Conversations through Uncharted Waters

In this podcast Ian is in conversation with David Nussbaum, former Chief Executive of WWF (as well as former Chief Executive of The Elders), about issues surrounding climate change, coronavirus, and conflict in Europe.

Ian talks with Professor Donald Hirsch about his work over many years in social policy. At a time of growing inequality, they discuss among other things the importance not just of a minimum wage but a living wage.

In this podcast Ian discusses with David Bracewell, former vicar of St Saviours in Guildford, some of the criticisms that the Church of England has faced over the period of the pandemic, as well as some of the challenges it faces post-covid.

Ian speaks with Benedict Rogers, co-founder and Chief Executive of Hong Kong Watch, about issues of human rights, religious freedoms, and the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party to the concept of ‘one country, two systems’. One of the things they seek to tease out in conversation is the question of what is the appropriate Christian response to totalitarian tendencies.

In this one-off episode, Ian discusses with Dave Hansen the vocation of being a pastor, Dave's friendship with Eugene Peterson and his own practice of "long wandering prayer".

Ian talks with Rev Kingsley Appiagyei, Senior Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church, Croydon, and a senior figure in the black majority churches, about issues of race, the rise of Black Lives Matter, and the need for wise discernment as we seek justice and reconciliation.

In this podcast Ian explores with Dr Martin Brunet the impact of this last year on General Practice. They also discuss some of the ethical issues that arise when politics intersects with healthcare.

In this episode Jewish feminist Professor Melissa Raphael reflects with Ian on the power of the sisterhoods in Auschwitz. This leads to a wider conversation on the sacredness of the face in the Judeo-Christian tradition and its debasement in contemporary culture, including this last year through the normalisation of masks and virtual screens. Both reflect at the end on the growing illiberalism of the so-called cancel culture and the urgent need to inject some common sense into the conversation about gender and identity.

In this first podcast, Ian is in conversation with Steve Gaukroger, a senior church leader, about the issues surrounding covid-19 and the impact this has had on church and society.