Podcast Episodes
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Beethoven's victory over sickness and fear
This week's Holy Smoke podcast is a celebration of what must surely be the most inspiring piece of music ever written by a sick man recovering from i…
6 years, 3 months ago
As we confront mortality, why do our bishops have so little to say?
Do you sense that something is missing in the churches' response to the coronavirus? In this week's Holy Smoke episode, Dr Gavin Ashenden, a former c…
6 years, 4 months ago
Has the Vatican become a mouthpiece for Beijing?
With Ed Condon, Washington bureau chief of the Catholic News Agency.
Presented by Damian Thompson.
Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this p…
6 years, 4 months ago
Why the collapse of Christian Science should worry mainstream churches
In this week’s Holy Smoke podcast, Damian talks to Jon Anderson, an expert on religious and political sects, about the collapse of Christian Science …
6 years, 4 months ago
Why the Pope said no to married priests
The dust has still not settled after Pope Francis unexpectedly – and very pointedly – ignored pleas from liberal Catholics to ordain married men as p…
6 years, 5 months ago
The strange journey of Europe’s ‘Christian’ Jews
With writer Norman Lebrecht, whose book Genius and Anxiety takes a look at the exceptional intellectual contribution of Jews from 1847 to 1947, to th…
6 years, 5 months ago
Has the Church of England surrendered to ‘soft socialism’?
Just before Christmas, Dr Gavin Ashenden, a former Chaplain to the Queen, converted to Catholicism. In this episode, he deplores the Church of Englan…
6 years, 6 months ago
Why it's a sin to sneer at 1970s Christmas specials
With Dr Tim Stanley, journalist and historian.
Presented by Damian Thompson.
Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts…
6 years, 6 months ago
Does the Church know how to deal with mental illness?
We're all sick of celebrities making a meal of their mental health problems – but that doesn't mean that we aren't facing a potential crisis. The uni…
6 years, 8 months ago
Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala: a different sort of bishop
On today's Holy Smoke Damian Thompson meets a one-of-a-kind bishop: one whose most important dialogue is with armed warlords and their teenage mercen…
6 years, 8 months ago