Podcast roundup, with Jesus, Brian, scrolls, pilgrims, and an archbishop

Several podcasts have caught our eye over the past couple of months, giving some fascinating ways into thinking about faith, comedy, ancient scrolls, pilgrimage, prayer and questions about what we can know about the history and mystery of Jesus.

Archbishop Interviews – Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, has started a BBC Radio 4 series of conversations with public figures about their inner lives. What do they believe? How does that shape their values and actions? Jump in with an episode with John Cleese, which covers The Life of Brian, which was charged with blasphemy when it was first released, and a discussion about whether Jesus was funny – Cleese says no, but the Archbishop disagrees.

The Rest is History – Historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, whose podcast is the highest ranked UK history podcast on Spotify and Apple, turn their attention to ‘the most mysterious historical figure of all, Jesus Christ’. In two episodes, Jesus Christ: The Mystery, and Jesus Christ: The History, they explore who Jesus was, scepticism about whether he existed, and theories about the resurrection and crucifixion.

Pilgrim Podcast: Iona to Lindisfarne – Pete Grieg, a Christian author and pastor, and founder of the 24-7 Prayer movement, is currently on a pilgrimage between two centres of ancient Celtic Christianity – the island of Iona, on the west coast of Scotland, and the island of Lindisfarne, on the northeast coast of England. Follow his pilgrimage on Instagram, with interviews and reflections.

In Our Time – Melvin Bragg’s long running radio series and podcast gathers experts to tell the story and explore the issues of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The scrolls were dramatically discovered in 1946, hidden in a desert cave, and turned out to be a collection of almost 1,000 texts dating from around 250 BC to AD 68. It is the most substantial first-hand evidence we have for the beliefs and practices of Judaism around the lifetime of Jesus.

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