Podcast
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Re-enchanting
S&U interviews
1 min read

Re-enchanting... reading and writing

"We are culture making creatures", says Francis Spufford, on the latest episode of Re-enchanting - Seen & Unseen's new podcast series.

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

A man sits and speaks into a microphone beside him on a table, while gesturing with his hand. Behind, Big Ben is on the skyline.
Francis Spufford interviewed at Lambeth Palace Library.
Seen & Unseen

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"Showcasing Spufford's gift for the old-fashioned alchemy of creating flesh-and-blood characters we care about deeply."

Anthony Cummins
The Literary Review

About this episode

This episode of Re-enchanting sits down with Francis Spufford, the author of Golden Hill and Light Perpetual.

Ranging from what books he is is reading at the moment, the podcast covers Spufford's journey into writing and the nature of disenchantment, as well as whether "Christianity belongs in some quiet corner of the human zoo."  

It then moves on to explore the nature or re-enchanting, why it is what humans do, and and how our culture rewards it.

About the podcast series

The Re-enchanting podcast sees hosts, Justin Brierley and Belle Tindall, talk with guests about how Christianity can re-enchant culture, politics, the arts, the sciences, history, and so much more.

Despite the increasingly scientific and secular age we live in, many people are still searching for a bigger story to live by. The podcast features a mix of guests - both with and without faith - and explore how those who have tired of modern materialism are the ones seeking to 're-enchant' the world. This podcast is about tracing their journey and work.

Series one features conversations with the likes of Tom Holland, Louise Perry, Francis Spufford, Sally Phillips and Marilynne Robinson.  

Hosted by Belle Tindall and Justin Brierley, it's recorded for Seen & Unseen at Lambeth Palace Library, home of the Centre for Cultural Witness.

Article
Belief
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2 min read

Graham Tomlin's summer reading list

Seen & Unseen Editor-In-Chief shares his recommendations for a much-needed moment of pause

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

Niall Williams', John as picked by Graham Tomlin
Take a much-needed moment of pause this summer

I'm so glad that my Summer Reading List caught your eye. Whether you've got time now to dig into a new recommendation or want to bookmark this for an upcoming holiday, I hope at least one of these picks offers you some respite.

📖 Paul Bradbury, Why We Should Mourn The Death of the Semicolon 

Ordained pioneer minister, Paul Bradbury

I studied English at university, so I have always been interested in the way language works. I love how Paul Bradbury takes this tiny thing - a semicolon, and the evidence of its demise in English, and uses it as a sign of our need for pause, space, and reflection in our daily lives.

📖 Graham Tomlin, Blaise Pascal - The Man Who Made the Modern World

Bishop Graham Tomlin

I have been fascinated by Blaise Pascal ever since I read him as a teenager. I always wanted one day to write a biography of him, explaining his extraordinary life and piercing insights into human life and Christian faith. Maybe this might be a good book to take away on holiday; read on the beach, in the campsite or wherever you are!

📖Niall Williams, John

Author and playwright, Niall Willaims

From the author of History of the Rain and This Is Happiness, John is a wonderful novel depicting the elderly apostle as a man steeped in the simple yet extraordinarily revolutionary message that God is Love and that therefore we should not just tolerate, but love one another.

📖Hartmut Rosa, Uncontrollability of the World 

Sociologist and political scientist, Hartmut Rosa

The sequel to Rosa’s path-breaking work on social acceleration and resonance, this short book is a penetrating exposé of our cultural project to control everything and how it kills beauty and even ourselves in the end.

📖 Alan Kreider, The Patient Ferment of the Early Church

American Mennonite historian, Alan Kreider

If you're interested in history and what gave birth to the extraordinary Christian movement that transformed the world, then this is a great guide to those early years.

📖Paul Kingsnorth, Against Christian Civilisation

Former deputy editor of The Ecologist and author, Paul Kingsnorth

I read this lecture earlier in the year. It's a fascinating argument about the future of cultural Christianity. You might or might not agree with it, but it will make you think. 

📖Iain McGilchrist, Re-Enchanting Season 4, Ep 10

British psychiatrist, philosopher and neuroscientist Ian McGilchrist

Iain McGilchrist is such an interesting thinker whose work spans such a large area – neuroscientist, philosopher, historian, and much more, all expressed with a humility and sense of wonder. I loved his conversation with Belle and Justin. This would be a great one to listen to on the journey to your summer holiday this year.

📖Benjamin & Jenna Silber Storey, Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment

University of Texas Research Fellows, Benjamin & Jenna Silber Storey

A brilliant, insightful and beautifully written account of modern discontentment through the lens of four crucial French thinkers - Montaigne, Pascal, Rousseau and de Tocqueville.