The Sacred

Adam is a human rights barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, a visiting professor at Goldsmiths University, Chair of the human rights charity EachOther, and host of the Better Human Podcast.

In this episode he speaks about why he is nervous of the concept of the sacred, his Jewish religious practice, how human rights frameworks temper our worst selves, and why he is still a fan of Twitter.

Mary is a writer and columnist for Unherd. She writes about how we navigate family life in an age of radical individualism, the emerging backlash against the regressive left and the crisis in modern democracy.

In this episode she speaks about the influence of her Steiner school, the negative impact of post-modernism on her mental health, the challenges of speaking about motherhood in public, and what drew her to post-liberalism.

Jay is an award-winning transgender performance poet, speaker and educator. Alongside his writing and regular performances he teaches in schools and speaks at events and conferences on the importance of transgender inclusion and rights. This year Jay contributed a chapter to 'The Book of Queer Prophets' a collection of 21 essays on the intersection of LGBT+ identity and religious faith, curated by previous guest Ruth Hunt.

In this episode Jay speaks about why poems give us permission to really feel things, why he thinks debates about transgender issues are currently so fraught and how he found faith after swearing at God in a cathedral.

Alistair is a British politician who served as MP for his native Bury North in Greater Manchester from 1983 until 1997 and for North East Bedfordshire from 2001-2019, when he was one of the 20 Conservative MPS to have the party whip withdrawn by Boris Johnson. He was Minister of State for the Department of Health in 2015-2016 and Minister of State for the Middle East at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office from 2017-2019.

In this episode Alistair speaks about the dangers of polarisation, his Christian faith and why he thinks being a moderate isn’t just a cop out.

Our next episode of The Sacred Reflections is with Shadi Hamid. Shadi, who was our guest on episode 31 of The Sacred, is a political scientist and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, in their Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World in the Center for Middle East Policy.

In this episode he speaks to Elizabeth about how this pandemic is revealing our individual and national characters, and how full obedience to an enforced lockdown would feel almost impossible for the American public character. This episode also features a short reflection from Iona on the difference between knowledge and wisdom.

We would love to hear how you are processing this season, if this crisis has crystallised or even changed what you hold sacred, and what it might tell us about our collective sacred values. You can send us your thoughts in a voice note to 07778160052 or you can email us at [email protected] and we may use your reflections at the end of an episode. Please keep your responses to under a minute and a half if you can.

Glynn was former Professor and Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Bristol where he was also a practising psychiatrist. He is a past President of the International Federation of Psychiatric Epidemiology and acted as an advisor to the WHO. He is also the author of ‘A Better Story: God, Sex and Human Flourishing’ and ‘The Big Ego Trip: Finding True Significance in a Culture of Self–esteem’.

In this episode he speaks to Elizabeth Oldfield about his career in psychiatry, his concerns about the self–esteem movement and what Christians can learn from the sexual revolution.

During the pandemic we are releasing short extra episodes called ‘The Sacred Reflections’ in response to the strange times we are living through. Former guests are returning to reflect on how they are processing this season, if this crisis has crystallised or even changed what they hold sacred, and what it might tell us about our collective sacred values.

We would love to hear your responses to these same questions. You can send us your thoughts in a voice note to 07778160052 or you can email us at [email protected]. Please keep your responses to under a minute and a half if you can.

Claire Fox is the director of the Academy of Ideas and a writer, broadcaster and panellist on the BBC’s “Moral Maze.” She has also served as an MEP for the Brexit Party, a position which ended in January. She was our guest on episode 14 of The Sacred.

In this episode Claire speaks about the importance of free–thinking at this time and how you can have different views to someone while still having something in common with them. We apologise for the lower sound quality at the beginning of the episode (the downside of recording remotely) but it improves after a couple of minutes. This episode also features a short reflection from a listener on the sacredness of her own space.

We would love to hear how you are processing this season, if this crisis has crystallised or even changed what you hold sacred, and what it might tell us about our collective sacred values. You can send us your thoughts in a voice note to 07778160052 or you can email us at [email protected] and we may use your reflections at the end of an episode. Please keep your responses to under a minute and a half if you can.

Rainn Wilson is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the American version of The Office. In 2008 he set up the creative agency Soul Pancake which makes content on a range of platforms and explores life’s big questions.

In this episode Rainn speaks about how he grew up and returned to the Baha’i faith, the existential crisis he experienced after finding fame and riches, why he believes creativity is an expression of the divine, and his experience of the love of God.

Over the coming weeks we will be releasing short extra episodes in response to the strange times we are living through. Former guests will be returning to reflect on how they are processing this season, if this crisis has crystallised or even changed what they hold sacred, and what it might tell us about our collective sacred values.We would love to hear your responses to these same questions. You can send us your thoughts in a voice note to 07778160052 or you can email us at [email protected]. Please keep your responses to under a minute and a half if you can.

Chine McDonald is the former media and PR lead and now head of community fundraising and public engagement for Christian Aid, one of the world’s largest and best known non profit organisations. She was our guest on episode 25 of The Sacred.

In this episode Chine talks about how we have more in common than what divides us and how kindness becomes central in times of crises. This episode also features a short voice memo sent in by Andrew about using our lives as a means to others’ ends.

We would love to hear how you are processing this season, if this crisis has crystallised or even changed what you hold sacred, and what it might tell us about our collective sacred values. You can send us your thoughts in a voice note to 07778160052 or you can email us at [email protected]. Please keep your responses to under a minute and a half if you can.

Satbir is the CEO for The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and previously spent time developing campaigns and political strategies for the people’s movements and working as an advisor to the UN and the World Bank. He studied at Oxford, SOAS and as a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia.

In this episode he speaks about his mobile childhood, how his mother’s Sikh faith has formed him, and why rabble rousing and reconciliation are both necessary for change.

Over the coming weeks we will be releasing short extra episodes in response to the strange times we are living through. Former guests will be returning to reflect on how they are processing this season, if this crisis has crystallised or even changed what they hold sacred, and what it might tell us about our collective sacred values.We would love to hear your responses to these same questions. You can send us your thoughts in a voice note to 07778160052 or you can email us at [email protected]. Please keep your responses to under a minute and a half if you can.