Cross Section

In this week's episode of Cross Section, the team do an extended news review of the last couple of weeks. This includes Global Bible Month and the adverts for the Bible that have taken over Piccadilly Circus and Times Square. What an encouragement!  They also discuss Carl Lentz's book Overcoming Infidelity and the moral implications of writing a book about that. Is it monetising sin or a story of...

On today's episode of Cross Section, the team have a focused and in-depth conversation on the riots taking place across Europe and especially France in recent days.   Join Peter Lynas, Alicia Edmund and Danny Webster as they analyse what sparked these violent disturbances and how likely is it for rioting to spill out onto the streets in the UK. The team discuss the role of the church and how our C...

In this episode of Cross Section, Peter Lynas, Danny Webster and Alicia Edmund record together from the studio. In the news review, the team discuss a French cyber-attack that hacked supermarket fridges, Trump buying large quantities of diesel from Putin, and the proposed ’Celebrity Handcuffed’ pairing of Suella Braverman and Katie Price. The main conversation explores recent comments by Braverman...

Peter Lynas, Alicia Edmund and Zanna Meynell return to Cross Section to discuss this week’s leading headlines. The episode begins with a news review. Peter updates us on the continued tensions in Drumcree, Alicia outlines the Man City controversy, and the team discuss the relaunch of a dating app with a particular focus on marriage. They also briefly reflect on the first week of Celebrity Traitors...

In this week's episode of Cross Section, Peter Lynas, Danny Webster and Alicia Edmund discuss the headlines. They begin with a news review that covers a worship event in a football stadium, the euthanasia of a one year old in the Netherlands and predictions for the upcoming series of Celebrity Traitors. Conversation then turns to all that is happening in Northern Ireland. Peter helpfully unpacks t...

On Cross Section this week, Peter Lynas, Alicia Edmund and Danny Webster discuss the theme of division and polarisation that spans across all the trending headlines. The team cover six political, cultural and religious stories, looking at how we can be good news people amidst the chaos. They cover Meryl Streep playing Aslan, the Ed Sheeran and Macklemore controversy, the village of Piddington want...

This week, the Evangelical Alliance has launched a landmark report 'Understanding UK Evangelicals' and in this  episode of Cross Section, Peter Lynas, Alicia Edmund and Danny Webster unpack the research. How many evangelical Christians are in the UK? What is the demographic makeup? Can we trust the findings?  The team also reflect on the fall of the assisted suicide bill, St Pauls cathedral being...

Peter Lynas, Alicia Edmund and Danny Webster return from the summer break to the same political upheaval as before. The team discuss the recent Channel 4 documentary revealing further questions regarding donations to Reform UK and apparent fractures in Nigel Farage's top team. How will this effect their electorate success and popularity?  They go on to explore the weekend headlines of Patriot Plat...

Is Andy Burnham the new ‘TikTok PM’? The Cross Section summer break takes a temporary pause as the team reunite to discuss all that has happened since Andy Burnham became prime minister. The team cover his use of social media, his focus on cost of living and social care, lack of mention of immigration and touch on assisted suicide. What will the coming months look like? What will the challenges be...

For the season finale before the summer break, Peter Lynas, Alicia Edmund and Danny Webster share reflections from the National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast in Westminster, President Trump's influence over a red card, the unfolding story surrounding Nigel Farage's relationship with a cryptocurrency convicted billionaire and the role of the UK church in embodying a message of hope at a time of na...

In this week’s episode of Cross Section, Peter Lynas, Alicia Edmund and Danny Webster discuss the leading political and cultural headlines. The team begin with a conversation about King Charles’ announcement that he is redefining his role as monarch from “Defender of the Faith” to protecting “the space for faith within the multi-faith nation”. What are the implications for his role as the head of...

Is Britain ungovernable? This week on Cross Section, Alicia Edmund, Danny Webster and Zanna Meynell unpack a hugely significant week in British politics. Following Andy Burnham’s win in the Makerfield by-election last week, Monday saw Keir Starmer announce his resignation. What will this period of political limbo look like? How can we engage? And where can we put our hope when things are so unstab...

On today's episode of Cross Section, Peter Lynas, Alicia Edmund and Danny Webster try to make sense of Lauren Edward's decision to reintroduce the assisted dying / suicide bill, t-up the political permutations ahead of Thursday's Makerfield by-election and discuss the government’s latest announcement about a social media ban for under 16 year olds.  https://www.wigan.gov.uk/Docs/PDF/Council/Voting...

