In the Cathedral’s latest podcast, the Dean, Mark Oakley, discusses Laurence Rees’s latest book, ‘The Nazi Mind: 12 Warnings from History’, a book which combines history and the latest research in psychology to help answer some of the most perplexing questions surrounding the Second World War and the Holocaust. Ultimately, he delves into the darkness to explain how and why people were capable of committing such abhorrent crimes. Rees traces the rise and eventual fall of the Nazis through the lens of ‘twelve warnings’ – from talk about ‘them’ and ‘us’ to the escalation of racism – whilst also highlighting signs to look out for in present day leaders.

Welcome to the first programme in a new Southwark Cathedral Podcast mini-series. The series asks invited guests to choose a favourite poem and then chat to the Dean about why it is important to them. Our first guest is Stella Kanu, Chief Executive of Shakespeare’s Globe, who has chosen Roger Robinson’s ‘A Portable Paradise’.

The poem: A Portable Paradise - Poetry Archive

In this episode of the Southwark Cathedral podcast, the Dean of Southwark - The Very Rev'd Dr Mark Oakley - is in conversation with Irish poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama.

Ahead of an event held at the Cathedral, Pádraig sat down with the Dean and a copy of his latest book 44 Poems on Being with Each Other and discussed a couple of his favourite poems from the collection. 

In the second of two conversations launching our focus on modern slavery and exploitation, the Dean is in conversation with the CEO of Hestia, Patrick Ryan. Together they discuss Hestia and the support it provides to survivors of modern slavery, the extent of slavery in London and Southwark today, how we can detect signs of slavery and where we can find more information.

Novelist Amanda Craig spoke with the Dean about why modern slavery is such an important topic and why she is grateful that the Cathedral has taken up this injustice for exploration. She speaks about her novel ‘Hearts and Minds’ in which she tells of the story of various individuals who find themselves in London, some exploited and abused, and how their lives interact with the dark underbelly of the city, as well as the good it offers.