Faith at the Frontiers

In the middle of our faith & economics series, this episode features a debate between Carmody, Barney, Ondrej, and Jared about whether or not it's possible to think beyond the typical polarities of capitalism/socialism. We also discuss:

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing! 

This short episode is prompted by a listener who sent us a voice message. He questioned Carmody's point about veganism (made in this episode), and in this episode Carmody responds to the point. Questions discussed in this episode:

Have something to say? Send us a message and join the conversation! 

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing! 

Carmody & Barney interview Edward Hadas, research fellow in moral economics at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford. He tells us what he thinks is wrong with the current way of debating economics and offers a whole new paradigm to help us imagine our labour and consumption differently.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing!

Barney and Carmody kick off a new series on ‘Christian Economics’, asking difficult questions about the limits of our financial freedom. Our present economic system is neither inevitable nor ethically neutral, but it does have a huge impact on how we spend our money. What might we be able to do about it?

Barney interviews Alex Faludy on the religious dimension of Hungarian politics. Alex argues that the Hungarian Prime Minister is not simply using religion as a tool, but has a genuine faith. If we accuse him of being selective about which aspects of Christianity he embraces, we must also look at ourselves to see whether we're not also being selective. 

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound engineering!

In this final episode of the Science & Religion series, Barney & Emily discuss highlights, unanswered questions, and key takeaways about the whole debate. 

This episode combines themes from two series: climate change and science/religion. Our interviewee, Tim Middleton, looks at climate change through the lens of trauma. Is the earth traumatised? What would that mean? What sort of call to action does it lead to? Join us to find a powerful new way of looking at our relationship to the planet! 

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound engineering skills!

This episode is produced in collaboration with The Tablet.

Heard of robot priests? Or robot rabbis who can answer any question about Judaic law? Do these things sound great or scary to you? 

In this episode we interview Dr Beth Singler about AI, the effect of online space on religious communities, and other interactions between religion and the digital world. 

This episode is produced in collaboration with The Tablet.

Thanks to Jamie Maule for sound engineering! 

We interview Chris Bennett, who has researched the ‘evolutionary’ reasons for religious beliefs such as attributing personal agency to storms, trees, etc. What should religious people think of such arguments? How should they respond to them? What about evolutionary accounts of other mental functions, like mathematics, morality, or even the notion of causality that evolutionary explanations themselves depend on? Tune in to hear all these things discussed! 

This episode is produced in collaboration with The Tablet.

Thanks to Jamie Maule as always for his patient and tireless sound editing!

What is ‘Christian Platonism’ and why is it the best theological position for engaging with science? 

This episode is all about these two questions. Emily & Barney interview Prof. Andrew Davison, who was formerly the Starbridge Associate Professor in Theology and the Natural Sciences at Cambridge University. We ask him tough and challenging questions like:

• Isn’t it better to be just a Christian than a Christian Platonist? 
• Doesn’t Platonism inhibit scientific research? 
• Why can’t an apple also be an orange? 
• Why can a piece of paper also be a love letter?

Check out Dr Davison’s book, Participation in God, which we talk about in the episode. 

Thanks to Jamie Maule for his sound editing! 

This episode is produced in collaboration with The Tablet.