The RE Podcast

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! To celebrate the third anniversary of the RE podcast on 1st October, here is the second of three best bits reels. This one is from season 8 where we have episodes on Episodes about Episodes about Science And Religion, Animal Welfare, Religious Art, Angels, Salvation, Poverty, Addiction And Spirituality, Holi, Cancer, Philosophy In Prisons and Forgiveness....

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! To celebrate the third anniversary of the RE podcast on 1st October 2023, here is the first of three best bits reels. This one is from season 7 where we have episodes on Episodes about World views, the Religion Media Centre, Grief, Sacraments, Marriage, Restorative Justice, The Decolonisation Of Islam, Exorcisms, The Holy Land, The Historicity Of Jesus, I...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! Making Every Lesson Count: Six Principles to Support Great Teaching and Learning was a book by Andy Tharby and Shaun Allison. From this initial book came a series of books which applied the principles to specific subjects.  Within this series was 'Making every RE lesson count' so I spend this episode chatting to one of it's authors, Dawn Co...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! If you are a primary RE teacher or know someone who is, then this chat with some incredible practitioners is for you! Gillian Georgio gathered a team of RE Primary specialists to look at how we teach substantive and disciplinary knowledge in primary schools.  Their piece of 'active research' will be vital to any primary school and this chat just...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! In August 2023 I got the opportunity to go on a trip of a lifetime.  I can't remember a time when I didn't know about Bethlehem, Jerusalem, The Garden of Gethsemene and the dead sea. To try and communicate this trip in one episode is impossible, but in this epsiode I give an account of some of what we did in real time, and I interview other peop...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! If you've just secured your first Head of Department job, or you are thinking about this as your next career move, or you are an experienced head of department in need of some inspiration, then listen to Charlotte Newman give some advice and ideas - the successes and the things she has learnt in her time as a head of deparment.  We discuss such quest...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! This week I am welcoming back my Head of Department Pete Bowdery.  I am so proud of what we have achieved with our GCSE classes under his leadership that I really want to share it with you. We discuss our sequencing choices. pedagogy, assessment  model, exam question success, model answers, mock writing and feedback methods. This really compliments the ch...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! Do you like Lego? Do you like philosophy? Then you'll love Philosobrick! Amanda Rogers (who's husband, Andrew, was previously on the podcast) talks to us about how she uses lego to help engage children in big ideas.  We particularly look at how this can be used as a strengths based approach rather than a deficit approach when it comes to neuro-d...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! In last week's epsiode on Exam Success in RE, Matt Pitcher mentioned the work of Joe Kinnaird on extended writing, so guess what?  Yes, you've guessed it, Joe graciously agreed to chat to me about how to support children with their extended writing in RE. Inspired by the writing revolution, Joe explains how we can support our children in KS3 - 5...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! You may be wondering why I am doing an episode on Exam Success AFTER the GCSE - but there is method in my madness.  Many of us spend the summer term and gained time preparing for our exam classes next year, and this is therefore exactly when we need to think about HOW BEST to teach GCSE RE.  Then, next year, when you ask your students to listen to this po...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! This is part one of a series on P4C and I chat to Andrew Rogers.  Andrew is an Australian Teacher of the Year, a teacher of Philosophy Religion and Ethics, a husband, a father , a thinker, a bibliophile, has recently been diagnosed with ADHD, is chair of  the Association for Philsosophy in schools and he gave up his precious time after a days teaching to...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! When I read James Croft's tweets about Social Justice I immediatly DMd him and within 36 hours we recorded this interview. I think it is really going to support us in teaching humanism more rigouressly and authentically. Plus I think it will reinvigorate us to consider what social justice looks like. James takes us through his unique role as the firs...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! Are you like me and don't really know very much about the Baha'i faith?  If so then listen to me chat to Debbie Tibbie from the Baha'i community.  We do a whistlestop, yet comprehensive overview of the main beliefs of the Baha'i faith; Distinct beliefs Founder Holy Writings The meaning of 'oneness' Key values Purpose of life...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! Now if you haven't seen Happy Valley yet then don't listen to this episode until you do as there are MASSIVE SPOILERS.  Also, this programme is not going to be suitable for everyone as it deals with some serious issues like rape, torture, murder, prostitution and drug use. However, it is also one of the most incredible pieces of television I hav...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! Please note, there is some content in this episode relating to child sexual abuse, exorcism, and homophobia that some people may find distressing or triggering.  Kieron tells us his authentic journey from Catholicism to Pentacostalism, through sexual abuse, homosexuality andd doing a dissertation involving an exogesis of Romans 1 while at Bible College. ...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! This episode illuminates the incredible Empowering Voices project led by Gillian Georgio with a team of talented actors, artists, musicians, editors , directors and producers! I chat with Gillian herself alongside Creative Director Leanne Bignell and producer Leanne Taylor. This project evolved out of REConnecting Lincolnshire project and I ask about both...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! I am opening season 9 with RE royalty! @KairosButterfly herself, Jennifer Jenkins.  Jennifer and I talk all things Orthodox. The history of the Orthodox Church, it's distinguishing features, inconography, Pascha as well as her journey to becoming Orthodox herself. Support the show Find out more; Twitter : @TheREPodcast1 Insta : @TheREPodcast Webiste:...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! As we approach Easter, many Christians will be contemplating forgiveness. However, is forgiveness just the remit of religion?  In the final episode of season 8, I talk to Marina Cantacuzino about The Forgiveness Project - a secular UK-based charity that uses real stories of victims and perpetrators of crime and violence to help people explore ideas around...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! Andy West has made national news with his work using philosophy in prisons. Read his article here https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/02/philosophy-children-prison-moral-anger-young-lives-wasted-politicians You can also read his book The Life Inside: A Memoir of Prison, Family and Learning to Be Free I have a chat with him about how he got...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! This is a tough topic, but in a country where someone is diagnosed with cancer every 2 minutes, leading to 1000 new diagnosis a day, it feels like one I didn't want to shy away from.  My very good friend, Catherine Woodcock talks wisely and openly and honestly about her diagnosis and how her Christian faith has impacted this. We discuss how her faith...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! The day I release this episode is Holi - the most revered festival from Hindu Dharma with colour powder and bonfires.  It marks the end of the cold dark winter and the beginning of spring and new beginnings.  Molly Acharya and Ash Kundi (intermittently) join me once more to discuss; Discuss what Holi is, the stories behind them, why there are bonfires and...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! I am so grateful  that Dr. Wendy Dossett has agreed to come back on the podcast to talk about something she is deeply passionate and deeply knowledgable about, both from her own experience and her own research. Please note this could be quite triggering from some people so please listen with caution. Here is a website Wendy recommends if you might find it...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! In this very special episode I celebrate just some of the amazing people that have made it possible for The RE Podcast to get to 100th episode. However, I also want to celebrate you, my amazing listener. Back in October 2020, I could not concieve that people would listen to me rattling on about RE - but goes to show how much I know. In this episode I also...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! As we are facing a cost of living crisis, and as many public sector workers are striking to secure urgent funding to these essential services, it feels timely to do an episode on Poverty.  What is it? What causes it? What are the effects of it? What are the solutions? How do we best teach it in our classrooms and how do we deal with it in our schools? I t...

Please send The RE Podcast a Text Message! What is Salvation?  How do you get it?  Are there different ways?   Who gets it?  How do I teach it? I look at the history of Salvation, what we call the 'arc of salvation' from the fall to the law to sacrifice to good deeds to Jesus and grace all the way through to the spirit.  How are they different and what is the relationship between them? I...