As 2025 gets going, Katherine Amphlett encourages us to travel back in time with Lady Mary to get to know some of the bad guys of the Old Testament to find how little has changed; Simon Burton-Jones reminds us that there is a great deal more to Russia that Putin and Lauren Westwood paints a colourful picture of life in the grey areas.... Hosted on …

He's lived a rich life as a journalist, a human rights activist, an author, a columnist -- and now he's written a great book on Gujaratis. Salil Tripathi joins Amit Varma in episode 409 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his life, his learnings, these times we live in -- and the times that came before. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSE…

As we start the year, we hear from Belle Tindall about some of the great mystics of the Christian faith; Cameron Wiltshire-Plant warns Elon Musk that there is always a cost to "free speech" and Jonathan Rowlands celebrates the deep humanity of Wallace & Gromit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

His earlier episodes on this show have been huge hits, and as he completes a trilogy of books, he returns to complete a trilogy of episodes. Amitava Kumar joins Amit Varma in episode 408 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about writing, noticing, painting, travelling, trees, and unfulfilled train journeys. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNS…

In our last episode of 2024, Rahil Patel explores the universal human motivation to wish one another a "happy" New Year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christmas Day: Graham Tomlin reflects on gifts given and received at Christmas - and spots the key to a whole lot of wisdom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 24: amidst the anxiety of Christmas, Paula Duncan challenges her OCD on Christmas Eve and finds a freedom of faith as a result. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 23: Beatrice Scudeler takes us through poems by Tennyson, Eliot, Rossetti and L’Engle, to discover their claim that at Christmas, sorrow doesn’t preclude joy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He was born in Sikkim and lives in the USA, and in the course of engaging with his identity, has written powerful books of Sikh history, and revived its music. Sarbpreet Singh joins Amit Varma in episode 407 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his life, his writing, his music and the lessons of Sikhism. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSE…

Day 22: Katherine Amphlett compares and contrasts pre-COVID Christmas with 2020 Christmas and finds she learns more when Christmas feels wrong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 21: an audio version of The Innkeeper's Wife written and performed by Natalie Garrett. Experience an overfamiliar story, in a new way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 20: Today we go Big Picture as Barnabas Aspray considers the earth-shattering consequences of Christmas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 19: Psychologist Roger Bretherton asks how we can push past the stresses of the festive season to rediscover the magic and tells us how he learned to find joy in being on Team Christmas. Part 2 of Unwrapping God this Christmas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 18: Today we revisit S&U Aloud's birthday and the shared sense of belonging to the S&U Aloud community. And we join Belle Tindall at a Jacob Collier concert and hear again the sound of strangers sharing a sense of belonging. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 17: Psychologist, Roger Bretherton, offers advice for those who find it challenging to spend time with the family at Christmas: Part 1 of Unwrapping God This Christmas Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 16: Charles Foster raises a glass to toast the invasion of history by the author of history Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 15: Recounting how Christmas changed for her, Lianne Howard-Dace re-evaluates the story and experiences of the season Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 14: Jon Kuhrt gives us 3 reasons why everyone should watch It's a Wonderful Life this Christmas Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 13: Ian Bradley opens up the meaning of some familiar carols of the season Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Day 12 of the Christmas Countdown, sitcom writer James Cary takes us on the search for the perfect Christmas Special Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 11: Nick Jones - Senior Editor of Seen & Unseen - chooses his top pick of S&U articles from 2024 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 10: Ian Frisby is struck by a Foodbank trolley in his local supermarket and its call to sharing joy through sharing food Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 9: Re-enchanting's Justin Brierley shares his standout cultural moment from 2024 and we dig deeper into the theme in Jamie Mulvaney's article Consider the crown and who wears it Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

She worked with Femina for 26 years, 12 of them as editor. And she wrote numerous biographies after that. Sathya Saran joins Amit Varma in episode 406 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss Indian society, feminism, femininity, her life as a journalist and the art of the biography. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1…

