The Church Times Podcast

On the podcast this week, the Archbishop of Canterbury speaks to the editor, Sarah Meyrick. It is the Archbishop’s first interview since her enthronement last month. Archbishop Mullally is asked about her hopes for her time in office. What will be distinctive about her archiepiscopate? What sort of leader will she seek to be? She also speaks about church growth, safeguarding, Living in Love and Faith, and her relationship with the Anglican Communion, among other topics. “What I want to offer is a consistency: a calm, non-anxious leadership,” she says. “I see myself as a shepherd, as somebody who supports and provides pastoral care.” Picture credit: BBC Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

On this episode of the podcast, Malcolm Guite talks to Rachel Mann about his new book, Galahad and the Grail, part one of a planned four-volume poem sequence, Merlin’s Isle, a retelling of the tales of King Arthur. In a review of the book in the Church Times, Dr Michael Wheeler describes Galahad and the Grail as “a poem of sacramental re-enchantment, grounded in the holy eucharist”. Galahad and the Grail: Merlin’s Isle Volume 1 is published by Canterbury Press at £30 (Church Times Bookshop £27). https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781786227126/galahad-and-the-grail?vc=CT727 The Revd Dr Malcolm Guite is a Life Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge, and writes the weekly Poet’s Corner column for the Church Times. The Ven. Dr Rachel Mann, also a priest-poet, is the Archdeacon of Bolton and Salford, in the diocese of Manchester. Her second collection of poetry, Eleanor Among the Saints (Carcanet), was shortlisted for the 2024 T. S. Eliot Prize (Books, 25 April 2025).

On this edition of the podcast, Peter Hitchens is interviewed by Church Times staff writer James Macintyre. Mr Hitchens is one of the most well-known — and well-travelled — columnists and commentators in Britain. He has worked in the journalism trade for almost 50 years, serving as a resident correspondent in Moscow, and in Washington DC, as well as an industrial correspondent and a political correspondent. A practising Anglican and a “small-c” conservative, he is known as “controversial”: at once celebrated by his many admirers, and reviled by his opponents. Few people who have come across him have no opinion on him. He has a weekly column for The Mail on Sunday and also writes for the Daily Mail, among a range of other outlets. A regular broadcaster, his books include The Rage Against God, first published by Continuum in 2010. Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

On this edition of the podcast, the Revd Dr Andrew Atherstone, Professor of Modern Anglicanism in the University of Oxford, is intereviewed about his biography of the Archbishop of Canterbury, which was published this week. The book, "Archbishop Sarah Mullally", draws on conversations with people who know her and archive material to tell the story of her childhood, her journey of faith, and her rapid rise through both the NHS and the Church of England. Dr Atherstone also considers how her archiepiscopate might compare with that of Archbishop Welby’s, about whom he has also written a biography. The book is published by Hodder & Stoughton at £22 (Church Times Bookshop £17.60); 978-1-3998-2878-9. https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781399828789/archbishop-sarah-mullally?vc=CT320 An extract is due to be published in next week’s issue of the Church Times (27 March), along with coverage of her enthronement in Canterbury. Dr Atherstone is interviewed by Ed Thornton, Associate Editor. Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

The Bible’s Society’s report The Quiet Revival, published last year, said that the Church in England and Wales was in a “period of rapid growth, driven by young adults and in particular young men”, and the trend of decline had been reversed (News, 11 April 2025). But is the Church of England experiencing a share of this revival? Some have expressed concern that the Church will “miss out” on the opportunity presented. At the end of January, the Church Times hosted an event at St John’s, Waterloo, in London, “Springtime for the Church of England: Where are we seeing growth?”, which brought together speakers representing different traditions to share stories of local growth. The podcast this week features the opening talk by the Revd Dr David Goodhew, Vicar of St Barnabas’s, Middlesbrough, Visiting Fellow of St John’s College, Durham University, and the former director of the Centre for Church Growth Research. “The reason we have a confused discussion is that people tend to say either it must be growth, or it must be decline,” he says. “Actually, it’s both; and, if you look across British Christianity, you are seeing a whole load of things going up, and going down, and it depends where you look as to what you are seeing.” At the start, Madeleine Davies, senior writer at the Church Times, and the Vicar of St John’s, Waterloo, Canon Giles Goddard, introduce the event. A video recording of the event can be purchased at: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/springtime-for-the-church-of-england-where-are-we-seeing-growth Find out about forthcoming Church Times events, including the Festival of Preaching in September, at https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/events Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader Picture: The cover image of the report The Quiet Revival. Credit: Bible Society

