Re-enchanting... race, grace and being black in America

Esau McCaulley talks about growing up in Alabama, the racial divides of the past and present in the USA, what difference it makes to read the Bible through the lens of African-American experience.

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

A man talks to a camera with his hands together palms up and his finger interlaced.

Esau McCaulley on the Re-enchanting podcast.

Esau McCaulley is an author, public theologian and associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. His book 'Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope' won numerous awards. His new memoir 'How far to the Promised Land', draws on his life and experiences to question what the American dream looks like for African-Americans.

Justin and Belle talk to Esau about growing up in Alabama, the racial divides of the past and present in the USA, what difference it makes to read the Bible through the lens of African-American experience and whether the Christian vision of reality can re-enchant the conversation on race?

To Support Re-Enchanting: https://www.seenandunseen.com/give
For Esau McCaulley: https://esaumccaulley.com/
Esau's columns in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/by/esau-mccau...
For Re-Enchanting: https://www.seenandunseen.com/podcast

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?

Podcast

Hospitality

Podcasts

Re-enchanting

26 February 2025

1 min read

Jo Swinney: re-enchanting... hospitality

Jo talks about how sharing food is at the heart of a shared life.

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

A woman sits at a table and talks with a microphone on a stand in front if her,

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Jo Swinney is director of communications for the Christian environmental conservation charity A Rocha International.

Jo's parents Miranda and Peter Harris were the founders of A Rocha. Miranda's tragic death in 2019 was a shock to all those who knew her. Jo’s book ‘A Place At The Table: Faith, hope and hospitality’ pairs her own words with writings she discovered of her mother’s to celebrate her life and to explore how sharing food is at the heart of a shared life.

Justin and Belle hear about the events the led up to Jo writing the book and how we can re-enchant the gift of hospitality in an increasingly lonely world.