New episode: Seen & Unseen Aloud

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.

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

a man looks to the distance beside an American flag

This week we consider the power of attention - the giving and receiving of it and its power for healing but also the complexities of fame; Justine Toh considers what Simone Weil's philosophy of attention has to say to western culture's attention battles; Jamie Mulvaney takes us to the National Portrait Gallery in London to look at Sir Paul McCartney's unseen portraits of the Beatles; James Cary speaks of the grief at the death of Matthew Perry and unexpected twists in the story of real life.

Podcast

Podcasts

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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