I have a conversation with Tilly Dillehay, author of “My Dear Hemlock”, a book in the style of CS Lewis’s Screwtape Letters that does not pull its punches on the female condition. We also talk about writing, sitcom and sketches and then ‘pivot’ into story structure and The Princess Bride. We also talk about books that broke the rules and made us laugh out loud.

Check out Cary's Almanac

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Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.

If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?

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A deep dive into Conspiracy theories - not a big long list of them, but why we might believe them, or find it hard to prove them one way or the other. A fascinating conversation with Dr (Dr) Jonny Woodrow, host of the Stop it! You're Killing Me Podcast. Listen the episode with with Yours Truly here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/stop-it-youre-killing-me/id1738098579?i=1000717379359

Also mentioned:

Haunted Cosmos Moon Landings 

Aquinas 101

The Sacred Art of Joking (Affiliate link)

Cary’s Almanac

Get in touch via text and tell me what you like about the show

Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.

Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.

If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?

Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

In this solo episode, I introduce the Psalm Psupplement, forty reflections on the Psalms that might be handy for Lent. This is an audio version of the first batch on Psalm 1. Loyal Lollards (paid subscribers to the Wycliffe Papers) will be getting all forty them thrown in with their membership. Why not join? Plus there'll be a load of bonus audio content to keep you going during the forthcoming hiatus.

And I'm reading from the World English Bible - because it's not bad, it's public domain and not owned by Rupert Murdoch.

Get in touch via text and tell me what you like about the show

Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.

Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.

If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?

Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

I have a conversation with Andrew Ollerton who has written a new book called God’s Book: An Honest Look at the Bible’s 7 Toughest Topics. And he’s been at the front line of talking about the Bible to people who are just picking it up for the first time. What do they want to know?

Check out Cary's Almanac for a weekly newsletter about the Christian way of life with reference to history, scripture and creation.

Get in touch via text and tell me what you like about the show

Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.

Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.

If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?

Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Two culture vultures pick over the plentiful remains of Stranger Things. I talked to Caleb Woodbridge who is an imaginative disciple, freelance writer and editor,  fan of sf/fantasy, children's & YA literature, Doctor Who, Tolkien & C S Lewis. He writes and podcasts at Bigger Inside.

We talk about Stranger Things but also JK Rowling; CS Lewis; Narnia; Harry Potter; Hunger Games, Video Games, Massive Effect, Baldur’s Gate – and why James doesn’t play video games and has a rant about American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Also we mention Indiana Jones, Stephen King, the cost of victory. And what on earth is Schroedinger’s Eucatastrophe?

We also mention Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch; Paul Cornell Hidden London; Lockwood and Co; The Pendragon Protocol Philip Purser-Hallard

Caleb’s Article about Tim Challies: https://www.equip.org/articles/choose-your-own-enchantment-freedom-and-conscience-in-what-we-watch/

Get in touch via text and tell me what you like about the show

Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.

Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.

If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?

Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Last year, I wrote an article about home education for Gareth Crispin, editor of Premier NexGen:

https://www.premiernexgen.com/education/why-home-education-is-the-best-option-for-christian-families/20440.article

And we talked about it! Oh yes. We talked about it.

And here's Dumbing us Down by John Taylor Gatto

Get in touch via text and tell me what you like about the show

Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.

Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.

If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?

Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

In this New Year’s Day solo walk-and-talk, I reflect on what happens when long-running momentum finally runs out. Turning 50, finishing six years on the Archbishop's Council, and watching the comedy industry shift have forced me to face an uncomfortable question: have I been relying on professional habits while avoiding fully intentional choices? Prompted by Steven Pressfield’s Turning Pro, I think aloud about career, responsibility, making work that is actually “on,” faith, family, and what it might mean to “turn pro” again in 2026—this time with clarity, purpose and slightly more money.

Get in touch via text and tell me what you like about the show

Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.

Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.

If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?

Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

It's just like old times! Cary and Cooper are reunited for this review of the year in books. We revisit Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth, and James explains why there are a number of books he has some serious problems with (I'm looking at you, George RR Martin). Barry's read some Thomas Hardy. Seriously. Very seriously. And Cary does not care for The Way We Live Now by Trollope.

You can listen to an extended version of this episode by becoming a Loyal Lollard - a paid subscriber to The Wycliffe Papers.

Get in touch via text and tell me what you like about the show

Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.

Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.

If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?

Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

What a treat! James gets to geek about CS Lewis, That Hideous Strength and The Abolition of Man - with the world's leading expert on all things Inkling, Dr Michael Ward! Why should we NEVER call his science fiction books 'The Space Trilogy'? And is The Magician's Nephew actually going to be good? Enjoy!

Planet Narnia

After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man by Dr Michael Ward

Life on the Silent Planet: Essays on Christian Living from C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy - featuring an essay by Dr Michael Ward

Further reading by Ward in First Things on Matrimony

The God Particle Streaming MP4

The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto (Catholic Ideas for a Secular World)

Peter Zeihan on demographics.

Norm MacDonald on Germany going to war with The World.

Clip from The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Get in touch via text and tell me what you like about the show

Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.

Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.

If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?

Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...

Is there a book in you? Have you checked? Do you need to be talked into it? Or out of it? And who cares? You care! But will anyone else? Matt Bird helps people write their story. So this is a conversation about the pain, euphoria, self-delusion, vanity and the therapeutic nature of writing a book.

Find out more about Matt Bird and PublishU HERE.

Get in touch via text and tell me what you like about the show

Want to talk about the podcast and engage with other listeners? Come on over to the Facebook Group.

Find out about my touring show, God the Bible and Everything (in 60 minutes) and get in touch via my website.

If you’re serious about the Bible and church history and like jokes, I’d recommend subscribing to The Wycliffe Papers. It's free. But you can also support the podcast by coming a Paid Subscriber to the Wycliffe Papers, making you a Loyal Lollard. Could you consider that?

Or email me in gmail now you can see how to spell Wycliffe...