Being Human

We have reached the end of season four! After a season of listening and learning from a variety of people, ideas and experiences, Jo and Peter sit down together and pull out some of the threads and themes woven throughout this season.     This season spanned a wide range of topical subjects, from young people and mental health to class and heritage, to identity and power, revealing a resounding co...

Are we becoming more anxious as a society? And how can following Jesus build resilience in the face of increasing mental fragility? In our final interview of the season, Jo and Peter are joined by Will van der Hart. Anglican priest, author, coach and pastoral specialist, he brings a breadth and depth of knowledge to conversations surrounding faith and mental health. Having suffered from PTSD and a...

We take a break from the interviews for this one-off special episode marking the release of our co-hosts Jo and Peter’s book: Being Human: A new lens for our cultural conversations.  Who am I? Does my life matter? What will make me happy? From our politics to churches, from media to the marketplace, from everyday mundane moments to the conversations held on this podcast, we all ask life’s big ques...

Is the tide turning on a belief in God? Are we witnessing a wave of curiosity towards the Christian story?  In this episode, Jo and Peter sit down with the renowned author and former host of the Unbelievable? podcast, Justin Brierley, to delve into his latest book, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God.  Join our co-hosts as they explore the journey Justin undertakes in his book, where he uncove...

Many parts of the church are sick because so often it does not follow its Lord. How do we come to terms with abuse and misuse of power within the body of Christ? In this episode, Jo and Peter are joined by Dr Diane Langberg for a timely conversation on power, balancing justice and forgiveness, and honouring the stories of the oppressed. Dr Langberg is globally recognised for her 52 years of clinic...

Being a disciple of Jesus is not about becoming like the people around us, it’s about becoming more like Him – so why are most western churches predominantly middle class? Having grown up in relative poverty in a deprived seaside town, Natalie Williams’ life was changed when she became a Christian at age 15. Now she is the chief executive of Jubilee+, a national Christian charity that seeks to equ...

As Western culture becomes more and more secular, are we increasingly ‘living in exile’ as Christians? If so, how can we better understand our identity, our home, and one another? We welcome Damilola Makinde to the Being Human podcast. Her background spans law, public policy, preaching, and worship leading. Damilola is originally from London but having grown up within a Nigerian diaspora in Irelan...

To be human is to search after a home. For Rachel Gardner, this is found in community. As well as an author, speaker, and activist, Rachel is the youth resourcing lead at an intergenerational church plant in Blackburn. With a background in youth work, Rachel is passionate about young people finding their voice – and redeeming relationships. In this episode, Jo, Peter and Rachel focus on the ‘conne...

The Bible is a fuller and richer story than we might tend to think. Within it, all other stories find their place. But is it possible to truly make sense of the world with a biblical perspective? Introducing professor and author of Biblical Critical Theory, Chris Watkin. As a scholar in the relationship between the Bible and philosophy, his groundbreaking book seeks to place biblical ideas alongsi...

When much of contemporary Christianity is suffering an identity crisis, how do we engage well with cultural conversations? As followers of Jesus, we need to return to Christianity’s rich DNA and uncover the ‘why’ behind the vision for our lives and the lives of others. We are welcoming author, professor and long-term activist Karen Swallow Prior back to the Being Human podcast! A renowned social c...

How can we recognise and fall in love with the big, underlying narratives of the God Story? How do we learn to study the Bible on its own terms? Co-founder of the BibleProject pastor, scholar and ‘life-long learner’ - Tim Mackie, is credited as one of the best Bible teachers in North America. As a multiple PhD-holder in theology, Hebrew Bible and Jewish studies, Tim first encountered Jesus in a sk...

We know that the stories we live in can affect us and our world, but how? And how can we see clearly what’s good and what’s not in terms of who we are and how we live? Let us introduce you to the Being Human lens – a new tool to help us recognise the cultural stories of our day and help build confidence in how the God story enables us to live truly fully human lives.  We all have lenses (figurativ...

