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Reading Our Times

Theos

87 episodes

4 days ago

Reading Our Times is the podcast that explores the books and the ideas that are shaping us today. It is hosted by Nick Spencer, Senior Fellow at the think tank, Theos. We’re going to be talking to some of the world’s leading authors about issues like meritocracy, justice, populism, human rights, the brain, liberalism, and religion. Above all, we'll be exploring what these books have to say about the times we live in and about the people we are. So listen with us, and we’ll introduce you to authors, books and ideas that illuminate ourselves and our world today. For more information about the people and ideas behind the podcast, visit https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/about/who-we-are or follow us on Twitter @theosthinktank and @theosnick.

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Society & Culture

All content for Reading Our Times is the property of Theos and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Reading Our Times is the podcast that explores the books and the ideas that are shaping us today. It is hosted by Nick Spencer, Senior Fellow at the think tank, Theos. We’re going to be talking to some of the world’s leading authors about issues like meritocracy, justice, populism, human rights, the brain, liberalism, and religion. Above all, we'll be exploring what these books have to say about the times we live in and about the people we are. So listen with us, and we’ll introduce you to authors, books and ideas that illuminate ourselves and our world today. For more information about the people and ideas behind the podcast, visit https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/about/who-we-are or follow us on Twitter @theosthinktank and @theosnick.

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Society & Culture

Episodes (20/87)

Reading Our Times

What are children for? In conversation with Anastasia Berg

Western societies have fallen out of love with (having) children, and all too often this is treated as a policy problem. But in reality, it's a much deeper personal and philosophical one.

What has changed in our attitudes to having children? How do we understand the role and standing and "purpose" of children in society? What, in effect, do we think children are for?

This week Nick Spencer talks with Anastasia Berg about her book co-authored with Rachel Wiseman, ‘What are children for? On Ambivalence and Choice’

Purchase a copy of their book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Are-Children-Ambivalence-Choice/dp/0861549481

1 month ago

45 minutes 14 seconds

Reading Our Times

How have we come to deify choice? In conversation with Sophia Rosenfeld

Choice is so important to who we are in the West is no longer feels like something we do, so much as something we are. Deny someone choice, and it feels like you are challenging their very humanity.

Where does this obsession with choice come from, historically and philosophically? What are its foundations and justifications? And has it gone too far? Can you have too much of this particular good thing?

This week Nick Spencer talks with Sophia Rosenfeld about her book ‘The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life’

Purchase a copy of her book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Age-Choice-History-Freedom-Modern/dp/0691164711

1 month ago

51 minutes 22 seconds

Reading Our Times

Would it matter if Christianity were eclipsed? In conversation with Rupert Shortt

Strange things are happening to Christianity in the West. Some people are talking about revival whereas others are talking about extinction. Whoever is right, the ramifications for our culture will be immense.

What is happening? If we are entering a period of eclipse for Christianity, would it matter? Would it simply be strike us through the loss of beautiful buildings and moving music? Or is there something more substantial in all this?

This week Nick Spencer talks with Rupert Shortt about his book ‘The Eclipse of Christianity and why it matters’

Purchase a copy of the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eclipse-Christianity-why-matters/dp/1399802747

1 month ago

39 minutes 11 seconds

Reading Our Times

Are there limits to economic growth? In conversation with Richard McNeill Douglas

The idea that society should grow - and continue to grow, economically, without ending, without limits - is a relatively new and fiercely defended idea. It emerged first in Western countries but has captured much of the world today.

How realistic is it? How "sustainable"? What should we think about “limits to growth”? Is it a narrative of declinism, best ignored? Or a warning we dismiss at huge peril?

This week Nick Spencer talks with Richard McNeill Douglas about his book ‘The Meaning of Growth: The Rhetoric of Environmental Scepticism and the Defence of Modernity’

Richard’s book will be published in Autumn, find out more here. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003607632/meaning-growth-richard-mcneill-douglas

1 month ago

45 minutes 1 second

Reading Our Times

Why is the Orthodox church so supportive of Putin's war? In conversation with Lucy Ash

The Russian Orthodox Church has been conspicuous in its support of Putin's war against Ukraine. The reasons seem as obvious as they are depressing.

