THE podcast Westminster Insider (Politico) explores some of the buildings of greatest consequence in the capital: pubs. In the episode “An SW1 Pub Crawl: What makes the perfect political pub?”, Nigel Farage and others demonstrate the power of the pubs near Parliament as places where many hot topics are debated.
Back when Westminster was a suburb of central London, things were really heating up. Episodes 21 and 22 of Journey Through Time (Global Player) recount, thrillingly, the Great Fire of London. The hosts, the historians David Olusoga and Sarah Churchwell, set the context for the fire beautifully, considering the recent horror of the plague, the threat of war, and the suspicions surrounding the year 1666, which includes the number of the beast. Street preachers warn of judgement by fire, and St Paul’s Cathedral plays a prominent part. We learn of a Quaker parading with a bowl of fire on his head. It does not bode well.
Speaking of fire, back in the 1980s, I remember meeting cheerful Christians “on fire for Jesus” in Leeds. They looked like hippies, had a big double-decker bus, and were known as the Jesus Army. I took their literature and marvelled at this seemingly happy group of gospel-sharers. My wonder turned to concern, however, with the story told in In detail. . . The Jesus Army Cult (BBC Sounds), which describes in detail how the movement began and ultimately ended in a scandal of abuse and countless allegations (News, 1 August). Vulnerable young adults can easily become prey to predator preachers and to self-styled prophets.
Moving to the present day, you may have heard that young adults are flocking to our churches. The Quiet Revival research by the Bible Society, published in April, has led to a surge of content from many Christians celebrating the unprecedented rates at which young adults are joining churches (News, 11 April; Analysis, 9 May). The research that has generated this excitement has flaws, however. In an episode of More or Less, “Is the UK Seeing a Christian Revival?” (BBC Sounds), the series producer, Tom Colls, explained to the presenter, Tim Hartford, why what we were told in the research was less than it seemed. There is no evidence of a significant increase in church attendance, and churches are still working their way back to pre-Covid figures. Could this be an example of an own goal for the Church?
In a recent episode of the Religion Media Centre Podcast, “The Inextricable Link Between Religion and Football”, Dal Darroch, the head of diversity-and-inclusion programmes at the Football Association, celebrates how football brings communities together, while also recognising a rise in the religious discrimination and misogynistic attitudes that are corroding the game. These issues are partly attributed to the ongoing rise of the far Right and some fans who bring this dangerous ideology into the stands.
A different kind of poison is running through the country’s veins: our rivers. “Robert Macfarlane: Rivers Are Dying So Give Them Rights” is a recent conversation on Radical with Amol Rajan (BBC Sounds), in which Rajan speaks to Macfarlane about the rivers in England. Not a single river in England is deemed healthy; most are in a dire state. This podcast presents a strong and convincing argument for people to demand that polluters clean up their act.
