Culture

60 years after its author’s death, The Screwtape Letters image of hell as an unscrupulous business is still relevant. Simon Horobin tells how C.S. Lewis came to author the influential bestseller.

Listen to a curated selection of recent Seen & Unseen articles. This episode: the power of attention as evinced by Simone Weil; a look at Sir Paul McCartney's unseen portraits of the Beatles; and the grief at the death of Matthew Perry and unexpected twists in the story of real life.

Victorians welcomed the angel of death, rather than fearing it. Ian Bradley explores their changing attitudes towards death. Part of the How to Die Well series.

Justin and Belle talk to historian Suzannah Lipscomb about devoting her life to understanding the past, the way the British monarchy shaped Christendom, and how she puts faith and the tumultuous history of the church together.

A pedigree musical producer’s passion project casts a Hollywood prince in the role of Holy Land rock star regent. Krish Kandiah reviews the results.

There was much more to the famed monarch than a padded codpiece, Historian Suzannah Lipscomb unpacks how his toxic behaviour led to ridicule and dishonour. Part of The Problem with Men series.

A nervy, precarious read echoes the lives of outsiders across Europe. Simon Burton-Jones reviews Ben Judah’s This is Europe.

The death of Friends star Matthew Perry still resonates even after the celebrity news cycle has moved on. Comedy writer James Cary contemplates how endings are written.

Listen to a curated selection of recent Seen & Unseen articles. This episode: the preciousness of an ordinary day, visiting the memorials of American history and human dignity and worth.

Author and speaker Glen Scrivener discusses ’The Air We Breathe’ - a guide to ‘how we all came to believe in freedom, kindness, progress and equality’.

Musician and priest Rev Simpkins discusses how music is an expression of humanity and his faith. An interview with Jonathan Evens.

What happens when questions of belief are subject to obsessive behaviours? The impact of OCD on key life moments.