Things Unseen
209 episodes - English - Latest episode: 12 days ago - ★★★★★ - 7 ratingsThings Unseen grapples with a spiritual climate that no longer conforms to orderly patterns – with fewer of us attracted to formal religion, but many still believing that there’s more out there than meets the eye. Thought-provoking speech radio for people of faith – and those who just feel intrigued by the spiritual dimension to life.
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Episodes
Passover: When your enemy falls
April 15, 2024 00:00 - 39 minutes - 36.2 MBPassover is one of the most important Jewish festivals, marking the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt and the start of their journey to the Promised Land – Israel. This year, the celebrations have an extra significance because of the Hamas attack on Israel in October and the subsequent violence unleashed on Gaza by Israel. In this Passover edition of Things Unseen, Amir Suleman, a Muslim, and Orthodox Rabbi Dov Cowan discuss the significance the festival holds this year, with Israel and Gaza at t...
Pontius Pilate: A man like us
March 25, 2024 00:00 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBPontius Pilate, the Roman governor who sent Jesus to be crucified, is often seen as the villain of the story. But was he downright evil, or merely weak? In this Good Friday and Easter edition of Things Unseen, the Ven Liz Adekunle hears from a priest, a Christian author and a former homicide detective turned evangelist about how we might see our own actions reflected in Pilate’s story.
Ramadan: In the shadow of Gaza
March 08, 2024 00:00 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBThe retaliation by Israel in Gaza following the Hamas attack in October, has caused deep-seated anger among Muslim communities, including in the UK. As the Islamic holy month of Ramadan approaches, with its focus on compassion, charity, and prayer, how are Muslims preparing, given the strong emotions triggered by the Israel-Gaza situation? Gaza will not be far from people’s minds as they get together to break the fast in the evenings, and much of the community’s charitable giving this year ...
Deeper into One Life
January 02, 2024 00:00 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBIn the film One Life, Anthony Hopkins plays Nicholas Winton, who rescued over 600 Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Prague by sending them on what became known as the Kindertransport. For this podcast, Rosie Dawson welcomes two people who knew Nicholas Winton personally: Rabbi Jonathan Romain from Maidenhead synagogue in Berkshire, and Lord Alf Dubs, who was himself a Kindertransport child and campaigns for the rights of unaccompanied child refugees. Together with Sue Butler from Welcome Chu...
Face to face with the Black Madonna
December 20, 2023 00:00 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBThe image of the Madonna and child appears on nearly every Christmas card and is at the centre of every nativity scene. But in most of these images, Mary looks European, a white woman with fair hair. Yet there are also Black Madonnas – and they’re often seen as particularly powerful. Liz Adekunle finds out about the rich history of the Black Madonna and her relevance to Christians today as they celebrate the birth of Christ.
FaithTime: Carrie and David Grant
November 21, 2023 00:00 - 33 minutes - 30.6 MBLiz Adekunle, Chaplain to His Majesty the King, continues to meet celebrities who have been sustained by their faith during difficult times. Her guests in this episode of FaithTime are Carrie and David Grant, who are well-known for their work as vocal coaches, broadcasters and campaigners. From being struck down with illness to their experience of child-on-parent violence, the couple open up about their lives together and as a family and reflect on what their Christian faith has meant along a...
Liz Adekunle: In conversation with Amos Ogunkoya
October 04, 2023 00:00 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBLiz Adekunle, former Archdeacon of Hackney and Chaplain to His Majesty the King, sets out to discover what people in the public eye have learnt about their faith during challenging times. In this episode, Amos Ogunkoya, one of the stars of the reality TV show, The Traitors, and Luton Town FC first team doctor, joins Liz for a deep dive into experiences that have moulded his Christian faith.
FaithTime: Amos Ogunkoya
October 04, 2023 00:00 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBLiz Adekunle, former Archdeacon of Hackney and Chaplain to His Majesty the King, sets out to discover what people in the public eye have learnt about their faith during challenging times. In this episode, Amos Ogunkoya, one of the stars of the reality TV show, The Traitors, and Luton Town FC first team doctor, joins Liz for a deep dive into experiences that have moulded his Christian faith.