But behind the politics, there are centuries of history and theology. How did we get here? How is history of the church in Russia shaping the nation's present? How might it shape the future?

This week Nick Spencer talks with Lucy Ash about her book ‘The Baton and the Cross: Russia’s Church from Pagans to Putin’.

Purchase a copy of Lucy's book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Baton-Cross-Russias-Church-Pagans/dp/1837731837

2 months ago

44 minutes 44 seconds

Reading Our Times

What is the future for democracy? In conversation with Jonathan Sumption

The UK has one of highest levels of dissatisfaction with democracy in the world, though other Western countries aren't far behind. Hopes that the rest of the world would naturally follow the West and democratise have all but evaporated.

How serious is this decline in democratic sympathy? What lies behind it? What are the deep foundations on which democracy rests? And what, if anything, can be done about it?

This week, Nick Spencer talks with Jonathan Sumption about his book ‘The Challenges of Democracy: And The Rule of Law’.

Purchase his book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Challenges-Democracy-Rule-Law/dp/1805222503

2 months ago

44 minutes 20 seconds

Reading Our Times

What has religion to do with sex? In conversation with Diarmaid MacCulloch

One of the major changes in Western society in the last half century is the so-called sexual revolution, and one way of understanding that is to see it as the long, withdrawing roar of a Christian sexual ethic.

But that makes two presuppositions: first, that we have indeed left Christian sexual ethics behind and second that there is such a thing as a single identifiable Christian sexual ethic.

This week Nick Spencer talks with Diarmaid MacCulloch about his book ‘Lower than the angels: A history of Sex and Christianity' recorded live at the Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature.

Purchase Diarmaid’s book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lower-than-Angels-History-Christianity/dp/0241400937

2 months ago

42 minutes 28 seconds

Reading Our Times

Is it all over for the West? In conversation with Samir Puri

The idea of the West – its foundations, its values, its future – has become much debated over recent months.

What does the political rise of China mean for us? What about the economic rise of the BRICS nations? Or the demographic rise of the global south? Where will power and influence tilt, and to what effect? Is it all over for “the West”?

This week Nick Spencer talks with Samir Puri, Director of the Global Governance and Security Centre for Chatham House, about his book ‘Westlessness: the great global rebalancing’

Purchase Samir’s book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Westlessness-Global-Rebalancing-Samir-Puri/dp/1399722638

2 months ago

44 minutes 17 seconds

Reading Our Times

Trailer: Series 10 of Reading Our Times

Reading Our Times is back for its 10th series but this time, with a twist...

Nick Spencer explores themes surrounding the West – its roots, its contours, and its future.

Series 10 looks at the future of democracy with Jonathan Sumption, at the future of growth with Richard Douglas, and the future of Christianity with Rupert Shortt. Lucy Ash unpacks the threat from Putin and the ever-supportive Orthodox Church.

The series asks the big questions about children, about choice and its deification, and about sex and religion with Diarmaid Macculloch.

Next week, episode 1 gives an overview of the future of the West – or rather of the prospect of Westlessness – with Samir Puri.

Tune in weekly from 27 May. Find Reading Our Times on all podcasting platforms.

🎙️ Follow Dr Nick Spencer @theosnick

💡 Produced by ‪@theosthinktank https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/

3 months ago

2 minutes 3 seconds

Reading Our Times

Trailer: Motherhood vs The Machine

Announcing a new four-part documentary podcast, Motherhood vs The Machine, where hosts Chine McDonald and Dr Madeleine Pennington look at what motherhood teaches us about what it means to be human.

The work of motherhood has always been changed by technological advancement: from the nipple shield to the feeding bottle and breast pump. But as technological advancement accelerates and a future of artificial wombs and ‘bio bags’ does not seem as far-fetched as it once did, what of the humanity of motherhood might be lost if it is outsourced to machines? What might we miss when the maternal doorway is closed to profound and rarely expressed spiritual ideas - such as sacrifice, love, care, value, dignity, and hope?

Out weekly from 13 March. Find it on all podcasting platforms.