On today's episode, Peter Lynas, Alicia Edmund and Danny Webster cover a whole range of issues from calls to boycott HelloFresh, to a seven-minute standing ovation for the Pope in the Spanish parliament, what energy drink would Jesus drink? to the number of openly Christian players at this year's World Cup. It's becoming the new normal to see Christianity discussed in the cultural space, so the te...

Peter Lynas, Alicia Edmund and Danny Webster return to Cross Section to review this week’s key news stories. They begin with a news roundup covering calls to withdraw mainstream media platforms from influencer Bonnie Blue, Tony Blair’s intervention on what has gone wrong in Britain and Alan Milburn’s warning about rising numbers of young people not in education, employment or training.   The main...

In this week’s episode of Cross Section, Danny Webster and Zanna Meynell are joined by Mark Gilmore, policy advisor at the Evangelical Alliance. Conversation turns to the damp squib that was the King’s Speech . It serves as a reminder that we cannot place all our hopes in politics. The team discuss the implications of potential conversion practices legislation and the significance of that for Chri...

In this week's episode of Cross Section, the team discuss the conviction of Clive Johnston after he preached John 3:16 in a buffer zone, deep dive the election results and Keir Starmer's fragility as Prime Minister. How as Christians can we respond to this chaos? What are our freedoms and where can we turn when the world feels so fractured? Chapters: 00:00 Welcome 01:19 Abortion buffer zone case 0...

In this week’s episode of Cross Section, Peter Lynas, Danny Webster and Alicia Edmund sit down to discuss the latest headlines. The episode begins with some light-hearted stories: Peter reviews the Devil Wears Prada 2, and the rest of the panel discuss the Met Gala outfits that caught their eye.   Conversation turns to the sad news that broke yesterday around Sam Allberry being stepped down from l...

In this week’s episode of Cross Section, the team discuss the stopped assisted suicide bill. How has this happened? Could a similar bill come into the next parliamentary session? The team discuss the likelihood of assisted suicide returning and the fact that even if it doesn't return as a political conversation, it is still a cultural one. They also reflect on the church's role in talking about th...

In this week’s episode, the Cross Section team discuss integrity in public life. This week we have seen the Peter Mandelson vetting controversy, the sacking and parliamentary testimony of Foreign Office civil servant Olly Robbins, and questions around Starmer’s leadership. Will the prime minister survive? What are the political implications for government authority and the upcoming King’s Speech? ...

This special Cross Section episode focuses on the upcoming Scottish Parliament elections on 7 May. Lynne Patterson and Chris Ringland from the Evangelical Alliance Scotland team join Zanna as they discuss their vision for Scotland, the current church and cultural context, and the political landscape. Lynne describes spiritual openness, Church of Scotland closures and mergers, and growing ethnic an...

In the final episode of Season 13, Peter Lynas, Alicia Edmund and Danny Webster unpack the recent news from the Bible Society – that the YouGov data from The Quiet Revival report was invalid and has been discounted. How can we respond to this news? While this is hard to process, we must remember that the findings haven’t been proven ‘wrong’ but are unreliable. The team point to other surveys, chur...

Kay Morgan-Gurr, co-founder of the Additional Needs Alliance, and Alicia Edmund discuss the politics of disability and the attitudes that underly how we approach disability within the church. They also cover how proposed changes to both Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) provision and disability benefits will impact those living with disabilities. Chapters: 0:00     Welcome 1:04     K...

Peter Lynas, Danny Webster and Zanna Meynell discuss the row over the Iftar prayer in Trafalgar Square. They talk about Nick Timothy's comment 'mass ritual prayer in public places is an act of domination.' How do we respond to this? What is the line with freedom of religion and speech? The team also talk about the Evangelical Alliance's new report Confident faith, contested culture and what this s...

Join Alicia Edmund, Danny Webster and Peter Lynas as they discuss stories at the intersection of faith, news and culture. They discuss Louis Theroux's 'Inside the Manosphere' Netflix documentary. What has it revealed? How does the Bible speak into it and this cultural moment? The team also talk about the significant vote in the House of Lords regarding the decriminalisation of abortion. There have...