Category Archives: Interviews: Thinkers and Writers

John Smith on Hillsong: Money, Sex and Power. Part 1: Prosperity Gospel.

It’s a very ordinary name for an extraordinary man. Rev Dr John Smith, Founder-in-Chief of God’s Squad Christian Motorcycle Club, was a one-off. Likened to John Wesley on a bike, he was a minister to the marginalised – but he … Continue reading

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John Smith on Hillsong: Money, Sex and Power. Part 2: Body of Influence

In Part 1, I looked at Hillsong Church’s love of money. Here – at a time when the organisation is ‘rocked by scandals’ – I cover Smith’s insider-view of Hillsong’s approach to sex and power (adding a smattering of Delirious?) … Continue reading

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Rhidian Brook, pt 1: Living in the Heart of a Pandemic

As we are currently facing a global pandemic and writer Rhidian Brook is celebrating 20 years of contributions to Thought for the Day, this is a good time to revisit the epic adventure that featured in some of his early … Continue reading

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Rhidian Brook, part 2: Thoughts for the Nation

Thought for the Day is a tough ask: you have under three minutes in the middle of Today, Britain’s main current events breakfast radio show, to add some insight that might inspire several million listeners. And not just any listeners: … Continue reading

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An Activist the Press can’t Pigeonhole

Today is the first day of Extinction Rebellion’s fortnight of disruption across major cities in Europe. The BBC covered the story from many angles: protesters dressed up as Red Rebels, people chaining and glueing themselves to immovable objects, celebrities moving … Continue reading

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Yancey’s Risky Strategy: Giving Faith the Tabletop Test

In November 2008 terrorists launched a four-day attack in Mumbai that left over 170 people dead. A bomb exploded at Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station, a hospital was hit and a backpacker bar was sprayed with bullets, while gunmen occupied a … Continue reading

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Philip Yancey – What Good is God? (Brief version)

When Philip Yancey was promoting his book What Good is God? I caught up with him to ask questions about testing the validity of faith. Before we had a more relaxed interview for the written press, we spent 12 minutes … Continue reading

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Frank Cottrell-Boyce: Wowed by the Wonder in Blue Planet 2

There is very little television to bring the nation together anymore. We access the news whenever we want, and even the water-cooler culture of reality TV has its separate tribes. But if there is anything to galvanise the nation’s front … Continue reading

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Some established writers are a byword for their genre. Agatha Christie is to whodunits what Barbara Cartland is to romance; while Terry Pratchett is to fantasy what Jasper Fforde is to… well, to what, exactly? This dilemma has made Fforde’s … Continue reading

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Jasper Fforde, Part 2: Shades of Grey – “a different kind of fun.”

When I met Jasper Fforde, he was promoting his Shades of Grey novel. He didn’t do a very good job, as he left me with the impression that it would be dull, compared with his previous work. Having since spent … Continue reading

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Harriet Lamb goes Bananas for FairTrade

Talk to Harriet Lamb C.B.E. without mentioning bananas? You might as well write a biography of Richard Nixon that skipped over Watergate or write about the FA Cup without mentioning Wembley. Their bold shape and colour may match her driving … Continue reading

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Paperback (and Hardback) Writer: Steve Turner on his book Beatles ’66

Writer Steve Turner must have one of the best jobs in the world. He gets to be creative every day, writing about things and people that interest him. He has the platform to put out his view of the world … Continue reading

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Tom Wright: Pulled between the People and the Page. Part 2 – the Page

The second part of my 2012 interview with Tom Wright looks at the pull of academia. We discuss 3 of the bishop’s recent books, touching on Rob Bell, Paula Gooder, C.S. Lewis and the afterlife. For most Christians, theologians are … Continue reading

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Tom Wright: Pulled between the People and the Page. Part 1 – the People

Those of us who struggled towards the end of our schooldays, wondering with ever-increasing panic what we would do for a career, might consider Tom Wright one of the lucky ones. He seems born to the role he has taken … Continue reading

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Cabinet Minister Michael Meacher Reveals his Secret Affair – with Cosmology

Politicians can be good at playing with large numbers, but in his book Destination of the Species, Rt. Hon. Michael Meacher MP has figures that exceed all of Westminster’s expenses for the last decade – even if measured in pence. … Continue reading

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Brian McLaren – This Charming Man or Bigmouth Strikes Again?

Anyone who smiles as much as Brian McLaren does is either a very contented man or a politician. After meeting him, I still wasn’t sure which I took him to be.

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Talking Sausages and Derivatives with Gillian Tett

Key people should have listened to this journalist back in the mid-noughties. The Financial Times’ Gillian Tett is still getting used to being on the ‘wrong’ end of a microphone. As the Press Association’s current Journalist of the Year, hard … Continue reading

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