🎙️ Follow Chine McDonald: @ChineMcDonald

🎙️ Follow Dr Madeleine Pennington: @mlmpennington

💡 Produced by the ‪@thinktanktheos‬ www.theosthinktank.co.uk/

5 months ago

1 minute 30 seconds

Reading Our Times

Bookends: Unpacking Series 9 of Reading Our Times

With series 9 of Reading Our Times coming to an end, Nick Spencer takes a look back on the series and shares his thoughts on the ideas espoused by the various guests. Should Britain pay slavery reparations? Are 'leftism' and 'wokeism' compatible? What do all these topics tell us about what it means to be human? Join us for all this and more!

8 months ago

12 minutes 33 seconds

Reading Our Times

How has our evolutionary past shaped us? In conversation with Harvey Whitehouse

The claim that evolution can help us understand, even explain, the modern world and modern mind has not always had a happy history, veering between overclaim and catastrophe. But the opposite idea - that everything is culture and nothing nature - is hardly more convincing. So, can we threat this needle? Can we have nuanced and realistic understanding of the impact of evolution on us today without going down the rabbit hole of determinism. So, what impact has evolution had on us - our communities and societies, our morality and our religion. Purchase Harvey's book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inheritance-Evolutionary-Origins-Modern-World/dp/1529152224/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0

8 months ago

48 minutes 39 seconds

Reading Our Times

What is (The) Enlightenment? In conversation with Jonathan Clark

The Enlightenment has become weaponised over recent years. Numerous public figures, not all of them historians, have lined up to state defiantly that it needs protecting from... postmodernity? populism? religion?... take your pick. But what is - or was - The Enlightenment? What are we being called to defend here? Is The Enlightenment actually a thing? Was it even “a thing” in the first place? And if not, when did we start talking about it, and why? Purchase a copy of Jonathan's book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Enlightenment-Idea-Its-History/dp/0198916280

8 months ago

52 minutes 38 seconds

Reading Our Times

Should Britain pay reparations for slavery? In conversation with Michael Banner

The demand for post-colonial nations to pay reparations to, and for their treatment of, their former colonies has grown increasingly loud over recent years. And although many dismiss the idea as textbook liberal guilt and bandwagon wokery, there are some serious claims behind it. The topic kicks up some big moral issues. You can’t talk about colonial reparations without working through what you think about moral responsibility, collective identity, and the effect of time on liability, all of which reflect on the underlying question of how we see ourselves. So, what is the nature of our relationship to other countries, to the past and to whatever moral norms we pride ourselves on? The demand for post-colonial nations to pay reparations to, and for their treatment of, their former colonies has grown increasingly loud over recent years. And although many dismiss the idea as textbook liberal guilt and bandwagon wokery, there are some serious claims behind it. The topic kicks up some big moral issues. You can’t talk about colonial reparations without working through what you think about moral responsibility, collective identity, and the effect of time on liability, all of which reflect on the underlying question of how we see ourselves. So, what is the nature of our relationship to other countries, to the past and to whatever moral norms we pride ourselves on? Purchase Michael's book here: https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780198889441/britains-slavery-debt

8 months ago

41 minutes 59 seconds

Reading Our Times

What is "woke"? In conversation with Susan Neiman

Depending on who you are, you might understand “woke” to mean “concerned with fundamental human justice”. Alternatively, you might think its means obsessed with identity politics, tribal, angry, and inclined to cancel and censor. Either way, you probably associate the term with the left. After all, “lefty” and “liberal” and the words most commonly paired with “woke”. But what if that isn’t the case? What if it’s an oversimplification? What if woke isn’t left and left isn’t woke? Where does that leave the left? And where does it leave wokery? Depending on who you are, you might understand “woke” to mean “concerned with fundamental human justice”. Alternatively, you might think its means obsessed with identity politics, tribal, angry, and inclined to cancel and censor. Either way, you probably associate the term with the left. After all, “lefty” and “liberal” and the words most commonly paired with “woke”. But what if that isn’t the case? What if it’s an oversimplification? What if woke isn’t left and left isn’t woke? Where does that leave the left? And where does it leave wokery? Purchase a copy of Susan's book 'Left is not Woke' here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Left-Not-Woke-Susan-Neiman/dp/1509558306

9 months ago

38 minutes 44 seconds

Reading Our Times

Assisted Dying: What's really at stake? In conversation with Ilora Finlay and Julian Hughes

