Christmas countdown day 16: a philosophical Christmas

Raise a glass to the invasion of history.

Charles Foster

Professor Charles Foster is a Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, and a member of the Oxford Law Faculty.

A fish eye lens view of a person standing silhouetted, looking up to a colourful night sky with the Milky Way across it

Greg Rakozy on Unsplash.

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Seen & Unseen Aloud

16 July 2025

1 min read

Beyoncé, reality, and The Four Seasons

The idolatry of Queen B, we may be extinguishing reality, and what does it mean to live a full life?

Natalie Garrett

Natalie produces and narrates The Seen & Unseen Aloud podcast. She's an Anglican minister and a trained actor.

Beyonce marches along a stage catwalk as photographers stare from below.

Taking to the stage.

Beyoncé.com.

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About this episode

In today's episode, Lauren Windle goes to a Beyoncé concert and contemplates the idolatry of Queen B; Simon Burton-Jones explores how we may be extinguishing reality; and Giles Gough watches The Four Seasons and Dying for Sex to find the most common question of humanity: “what does it mean to live a full life?”

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Since Spring 2023, our readers have enjoyed over 1,500 articles. All for free.
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If you enjoy Seen & Unseen, would you consider making a gift towards our work?

Do so by joining Behind The Seen. Alongside other benefits, you’ll receive an extra fortnightly email from me sharing my reading and reflections on the ideas that are shaping our times.

Graham Tomlin
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