Reading Our Times

People today often like to be considered “spiritual but not religious”. But what could that actually mean? All too often, the spiritual is juxtaposed against the material. But in reality, the two are inseparably linked. In this episode of Reading our Times, Nick Spencer talks to Rowan Williams about his latest book [Looking East in Winter](https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/looking-east-in-winter-9781472989246/), in a conversation that covers the spiritual life, the potential for politics, and the need for Christian humanism today.

Given how much richer we are today than, say, 50 years ago, it is remarkable how many people think ‘the system’ is not working for them. Particularly in high income countries, there is a pervasive sense that neither the market nor the state are providing citizens with the security and welfare that they could and should. In this episode of Reading our Times, Nick Spencer talks to Minouche Shafik, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and current Director of the London School of Economics, about her book 'What We Owe Each Other' and the need to build “a new social contract” for the 21st century: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1119278/what-we-owe-each-other/9781847926272.html

Languages come and languages go – but mostly nowadays they go. According to the Cambridge Handbook of Endangered Languages, nearly 90% may have died out by the end of the century. What do we lose when we lose a language? Indeed, what is a language? What does it do? How does it work? And what does it say about human beings and our shared culture? In this episode of Reading our Times, Nick Spencer talks to Alexandra Aikhenvald, Foundation Director of the Language and Culture Research Centre and Distinguished Professor at James Cook University in Australia, about her book I Saw the Dog: How language works: https://profilebooks.com/work/i-saw-the-dog/#:~:text=In%20I%20Saw%20the%20Dog,be%20human%20%2D%20and%20what%20we

Lockdown does strange things to people. After 20 years of marriage, Nick and his wife bought two cats for the family. They love them but they are mystifying. What is going on in there? Luckily for Nick and his family, John Gray, formerly Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics, recently published his new book ‘Feline Philosophy: Cats and the Meaning of Life.’ In this episode Nick talks to John about sin, the fall, self–awareness, morality, philosophy, Montaigne, Blaise Pascal… oh, and cats. You can buy the book here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/feline-philosophy/john-gray/9780241351147 Unfortunately the audio quality for this episode is not up to our normal standard and for this we apologise.

“Follow the science” we have been told – many times – over the last year. It makes good sense…and yet, there are times in history when societies have followed the science – or at least the science of the times – and it has led them into some very troubling places. And there are signs we may be doing so again. In this episode of Reading our Times, Nick Spencer talks to the science writer and broadcaster Angela Saini about her book Superior: The Return of Race Science: https://www.waterstones.com/book/superior/angela-saini/9780008293864.

“It seems, just now,/ To be happening so very fast.” So wrote Philip Larkin in 1972 of the loss of the English countryside. Fifty years later, we might say the same thing of the whole world – not only in terms of environmental crisis but of technological progress, with artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and cybernetics promising to change our world – and ourselves – beyond recognition. It just seems to be happening so very fast. Some are excited about the prospect, some see only doom, and most of us are simply confused. In this episode of Reading our Times, Nick Spencer talks to cosmologist, BBC Reith lecturer, and Astronomer Royal Martin Rees about his book On the Future: Prospects for Humanity

War seems to be omnipresent in human history and despite the number of people who have argued that the world is getting ever more peaceful, it remains a reality for millions of people today. Margaret MacMillan is Emeritus Professor of International History at the University of Oxford and a world–renowned expert on history and international relations. Nick Spencer speaks to her about her book 'War: How conflict shaped us' which looks at how humans have fought and made peace with one another for millennia, and explores what this says about who we are.

In the first series of Reading Our Times we looked at meritocracy, secularism, dementia, liberalism and much else besides. In this series, we’ll be talking to Margaret MacMillan about war, to Angela Saini about race, to Alexandra Aikhenvald about the origins and the end of language, to Rowan Williams about spirituality, Martin Rees about the future of humanity, and John Gray about cats and the meaning of life. So tune in and join us for the second series of Reading Our Times starting on 25th May.

Liberalism and religion have had an intimate and sometimes tempestuous relationship over the years. In recent decades, a number of people have claimed that liberal political theory doesn’t really understand religion, and that religion in liberal societies suffers as a consequence. 'Liberalism’s Religion', an award winning book by Cécile Laborde, Nuffield Chair of Political Theory at the University of Oxford, explores the way in which liberalism conceives of and deals with religion, and argues that the dominant ‘liberal–egalitarian’ approach toward religion is misguided and in need of revision.

We live in an age of ever expanding law and of rampant political cynicism. Perhaps the two are connected? Nick Spencer talks to former BBC Reith lecturer and the Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Sumption about his book 'Trials of the State: Law and the Decline of Politics' which argues that our growing inclination to turn to the law to resolve our problems may, in fact, be making our public life worse. Unfortunately we were hampered by the tech in this episode, and despite the sterling work of our expert producer Phil in post–production, Jonathan’s voice remains accompanied by tiny electronic crickets. If you are finding it difficult to listen, you can read the transcript of the conversation here: https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2020/12/01/is-the-law-damaging-our-politics