A Fresh Look at Easter
April 05, 2023 00:00 - 25 minutes - 23.3 MBFor most people in the UK, Easter means extra days off work, family time and chocolate eggs. So how can its message be heard afresh through nature and astronomy, stories and art? With Fr Christopher Jamison, a Benedictine monk, writer and Abbot President of the English Benedictine Congregation; and Bonnie Lander Johnson, a writer and Cambridge academic with a love of stories, history and nature.
The Age of Revelation
March 30, 2023 00:00 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBThe Prophet Muhammad was 40 when he began to receive the revelation of the Quran. In this podcast, journalist Remona Aly is joined by three guests in their 40s to discuss the deeper meaning of maturity in Islam, and how the ‘age of revelation’ is best lived - through innovative approaches, the love of walking, life-lessons and personal legacies.
The Spirit of Kintsugi
February 09, 2023 00:00 - 29 minutes - 27 MBKintsugi is the Japanese art of mending broken bowls with lacquer and gold, which often makes the restored object more beautiful than the original. As a result, kintsugi has become a symbol of how human brokenness can lead to a new sense of inner wholeness and beauty.
The Love Song Which They Bring
December 19, 2022 00:00 - 33 minutes - 30.4 MBWhat draws people from other faiths – including Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and Muslims – to sing in Christian choirs, even at Christmas? In this festive podcast, Zubeida Malik meets some of them during carol rehearsals to find out.
Stephen: A Faith Challenged
October 21, 2022 00:00 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBWriter Susie Stead describes how her 20-year friendship with Stephen, a man with profound mental health issues, challenged her perceptions about mental health and her own Christian faith. She also reveals how her decision to write a book about Stephen was to convince him that his life “did matter.”
Putin’s Unholy War
April 12, 2022 00:00 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBWhy is the Russian Orthodox Church supporting Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine? Are the Russian President’s alleged religious motives genuine, and has the church’s endorsement of the war tarnished Russian Orthodoxy beyond redemption? Lucy Ash discusses with guests Fr Cyril Hovorun and Lord Harries, former Bishop of Oxford.
The Body
April 11, 2022 00:00 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBWhen Christ’s bloodied body was taken down from the cross, his followers took very good care of it. Looking after the dead body of a loved one was normal then. So why is it, Mark Dowd asks in this Holy Week and Easter podcast, that we’ve become so squeamish about it?
A Greener Ramadan
April 01, 2022 00:00 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBIs there a clash between the generous hospitality that’s customary during Ramadan, and the self-restraint and solidarity with the poor also expected during the Islamic holy month? Remona Aly hears from Muslims who are trying to have a greener and simpler Ramadan.
Where Was God?
March 03, 2022 00:00 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBThe writer and broadcaster Mark Dowd throws fresh light on a question which has troubled people of faith down the ages and remains ever topical in times of Covid, wars and natural disasters: why does a loving God allow good people to suffer?
A Midwife For Mary
December 20, 2021 00:00 - 35 minutes - 32.7 MBThe Gospels tell us little about the actual birth of Jesus. What would it have been like for a young woman, probably a teenager, to give birth for the first time far from home, with no medical help, in a stable or cave? Rae Duke and two midwives discuss. With Tina Beattie.
A Uyghur Ramadan
April 22, 2021 10:51 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBUyghur Muslims in Xinjiang in China face serious restrictions during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, including a ban on fasting. Here, Uyghurs in exile in the UK recall what Ramadan was like back home and how the Uyghur Ramadan customs of their childhood form a bridge to loved ones.
Patient 13
March 31, 2021 00:00 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBThe Easter story is perhaps the ultimate rollercoaster narrative. And it has its fair share of heroes and villains, praised or condemned down the ages. But what about the behind-the-scenes Easter? Could that make us think again? Moving between the present day and the 1st century, Patient 13 fills in the gaps of the Gospels in an intriguing look at the events of Holy Week.
Wonder Of Wonders
December 21, 2020 08:59 - 37 minutes - 34.7 MBNearly one in five women in the UK are now childless at 40, many involuntarily. Among them was the writer and teacher Blanche Girouard, and she desperately wanted a baby. In this audio diary, she charts her journey from the decision to have a child from an anonymous donor, via IVF treatment in December 2019 and her pregnancy during the Covid-19 lockdown, to holding her miracle baby in her arms for Christmas this year.
Phone Prayers and PPE
July 30, 2020 00:00 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBSarah Niyazi was pleased to get her husband, Arif, home from hospital in February, following treatment for a severe autoimmune condition. Within days they were both ill, but her husband was worse. Struggling to breathe he went back into hospital, one of the earliest UK cases of COVID-19. Mark Dowd hears from Sarah about how the following days played out, and from Muslim hospital chaplain Rehanah Sadiq, who was ‘like an angel sent by God’, Sarah says.
Ramadan In Lockdown
April 23, 2020 00:00 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MBJournalist Remona Aly speaks to Islam scholar Abdal Hakim Murad, also known as Dr Tim Winter, about how to navigate the very different kind of Ramadan experience that Covid-19 brings – including how to cope with having to abandon traditional rituals and customs, and how to find spiritual meaning in a global pandemic.
The Last Shall Be First
April 14, 2020 00:00 - 5 minutes - 4.88 MBIn self-isolation at her new home in Virginia, former BBC religious affairs correspondent Jane Little reflects on whether the coronavirus pandemic could be a portal to a new world: one in which the poor and marginalized will finally get their fair share.
An Easter Like No Other
April 09, 2020 09:03 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MBWith churches closed and the coronavirus lockdown firmly in place, the UK faces a very different Easter this year. More and more people each day experience the sudden loss of a friend or family member. Others fear deeply for loved ones who are elderly or vulnerable. So how does the Easter story of death and resurrection help at this traumatic time, indeed does it help at all? Emily Buchanan talks to two remarkable women who have survived terrible sudden bereavement.
The Face Of God
April 08, 2020 00:00 - 5 minutes - 5.91 MBAmong the saddest stories to come out of the coronavirus crisis so far is that of 13-year-old Ismail, who died without seeing the loving faces of his family around him. In this short reflection, Mark Dowd, a Catholic, considers the importance of seeing a loving face when you are close to death. Even Jesus on the cross saw his mother Mary standing and gazing up to him in his agony. So what hope is there in the Christian message this Easter time, with the families of the sick in lockdown?
When Disaster Strikes
April 07, 2020 00:00 - 5 minutes - 5.92 MBFormer BBC correspondent Mike Wooldridge has reported first hand on many of the world’s worst disasters of the last few decades, from the famine in Ethiopia to the AIDS epidemic in Uganda. In this short reflection, Mike draws his own lessons for the coronavirus pandemic: we should place the African concept of Ubuntu – a strong sense of our common humanity - at the centre of our response.
The Donkey Who Wasn't There
December 19, 2019 10:39 - 26 minutes - 36.4 MBIt’s there on almost every Christmas card featuring the scene of Christ’s birth, and in almost every school Nativity play: the donkey, or ass. But look at the gospel accounts of Christ’s birth, and you may be surprised: there is no donkey! So how has this much-loved seasonal character entered Christmas lore, and why has the donkey remained a Christmas favourite ever since? Jane Little goes in search of the Christmas donkey and its real-life descendants today.
Mindfulness and Faith – do they mix?
November 21, 2019 16:40 - 37 minutes - 51.1 MB“Mindfulness” seems to be everywhere these days. It’s often promoted as a way dealing with some mental health issues and reducing burnout. But with origins in Buddhism, how well does it sit with other faiths? And what caused Tim Stead to leave his calling as a Church of England priest to pursue a career in mindfulness teaching? To find out, Mike Wooldridge visits Tim’s “meditation barn” at the back of his house in Oxford.
Arrested to Save the Earth
October 11, 2019 08:41 - 20 minutes - 18.4 MBFor two weeks in October, members of the Extinction Rebellion movement are attempting to disrupt life in London and elsewhere to draw attention to what they say is an impending climate catastrophe. Among them are Christians of all ages who are camping out in the rain and risking arrest to make their point: that it’s their God-given responsibility to take care of the earth. Rosie Dawson meets some of them.
Fishy Business
July 18, 2019 10:33 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBConcern over the environmental and welfare aspects of the meat and dairy industries is on the rise, but what about the world of fish farming? For those who want to protect the world’s oceans from deep sea trawling and over fishing, farmed fish seem like the ethical solution. But this may not be the case...
Ramadan 101
May 24, 2019 08:13 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBFormer Lord Mayor of Sheffield Magid Magid is joined by a team of fasting veterans to answer your burning questions on Ramadan – including the fasting rules, spiritual highs, spiritual lows, veganism and moon-wars.
Entombed
April 19, 2019 08:00 - 27 minutes - 38.2 MBIn the midst of a ferocious thunderstorm, Joe and Nick, two no-nonsense Irishmen, are carrying a body into a cave for burial. But their relief at getting out of the rain is short lived, when an earthquake traps them inside. Father Ted star Jim Norton stars in new Irish playwright Brendan Devitt’s drama from CTVC.
Abbi's Last Christmas
December 19, 2018 13:59 - 27 minutes - 31.9 MBNot long after Christmas last year, Abbi Banks died of leukaemia. With the grief still so raw, how can parents Tim and Liz and sister Debbie hang on to the Christmas message of hope as the festive season comes round once again?
A Loan From God
September 10, 2018 10:48 - 40 minutes - 23.3 MBShaunaka Rishi Das, an Irish-born Hindu priest reflects on his wife’s suicide and its aftermath. In her mid-50s and suffering from depression, Shaunaka’s wife Keshava took her own life, with questions over the medical response leading to a traumatic two-day inquest. Shaunaka tells the story publically for the first time, reflecting eloquently on death, mourning and letting go from a Hindu perspective.
A Long Walk Towards Wellness
June 20, 2018 00:00 - 29 minutes - 33.5 MBAfter years of mental illness Guy Stagg embarked on a walk from Canterbury to Jerusalem, spending ten months on a 5,500 km medieval pilgrim route, a journey to the centre of the three Abrahamic faiths. And all this despite having no faith or belief in God. He joins Mark Dowd in Canterbury, retracing the footsteps of where it all began, to discuss why as a non-believer, he hoped the extraordinary adventure would heal him.
Food, Faith and Fasting with The Great British Bake Off’s Ali Imdad
May 17, 2018 13:29 - 22 minutes - 30.6 MBMango cake and chocolate brownies might seem a world away from politics and rising levels of anti-Muslim feeling. But Great British Bake Off contestant Ali Imdad is on a mission to counter negative stereotypes with desserts from the Muslim world. All with the aim of bringing people together through a love of food.
May The Force Be With You: Sci-Fi and Spirituality
May 10, 2018 00:00 - 28 minutes - 38.6 MBThings Unseen travels through space and time for a close encounter between science fiction and faith. Steering the ship will be the writer and broadcaster Natalie Haynes, with crewmates Beth Singler, research associate with the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, and Robert Shearman, a writer whose work has often focused on the fantastical, and the man who brought the Daleks into the 21st century.
Death And Paradise
March 30, 2018 00:00 - 31 minutes - 29 MBHow does belief influence the way people approach death? Why don’t those who believe they’re going to heaven seem that keen to go? And how is belief changing, in an age where tweets continue to address the dead, and many who say they have no faith believe in an afterlife. We hear from Rick, who has a motor-neurone condition with a terminal prognosis, about how his faith affects his approach to death. Katie Harrison from ComRes shares their research into UK patterns of belief. In the studio w...
Adam and Steve
February 27, 2018 00:00 - 39 minutes - 54.6 MBIt’s hard to think of an issue which has seen a more profound change in attitudes over the last two or three decades. Nearly thirty years after the introduction of Section 28, the law which forbade the promotion of gay rights in schools, gay marriage is now firmly established in the western world at least. Mark Dowd talks with Mobeen Azhar and Ajeet Jugnauth to share Christian, Muslim and Hindu perspectives from inside the gay community.
The Assassination Of Santa
December 21, 2017 00:00 - 27 minutes - 37.6 MBThe Angel Gabriel goes rogue in a bid to deal with the over-commercialisation of Christmas. A fresh and irreverent look at the knotty issue of Christmas and shopping. The cast includes vocal virtuoso Kerry Shale as Santa, comic genius Philip Fox as Gabriel, and star of Radio 4’s ‘Hudson and Pepperdine Show’, Mel Hudson, as the put-upon Lori. ‘I have to confess’, says Lori in a prayer that frames the action, ‘...punching Rudolph in the nose was a low point’.
