Re-enchanting... the universe

In this third episode of Re-enchanting, Belle and Justin talk all things space with astronomer, author, and speaker, Dr Jennifer Wiseman.

Belle Tindall

Belle is the staff writer at Seen & Unseen and co-host of its Re-enchanting podcast.

Two scientists talk to each other at console in a space mission control room.

Jennifer Wiseman in the Flight Control Room at NASA's Johnson Space Center during Servicing Mission 4, the final shuttle visit to repair and upgrade the Hubble space telescope.

NASA/Michael Soluri.

"Science is a way of living out an appreciative faith."

Jennifer Wiseman

Jennifer is the Director Emeritus of the program of Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and is also a senior astrophysicist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

As well as speaking about the unique nature of her stellar (literally) career, Jennifer talks through how she became so enchanted with ‘the night sky,’ how her faith informs her perception of the universe (and vice versa), and the often-misunderstood relationship between science and religion.

Jennifer’s passion is evidence that science can, and does, cultivate a wonderfully curious life. This episode is as enchanting as it is mind-blowing.

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Re-enchanting

12 February 2025

1 min read

Dame Sue Black: re-enchanting death

The leading forensic scientist talks with Justin and Belle about her work and our reluctance to look death in the eye.

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

A woman guest on a podcast sits at a table with a mic in front, gesturing to the side with both hands.

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Professor Lady Sue Black is one of the world’s leading forensic scientists. Police forces, the Foreign Office and the UN have called upon her evidence in countless high-profile investigations. She is currently President of St. John’s College, Oxford, and in 2021 entered the House of Lords as a cross-bench peer.

She has penned numerous books, including the Saltire Prize winning All That Remains: A Life in Death and her latest book, Written in Bone: hidden stories in what we leave behind. In 2024, Professor Lady Black was also appointed to the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle – the highest honour in Scotland.

In this episode of Re-Enchanting, Justin and Belle speak to Sue about her first time working on a dead body, the stories that our bodies tell after death, her work in the wake of the Kosovo war and the 2004 tsunami, and - ultimately - how our reluctance to look death in the eye is profoundly hurting us.

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?