Podcast

I host a podcast called Matters of Life and Death. Each episode I sit down with my dad, the doctor and writer John Wyatt, to discuss the ethics of emerging issues in science, technology, society and the church, and to think about how Christians can respond thoughtfully and faithfully to our fast-changing world. It’s part of the Premier network and you can listen to the most recent episodes below.

Are men really coming back to church? with Justin Brierley – Matters of Life and Death

It’s been impossible to miss the growing excitement in some corners of the church in recent years that there is a turnaround in church attendance and interest in faith. After generations of secularism and apathy, lots are convinced things are changing, and in particular younger people and especially young men are coming to church in large numbers. Podcaster and journalist Justin Brierley spent years curating conversations between Christians and non-believers during the height of New Atheism; now he is tracking what he calls the “surprising rebirth of belief in God”. In this episode we chat with Justin about what evidence there is for the so-called Quiet Revival and what might be driving disaffected young men towards traditional Christianity. And, how those of us already established in the church can and should respond to those exploring faith via the unusual intermediaries of social media influencers or right-wing culture warriors. You can find Justin’s writings and podcasts at his website: http://www.justinbrierley.com • You can send in your questions for us to discuss on the podcast, or ideas for future episodes, to molad@premier.org.uk • Subscribe to the Matters of Life and Death podcast: https://pod.link/1509923173 • If you want to go deeper into some of the topics we discuss, visit John's website: http://www.johnwyatt.com • Find some of Tim's journalism and sign up for free to his weekly church news newsletter The Critical Friend: https://tswyatt.com • For more resources to help you explore faith and the big questions, visit: http://www.premierunbelievable.com
  1. Are men really coming back to church? with Justin Brierley
  2. Rediscovering evil
  3. Touching grass and witnessing to truth: the church in an era of AI fakery and misinformation
  4. Psychedelics: Shamans, the philosophy of Harry Potter and the neuroscientific turn
  5. The social media addiction trial: Can Christians use the courts to protect the vulnerable?

I previously had a second show on the Premier network, called Premier Christian Newscast. It was a weekly podcast unpacking and explaining one big story from the Christian world, going behind the immediate headlines to try to understand why things are happening in the church and beyond. You can listen to episodes below.

Sexuality, persecution, abortion and mission: Has Christian journalism got it right? – Premier Christian Newscast

Sadly, today’s episode will be the last episode of the Premier Christian Newscast. To wrap the show up, we looked back over the last two years at what stories and topics have come up the most. What has been making waves in church news? What issues are we unable to move on from? And what might this tell us about what is going to be hitting the headlines in the years to come? Has the Christian media got too distracted by culture war political nonsense, and missed the more important stories right under our nose? How do we faithfully go about trying to decide what to cover and what to ignore? We’ll be joined by Sam Hailes and Emma Fowle from Premier Christianity magazine to look back at what the Newscast feed tells us about the state of the church, and to consider what stories we expect to be keeping us busy throughout the rest of 2024 and into the future.
  1. Sexuality, persecution, abortion and mission: Has Christian journalism got it right?
  2. The General Election
  3. Asylum seekers, baptism and the church
  4. Schism among the Methodists
  5. The future of children's ministry