On Day 8 of the Christmas Countdown, JS Averill looks beneath the tinsel and finds that in a world of devastation, you can share honest feelings of hopelessness - yet not be overcome. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christmas Countdown Day 7: Yaroslav Walker reviews his top 5 Christmas Movies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christmas Countdown Day 6: Graham Tomlin tells us the origin story of Santa Clause Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christmas Countdown Day 5: Jonathan Evens talks us through the art that comes tumbling through our letterbox this time of year and explores the historic and contemporary art of Christmas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Day 4 of the Christmas Countdown brings us Belle Tindall with her plans for Christmas binge watching Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christmas Countdown Day 3: continuing yesterday's theme, today we consider how this Christmas, we might be closer than ever to the Nativity story's origins. Terror. Surveillance. Poverty. Genocide. Julie Canlis asks whether perhaps it's time to add a dragon to tame Christmas crib scenes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

Christmas Countdown Day 2's episode of the Christmas Countdown, Yaroslav Walker puts forward his defence of the traditional nativity play and what it brings to us at Chr istmas Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Christmas Countdown begins! Day 1: Alianore Smith talks Advent Calendars Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we start with Josh Richards asking why snow still generates awe and wonder in even the most grown up of us; Jamie Mulvaney tells us that crows can hold a grudge for up to 17 years and considers the consequences of human grudges being held; finally James K. A. Smith writes an open letter to Sally Rooney to thank her for opening his heart. …

Every simple story about it is wrong: Hinduism contains multitudes. And it went into the directions it did for specific reasons. Manu Pillai joins Amit Varma in episode 405 of The Seen and the Unseen to describe the role of history in the shaping of Hinduism -- and Hindu nationalism. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out…

This week's smorgasbord includes Graham Tomlin's claim that Trump's win may be neither total triumph nor total disaster; Jack Chisnall discusses national leadership from Henry VIII in Wolf Hall to present day; Krish Kandiah unpacks the Paddington Paradox and Kevin Hargaden shines a spotlight on the backstage goodness of Small Things like These Host…

Our societies, our norms, our values are all shaped by stories from the past. Devdutt Pattanaik joins Amit Varma in episode 404 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his life, our society and why we should take mythology seriously. Note: This is Part 2 of a 12-hour episode, being uploaded in two parts now because Spotify and YouTube don't allow upl…

Our societies, our norms, our values are all shaped by stories from the past. Devdutt Pattanaik joins Amit Varma in episode 404 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his life, our society and why we should take mythology seriously. Note: This is Part 1 of a 12-hour episode, being uploaded in two parts now because Spotify and YouTube don't allow upl…

This week we mark Remembrance with Simon Cansdale as he suggests that hospitals are home to the truth of war; Belle Tindall helps our psychological state post-US election sharing some political wisdom from Luke Bretherton and Yaroslav Walker reviews the Trump movie and how it comments on the President's recent election success. Hosted on Acast. See…

Our societies, our norms, our values are all shaped by stories from the past. Devdutt Pattanaik joins Amit Varma in episode 404 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his life, our society and why we should take mythology seriously. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out 1. Devdutt Pattanaik on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn…

This week's episode includes the burning question: is Donald Trump a fascist or a buffoon? asked by George Pitcher; Alex Ross takes us into the world of surveillance that is China and Belle Tindall explores Miranda Hart's diagnosis of the unseen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

In this episode, Ryan Stark points out some of the pitfalls in dating a vampire; Jack Nicholson pays beautiful tribute to W.H. Auden's poetry and its ability to give us words for current world trauma; and Jack Chisnall cracks the puzzle of our love of puzzles in his article about BBC's drama, Ludwig. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more …

Populism is on the rise everywhere, and the long arc of history has bent away from freedom. Shikha Dalmia joins Amit Varma in episode 403 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss the derangements of our modern times -- and the threat that Donald Trump poses. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Shikha Dalmia on Twitter…