The Being Human podcast is back! Jo Frost and Peter Lynas return with another season full of insights, humour, cultural commentary and biblical truth. Episode one recaps what's been happening since we last sat in front of a microphone... We live in a fast-paced, rapidly changing and increasingly exhausting culture. We are still being bombarded with stories and narratives every day telling us what’...

This pandemic has compounded the acceleration of change, disorientation, and in many ways, hopelessness. However, is there something rooted in our history that can give us hope for the possibility of change in the present day? With a diverse and impressive career, historian, Sarah Williams, continues to grapple with the very heart of what it means to be human. As a teacher of the history of Christ...

In a time of fragility around us and within us, from the climate to our identity, how can we live a life with Christ that is both holistic and justice-focused? In this episode, Jo and Peter chatted with theologian, former church leader, and director of the One People Commission, Rev Dr Israel Olofinjana. Originally from Nigeria, Rev Israel moved to the UK to pursue a calling to be a reverse missio...

“Apologetics today is more about explaining to the church what is going on in the world than explaining to the world what the church teaches.” This is a view held by author, theologian and ecclesiastical historian Carl Trueman. In his latest book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (2020), he investigates the foundations and developments of the current secular age and sexual revolution as symp...

Do we fully appreciate the power of art and creativity in reconciliation processes? When considering conflict, both global and local, how can understanding the imago dei (image of God) influence advocacy? Peter and Jo chatted with artist and activist Hannah Thomas. Hannah was selected for Forbes 30 under 30 in 2019, and nominated for a UN Women UK Award in 2020, and her art projects have been exhi...

In a culture that idolises desire, but lacks real intimacy, can we tell a better story? And is this possible when some mainstream theology has perpetuated unhelpful conceptions of desire, and its potential for knowing God?     Originally from Sydney, Australia, David Bennett is an author, communicator, and scholar currently completing a doctorate in theology at Oxford university. His first book, A...

In an age characterised by information overload and difference of belief, it can be challenging to learn how to engage well in discourses swirling round in our headlines, Twitter feeds and churches. As followers of Jesus, our engagement can start with learning how to read well and listen attentively. Nobody understands this better than reader, writer and academic Karen Swallow Prior. As a professo...

How we think our story is going to end has massive implications on the lives we live today. Is the outcome certain or left contingent on the rises and falls of social opinions and actions?    On the right and left we face stories of utopia and dystopia with no clear vision of a bright and beautiful destination. But advertisers are keenly aware that there is power in our telos stories to shape our ...

The pandemic has challenged how all of us think about community. Our assumptions have been exposed. We find ourselves rethinking what it means to be a human in community.  The church has a long tradition of prophets and reformers who have challenged and deconstructed for the sake of rebuilding on a firm foundation. While not all deconstruction is constructive, some Christian leaders are using this...

It’s in the backdrop of darkness that the light shines brightest. When God’s people felt abandoned in exile, the gospel changed everything. The marginalised were brought in and the powerful were humbled.  The pinnacle of the God story is all about the beautiful paradox that sacrifice is the mechanism of hope. Our fears and doubts are no longer barriers to God, but become the occasion our Saviour d...

The world is changing. It can feel like it’s changing so fast that it’s hard to keep up. Things we once thought were true or good or right are now either up for questioning or seen as downright wrong. Our culture has changed so much that it can feel like we’re living in exile even in our homeland.  Our culture today tells a story of individual expression, where being human is fundamentally about l...

Are all of our disagreements about justice in the world simply power struggles? Our global and neighborhood communities seem to constantly clash over imbalances and injustices. It seems as if we are watching a stage play where different actors constantly switch the roles of victim and oppressor.   The standard of true justice in the God story is not contingent upon the shifting sands of power stru...

What does it mean to live in relationship? Culture today governs our relationships through the ideas of choice, consent and contracts. As individuals, we relate to ours on our own terms and break relationships when they fail to meet our needs. We see these stories bubble up in marriages, international commitments and through the latest hashtag #cancelculture.  The God story invites us into covenan...