Assisted Dying is back on the legislative agenda, with parliament voting on it this autumn. It is a profound and contentious debate about which good and well-meaning people can and do disagree deeply. What is really at stake here? Apart from the obvious, the debate kicks up some profound and difficult questions about most important ideas concerning human life. For example, how far should we respect people's autonomy and choice? What constitutes a meaningful life? And what is the meaning of human dignity? 💬 Follow Theos here: https://linktr.ee/theosthinktank 📚 Buy a copy of Ilora and Julian's book 'The Reality of Assisted Dying' here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reality-Assisted-Dying-Julian-Hughes/dp/0335253172

9 months ago

43 minutes 5 seconds

Reading Our Times

Can poetry save us? In conversation with Charles Taylor

For many people, many of whom would not call themselves religious or even spiritual, poetry is somehow able to enchant, to inspire, to heal– to give them a glimpse of connection, of transcendence that transforms their life. Particularly today, in “A secular age” in the West, it is poetry and indeed the arts more widely that often boast the greatest ability convey that sense of connection and transcendence that seems so important and hard-wired in humans. What is going on here? How does it work? And what does it say about us as human beings? 💬 Follow Theos here: https://linktr.ee/theosthinktank 📚 Buy a copy of Charles Taylor's book 'How the World Made the West' here: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674296084

9 months ago

40 minutes 28 seconds

Reading Our Times

How Did the World Make the West? In conversation with Josephine Quinn

About 30 years ago, the American political philosopher Samuel Huntington wrote a hugely influential book entitled The clash of civilizations in which he predicted that the ideological wars of the 20th century would give way to civilisational ones in the 21st. The book drew criticism for the way it talked about “civilizations” as if they were hard edged and obviously identifiable things. Because the general idea of civilizations is a relatively recent one, and if we peer into the mists of time, we can make out the many streams and tributaries that have poured into the West over the centuries to make it what it is. So, where exactly is our civilisation, “the West”? How has it been shaped by “other” cultures? And what does that mean for us today? 💬 Follow Theos here: https://linktr.ee/theosthinktank 📚 Buy a copy of Josephine Quinn's book 'How the World Made the West' here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/how-the-world-made-the-west/josephine-quinn/9781526605184

9 months ago

57 minutes 23 seconds

Reading Our Times

Books and the Future of Civilisation live from How The Light Gets In

We are emerging from the so-called “Gutenberg Parenthesis”, the 500 years in which the printed word dominated society, and embracing a new age of screens, images, and tweets. Or so it is claimed. Reading remains popular, however, and the printed book has rallied of late. What’s going on? Might the dominance of the book, indeed of the written word, be coming to an end? Or is it the only medium capable of handling the complexities of human reason and imagination? And how much does any of this matter? In a live recording at the How the Light Gets in festival in London, Nick Spencer discusses the future of books and reading with Times literary critic Johanna Thomas-Corr, Guardian literary editor David Shariatmadari and editorial director of Oneworld Publications Juliet Mabey. 💬 Follow Theos here: https://linktr.ee/theosthinktank

10 months ago

41 minutes 19 seconds

Reading Our Times

The History of Science and Religion with Tom Holland

Science and religion have a long history. According to some, it's a history of warfare; to others they are (or at least should be) non-overlapping. Joining Nick Spencer at the @chalkehistoryfestival is historian and host of @restishistorypod Tom Holland, to discuss Nick's book Magisteria: The Entangled Histories of Science and Religion. 📚 Buy a copy of Magisteria here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/9780861544615 💬 Follow Theos here: https://linktr.ee/theosthinktank

1 year ago

58 minutes 22 seconds

Reading Our Times

Reading Our Times is the podcast that explores the books and the ideas that are shaping us today. It is hosted by Nick Spencer, Senior Fellow at the think tank, Theos. We’re going to be talking to some of the world’s leading authors about issues like meritocracy, justice, populism, human rights, the brain, liberalism, and religion. Above all, we'll be exploring what these books have to say about the times we live in and about the people we are. So listen with us, and we’ll introduce you to authors, books and ideas that illuminate ourselves and our world today. For more information about the people and ideas behind the podcast, visit https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/about/who-we-are or follow us on Twitter @theosthinktank and @theosnick.