On the podcast this week, James Macintyre talks about his new book, Gordon Brown: Power with purpose, which provides a definitive portrait of the former Prime Minister and Chancellor. The conversation focuses on an aspect of Mr Brown that previous biographers and commentators have overlooked: his Christian faith, and how it guides his politics and advocacy for social justice. You can read an article adapted from the book in this week’s Church Times . James Macintyre is staff writer at the Church Times, and has previously been political correspondent for The Independent and The New Statesman — where he covered Brown’s premiership close up — and politics editor of Prospect magazine. He is co-author of Ed: The Milibands and the making of a Labour leader. Interview by Ed Thornton, Associate Editor. Gordon Brown: Power with purpose is published by Bloomsbury at £25 (Church Times Bookshop £22.50); 978-1-5266-7341-1. https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781526673411/gordon-brown?vc=CT913 Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

On the podcast this week, staff writer Francis Martin speaks to the Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, about her recent trip to Israel and Palestine. Travelling with the Bishops of Norwich and Chelmsford, Bishop Treweek met Anglicans across the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. The bishops planted olive trees in the al-Makhrour valley near Bethlehem, with members of the group Rabbis for Human Rights. “Words are not enough,” she says, as a response to the situation affecting Palestinians, and suggests that the UK Government is “complicit in the occupation” of the West Bank. The episode was recorded on 30 January. Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

On the final podcast of the year, the editor, Sarah Meyrick, is joined by senior writer Madeleine Davies and staff writer Francis Martin to discuss some of the most memorable and significant stories that the Church Times covered in 2025. They discuss: the departure of Justin Welby and ongoing questions about safeguarding in the Church of England; the Bible Society’s Quiet Revival report; the rise of Christian nationalism; the assisted-dying Bill; the nomination of the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury; and the Archbishop of York’s visit to Israel-Palestine. The episode was recorded on Wednesday 17 December. They also look ahead to what 2026 has in store for the Church of England. Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

At the age of 91, Richard Holloway has written what he says “feels like the final book”: Last Words, in which he reflects on his long and fascinating life. Richard Holloway is interviewed by Malcolm Doney in this week’s 12-page Books for Christmas supplement, and a recording of their telephone call is on this podcast. The book is also reviewed by Angela Tilby. “I’ve always had a melancholic side to my nature. Melancholy is not sadness,” he says in the interview. “It’s a kind of mood you fall into when you consider the passingness and transience of things. Our lives just flow towards the end, but you look back on memories, your parents, your schooldays — all of that, and, as I get older, I spend more time doing that. . . “And this is a grateful kind of looking back, I guess, at the way my life went, people I owe a lot to, especially my parents, my mother . . . a reflection on what has been, what feels like the final run.” Last Words is published by Swift Press at £16.99 (Church Times Bookshop £15.29); https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781800755338/last-words?vc=CT228 If you already subscribe to the Church Times, why not give a gift subscription to friends or family this Christmas? Visit: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/subscribe

This week’s episode is an interview with the Archbishop of York, recorded a week after his return from a five-day visit to Israel and Palestine. The interview is by Francis Martin, staff writer, who travelled with the Archbishop’s delegation, reporting on the trip for the Church Times. The Archbishop spoke about what moment of the visit most resonated for him; being confronted by heavily armed settlers; and why he believes that Israeli actions in Gaza are “genocidal acts” and the situation in the occupied West Bank amounts to “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing”. Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader