Less than 20 years after the birth of the iPhone, screens have become the dominant presence in modern life. We work, plan, socialise, read, and entertain ourselves through them. Barely a minute goes by without a pick-up. 

And yet, we’re increasingly aware that too much screen time is harmful. Heightened anxiety from constant doomscrolling. Brain-rot from too much YouTube. Insecurity from perpetual comparison. We’re bored and addicted to our phones.  

We feel like something is wrong. But buying a dumbphone or reducing screen time isn’t enough. What if the problem is deeper? Do we need to understand the roots of our habits?

On Tuesday, 4th February 2025, we hosted our latest Salt Live event where speaker Jeremy Moses shared his take on the digital dilemma with a room of curious Londoners. Jeremy is a former start-up leader, as well as a leadership coach, pastor and speaker. He has experience counselling and coaching young professionals in London and helps to lead Grace London, a young church in central London. He is married to Jen and has three children.

For centuries, secularism has been heralded as humanity’s golden bullet. Society will flourish if we reject religion, so we’ve been told. No more truth, intolerance or control. 

But over recent years, a wave of backlash has formed. Feminist thinkers have slammed secular ethics, cultural Christianity is on the rise, and prominent atheist figures have come to faith. Meanwhile, a ‘meaning crisis’ is quietly brewing as many struggle to find significance in a society emptied of religion and purpose.

Has secularism overpromised? Are we really better off in a society without faith? And how can we find significance for our lives in secularism’s crumbling shadow?

On Tuesday, 15th October 2024 we hosted our latest Salt Live event where we were joined by guest speaker Glen Scrivener and a room of curious Londoners who came to hear what Glen had to say on this subject. Glen is a regular speaker at universities, churches and other public forums across the UK. He directs Speak Life, a Christian digital media company, and has authored several books, including The Air We Breathe: How We All Came to Believe in Freedom, Kindness, Progress, and Equality. Originally from Australia, he lives in Eastbourne with his wife Emma and their two children.

The writer Christopher Hitchens famously claimed that ‘religion poisons everything’. For many, religion appears to be the cause of much of the world’s intolerance, division and even violence. And yet, for others, religion is a source of personal meaning and existential peace. Why is

In this archive episode from our Salt Live event in January 2019, popular Christian speaker and author, Glen Scrivener, dives into the world of anti-theism and seeks to explore why religion can be so polarising. Originally from Australia, Glen regularly speaks at universities, churches and other public forums across the UK.

Glen will be back at Salt Live on 15th October 2024 and will be speaking on why faith makes sense in our modern age, at our upcoming talk, "The Case Against Secularism." If you'd like to join us in person for this Central London event in Waterloo, please visit our Eventbrite page to sign up for free.

The desire for happiness is self-evident, and yet, true happiness often feels fleeting and unobtainable. Londoners are changing their jobs, their living arrangements and their relationships, looking to create the perfect set of circumstances that will bring about lasting contentment. But will they ever find it?

In this archive episode from our Salt Live event in January 2020, speaker and pastor Andrew Haslam explores the desire for happiness that is the driver behind so many of the decisions we make and gives his take on where true happiness can be found.

Millennials and Gen Z are reportedly experiencing higher levels of anxiety than any generation before them. Anxiety feels ever-present in modern Western culture. What’s causing this? Are we simply more willing to admit to poor mental health? Have our circumstances become more uncertain? How much do lifestyle factors play a part? Loneliness? Screen time? Overbusyness? Is there a solution to this anxiety epidemic?

In this archive episode from our Salt Live event in November 2021, speaker and pastor Jeremy Moses seeks to understand the sources of our present discontentment and considers whether Christianity has anything to say to this modern phenomenon. Jeremy helps to lead a church called Grace London. He is married to Jen, a nurse, and has two children. He spends much of his time meeting with young adults, helping them to think through life’s big questions. He has engaged with many Londoners who have grappled with anxiety.

For some, we're merely advanced apes who've managed to establish ourselves as the dominant species on the planet. For others, we're sophisticated biological machines, ready to be upgraded or replaced by superior technology. Is there anything about human beings that makes us special? Do we have a soul, or are we just clumps of cells?

In this archive episode from our Salt Live event in February 2022, speaker Dr Sharon Dirckx. Originally from a scientific background, Sharon has a PhD in brain imaging from the University of Cambridge and has held research positions at the University of Oxford, UK, and the Medical College of Wisconsin, USA. Sharon is a speaker and author, and has written two popular-level books, one on the question of suffering and religious belief, 'Why? Looking at God, Evil & Personal Suffering' (IVP) and one on neuroscience, consciousness and free will, 'Am I just my brain?' (The Good Book Company).

The Q & A session from this talk is also attached to the end of this session's audio.

21st-century society lacks a positive vision of what it means to be a man. For many, masculinity is something poisonous or toxic. How can men understand themselves, and seek to be better men, in a world in which the idea of masculinity is so divisive, disparaged and unclear?

We’re left asking, what’s the point of men? And how can men flourish in a post-patriarchal world? In this archive episode from our Salt Live event in May 2022, Speaker Andrew Haslam seeks to answer these questions and consider what the Christian faith has to say about the modern crisis of manhood.  

Christianity has been used to justify the conquest, enslavement, oppression and marginalisation of Black people. Churches can be places where racism goes unaddressed. Christian teaching often feels irrelevant to life in inner-city London. Yet all over the world, Black Christians find identity, hope, comfort and joy in Jesus Christ. We're asking, is there a contradiction here? Does it really make sense to be Black and Christian?

In this archive episode from our Salt Live event in September 2019, speaker Felix Aremo explores Africa's history with Christianity and why it is relevant for Christians in the 21st century, where many see Christianity as an import from Western culture. Felix is a training manager at London City Mission, where his focus is mentoring and teaching Christians. He's married with one son.

We’ve been told that the purpose of life is self-discovery and self-expression and that the key to good mental health is boosting self-esteem. We have been raised on a steady diet of praise and positive self-talk: You are special. You can be anything you want to be. You do you. But is our self-obsessed age fuelling the crisis in mental health?

In this archive episode from our Salt Live event in March 2022, speaker Glynn Harrison speaks into the problem of self-obsession and its impact on our mental health. Glynn is a former Professor of Psychiatry and consultant psychiatrist who has written a popular book on this subject, ‘The Big Ego Trip’ (IVP) which explores the contemporary self-esteem movement. Before retirement, Glynn was Head of the Department of Psychiatry at Bristol University and has also acted as an advisor to the WHO.

The Q & A session from this talk is also attached to the end of this session's audio.

The world of sex and dating has changed more rapidly since the onset of the smartphone than at any point in the history of the world; hence some are calling it a dating apocalypse.

In this archive episode from our Salt Live event in February 2018, Speaker Andrew Haslam thinks about how we should think about dating apps, sex, and love in the modern age.