Christmas countdown day 6: Father Christmas origin story

Red radical: the tales behind the Santa we see today

Graham Tomlin

Graham is the Director of the Centre for Cultural Witness and a former Bishop of Kensington.

A Lego Stanta figure strolls across a table holding a wrench

Artem Maltsev on Unsplash.

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The Christmas Countdown

It’s the season to be jolly, stressed, and all round Christmassy. On the Seen & Unseen Aloud podcast, we’re here for you with our Aloud Christmas Countdown!

Every day in December, we’ll drop some of the best seasonal content from Seen & Unseen Aloud. From how to survive Christmas, reviews of the best Christmas movies and the origin story of Santa Claus.

For when you’ve got your hands full of mince pies and baubles, but you still want to hear some thoughtful content, subscribe to Seen & Unseen Aloud for the Christmas Countdown.

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or Amazon.

Throughout the year, the Seen & Unseen Aloud brings you the week’s best articles, in a short 20 minute podcast episode. Browse the index for episodes from Seen & Unseen Aloud, Re-enchanting and GodPod.

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Podcast

Culture

Politics

Re-enchanting

10 May 2023

1 min read

Re-enchanting... public life

People have lost confidence in leaders and institutions. Can politics and public life be re-enchanted? Lord Michael Hastings talks about bending the power of the prosperous for the poor, with Belle TIndall and Justin Brierley.

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

A man in conversation laughs and throws his head back

Michael Hastings being interviewed at Lambeth Palace Library.

People have lost confidence in leaders and institutions. Can politics and public life be re-enchanted? Lord Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick is an independent peer in the House of Lords who has worked in business, education and international development. He tells Justin Brierley and Belle Tindall about growing up in Jamaica and the UK, and how his faith has led him to 'bend the power of the prosperous to the potential of the poor'.

There’s more to life than the world we can see. Re-Enchanting is a podcast from Seen & Unseen recorded at Lambeth Palace Library, the home of the Centre for Cultural Witness. Justin Brierley and Belle Tindall engage faith and spirituality with leading figures in science, history, politics, art and education. Can our culture be re-enchanted by the vision of Christianity?