What is beauty?
November 27, 2017 13:56 - 43 minutes - 39.8 MBWe like to think we don’t judge a book by its cover. But is that really true? Sally Phillips hears insights from Vicky Balch, a young woman who lost a limb in the Alton Towers roller coaster accident, but then chose to show her scars in a nude photo shoot. And Rev Joanna Jepson shares how growing up with a facial deformity has made her think deeply about inner beauty, outer beauty, and the fashion industry.
The Word: Stuart Townend, author of ‘In Christ Alone’
July 03, 2017 00:00 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MB‘In Christ Alone’, co-written by Stuart Townend, has been sung around the world, from underground churches to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s enthronement. Alongside the musician’s favourite Bible readings, read for Things Unseen by David Suchet, Stuart Townend talks to Alison Hilliard about the loss of his father, gay marriage and his most controversial line on ‘the wrath of God’.
Ramadan: In Conversation With Babar Ahmad
June 21, 2017 14:35 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBBabar Ahmad spent 8 years in UK prisons fighting extradition to the US. Having allowed his website to host articles supporting the Taliban he was eventually transferred to solitary confinement in the US, before pleading guilty to ‘providing material support to terrorism’. He was released shortly afterwards and returned to the UK. In conversation with Mark Dowd, Babar Ahmad talks about how he came to set up the website in question, and how he managed to mark Ramadan in the most difficult circu...
Ramadan: In Conversation With Harris J
June 19, 2017 00:00 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBHarris J has been dubbed the Muslim Justin Bieber. With 100 million YouTube hits, and over half a million followers on Instagram, he’s taken the global Islamic music scene by storm. Here he talks to Things Unseen’s Remona Aly about his music, his faith and how chewing gum is his Achilles heel when it comes to fasting. And he shares his newly released single, Save Me From Myself.
Ramadan: In Conversation With Baroness Warsi
May 31, 2017 00:00 - 24 minutes - 22 MBFormer Tory Minister Baroness Warsi on balancing faith and fasting with life in the political arena and her views on multicultural Britain.
Oliver Park - The Easter Riots (part 2)
April 16, 2017 00:00 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBCarl Franklin is dead. But it’s not the end of the story. Broadchurch actor Joe Sims stars in Nick Warburton's drama which reflects the themes of the Easter story in a modern setting. The fictional story is told in documentary format, using interviews improvised by the cast, which also includes Emerald O’Hanrahan (Emma Grundy in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers). Cast in order of appearance: Charlie Hammond: Joe Sims; Joseph Masters: Sam Dale; Nat Martindale: Emerald O’Hanrahan; DI Frances MacLau...
Oliver Park - The Easter Riots (part 1)
April 14, 2017 00:00 - 28 minutes - 26 MBOne year on, what's the truth behind the West Trent tragedy? Broadchurch actor Joe Sims stars in Nick Warburton's drama which reflects the themes of the Easter story in a modern setting. The fictional story is told in documentary format, using interviews improvised by the cast, which also includes Emerald O’Hanrahan (Emma Grundy in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers). Cast in order of appearance: Charlie Hammond: Joe Sims; Joseph Masters: Sam Dale; Nat Martindale: Emerald O’Hanrahan; DI Frances MacLa...
Preview of Oliver Park - The Easter Riots
March 30, 2017 00:00 - 4 minutes - 4.28 MBPresenter Mark Dowd quizzes the team behind our upcoming Easter drama - writer Nick Warburton, producer Paul Arnold and Broadchurch actor Joe Sims, who plays the part of Charlie Hammond. Together they discuss the links between the Easter story and the drama, and Charlie’s ‘lightbulb moment’.
Born in Bethlehem
December 20, 2016 00:00 - 26 minutes - 24.3 MBAt this time of year, millions of Christians around the world turn their minds to the events that took place in the “little town of Bethlehem” over 2000 years ago. Yet few stop to consider what life is like for those born in Bethlehem today. In this Christmas edition, Mark Dowd meets two young people from Bethlehem who are united in their love of an ancient spiritual art: icon painting, or “writing”, as it’s known. Nicola and Noura have come to Britain to write two large icons for Lichfiel...