Things Unseen

Passover 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 the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Pontius 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.

The 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 will go to help the Palestinians. In this Ramadan edition of Things Unseen, broadcaster Amir Suleman meets Muslims of different ages to ask how they can find compassion, even for people they might regard as enemies. Joining the conversation are social psychologist Anita Nayyar, community worker Faisal Mahmood and university student Abdul-Roqueeb Salman.

In 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 Churches, a network committed to welcoming refugees and asylum seekers, they discuss what lessons the story of Nicholas Winton holds for us today.

The 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.

Liz 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 an often difficult path.

Liz 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.

For 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 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.

Kintsugi 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.

What 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.

Writer 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.”

Why 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.

When 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?

Is 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.

The 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?

The 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.

Uyghur 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.

The 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.

Nearly 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.