Ahmed and guests discuss - is the Church in Crisis?

Dr Andrew Graystone is an advocate for survivors of abuse in the Church and is the author of “Bleeding for Jesus : John Smyth and the cult of the Iwerne Camps”

Jonathan Thomas is joined by the award-winning historian, biographer and broadcaster Tom Holland. Tom is the co-presenter of the world’s most popular history podcast 'The Rest is History', a bi-weekly podcast that explores everything from the Norman Conquest to Nazi Germany. The series is downloaded an astonishing eighteen million times every month.

Tom Holland has written many best-selling books include 'Millennium' and 'Rubicon', but in the programme Tom discusses 'Dominion', a book that explores how Christian values and ideas have shaped Western civilisation, although we now live in a secular age. Tom and Jonathan explore how writing Dominion has influenced Tom's perspectives on Christianity.

Join Rosa Hunt as she journeys to the breathtaking St Davids Cathedral to uncover the remarkable story of a book that changed a nation - the 1588 William Morgan Welsh Bible. Often credited with standardising and even saving the Welsh language, this historic translation is more than just one of many - it’s a cultural cornerstone.

We speak with Library Development Officer Mari James and the Dean of St Davids, the Very Revd Dr Sarah Rowland Jones, to explore the Bible’s legacy and the impact it has had on visitors to the cathedral.

Plus, we hear from Emeritus Professor Wyn James and Bible translator Arfon Jones, who reveal how this single volume helped shape the identity of a people, the future of a language, and the face of faith.

Join Azim Ahmed for a powerful and thought-provoking interview with poet and author Elinor Wyn Reynolds, as she prepares to step into history as the first layperson in over a century —and the first woman ever— to become General Secretary of the Union of Welsh Independent Churches.

Who is Elinor Wyn Reynolds, and what vision does she bring to one of Wales’s most historic religious institutions? In this candid and wide-ranging conversation, Elinor opens up about her journey through culture, grief, politics, and faith, offering deep insight into the personal and spiritual forces that shape her.

Tune in for an honest and moving interview that explores the future of the Church—and the woman leading it into a new era.

Merthyr Tydfil is a well-known town in South Wales with a rich history. In the 18th century, it was a small hamlet – just a collection of Welsh-speaking farmsteads dotted along the mountains. But within a hundred years, it became an industrial powerhouse with a booming and multicultural population. In this programme, Delyth Liddell, visits Merthyr to find out how that development affected the local religious communities, and still affects it today.

We are guided by local historian, Huw Williams. On our journey, we find out about the Jewish community that flourished in the 1800s, the Salvation Army who sent young women on mission to Merthyr in the late 1800's, and the religious revival of 1904. We also find out about the growth of Islam in Merthyr, and visit a flourishing church.

In this programme, Rosa Hunt, explores the experience and journey of grief, consolation and faith as a fellow Pilgrim walking with our contributors. Ruth McDonald lost her son Ben when he collapsed after running the Cardiff Half Marathon six years ago. Kathy Richards, who lost her son to cancer over four years ago, now runs a bereavement course. These two mothers speak to us out of their personal experience of grief.

This programme was first broadcast on 12th January 2025.

Jonathan Thomas discusses the 80 year history and ongoing work of Christian Aid, the relief and development charity founded by British and Irish churches to help refugees following the Second World War.

We also hear about Gwynne Hodge, the Japanese Prisoner of War from Mumbles who returned home and set up the first Christian Aid group in Wales.

Rosa Hunt talks to Phillip Henry, a Rastafarian Beekeeper in Cardiff, about religion and biodiversity.