Sunday

Humanists UK has paid tribute to its long-standing patron Sir Patrick Stewart OBE, who has died aged 86. Beyond his celebrated acting career, Stewart was one of Britain's most prominent public humanists and a leading advocate for assisted dying reform. Andrew Copson joins us to reflect on the values that shaped his life beyond the stage and screen.
How is Christianity showing up in the US midterms? While voters are continuing to cast their ballots according to traditional affiliations, one of the things different about this race is that Democrats are speaking openly about their faith. There are 12 Democrat clergy in the running for congress and senate - two of them in key senate races. We talk to Associate Professor of Sociology, Gary Adler, about religion in the midterms and focus on three Democrat candidates trying reclaim religion from the Republicans.
As Commonwealth leaders gather in Antigua and Barbuda, the debate over Britain's responsibility for slavery has intensified, with Prime Minister Andy Burnham saying he is open to a formal state apology while continuing to reject financial reparations. Meanwhile, the Church of England remains embroiled in a legal challenge to its £100m Project Spire reparations fund, raising wider questions about historical culpability, institutional repentance and what, if anything, present-day institutions owe for past injustices. Emily Buchanan speaks to Professor Robert Beckford - theologian, broadcaster and long-standing advocate for reparative justice.
Presenter: Emily Buchanan
Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Katy Booth
Studio Managers: Tom Clarke & Phillip Halliwell
Editor: Tim Pemberton

On Tuesday Israelis go to the polls, in the first general election since the Hamas attacks of October 7th 2023 and the war in Gaza that followed. It's looking like a tight race between Benjamin Netanyahu and the former army chief Gadi Eisenkot. There’s no postal voting, so many living abroad are flying home to take part, in what some see as the most pivotal vote in the country’s history. Issues of political accountability, religion, and the future character of the world's only constitutionally Jewish state have dominated the campaign.
Three years ago, the Church of England pledged a hundred million pounds to address its historic links to the transatlantic slave trade. Now a churchwarden and a rector have asked the Charity Commission for permission to challenge the plan, known as "Project Spire", in the High Court. They say the money is supposed to be supporting parish ministry, and that the Church's part in slavery has been overstated. We turn to two historians with very different takes on the moral case for reparations.
With Hallowe'en - and the Celtic festival of Samhain - only days away, what does it mean to call yourself a witch in 2026? For four years the filmmaker Rosie Reed Hillman has been documenting the lives of 17 women in mid-life who do just that. We take a trip to her exhibition "Witches & Healers: Something that was ours" and speak to a modern day witch.
Presenter: William Crawley
Producers: James Graham and Jay Unger
Studio Managers: Joe Stickler and Matthew Dempsey
Editor: Dan Tierney

Catholics around the world will be waiting to see Pope Leo this lunchtime, after he left hospital just yesterday following his operation to treat lung cancer. He's due to make his usual midday address and pray the Angelus from his window overlooking St Peter's Square in Rome - just seven days since he made the announcement which shocked the world that he was to have surgery. His return to public life is remarkably swift, but questions remain about the long term future of his health - not least whether the cancer found in his lung has spread. Earlier this week, one of his top diplomats Archbishop Sir Paul Gallagher, who works closely with Pope Leo in the Vatican, was in London giving a lecture for the Catholic newspaper The Tablet.
A series of Houthi missile attacks on Saudi Arabia this week has activated a newly-created defence alliance the country has formed with Turkey and Pakistan. Known as the 'Mecca Pact' - it was signed in the holy city this summer and is modelled on article five of the NATO agreement, which states that an attack on one is deemed an attack on all. It's raised questions over whether it's solely a military alliance - or, given each is a Sunni majority country - it heralds the emergence of a distinctly Islamic security bloc.
With diesel prices topping £2.00 a litre for the first time in the past couple of weeks, there will be plenty feeling the pinch and making sacrifices in their daily lives. Included in those grappling with the costs, are rural vicars and ministers, who often rack up hundreds of miles a month serving multiple parishes. We checked in with a few to see how they're managing with their travel.
Presenter: Julie Etchingham
Producers: Katy Booth and Bara'atu Ibrahim
Studio Managers: Nat Stokes, Helen Williams and Isabelle Whitehead
Editor: Catherine Murray

A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week with Emily Buchanan.

On Friday Chris Brain, former leader of a Church group aimed at young people, was found guilty of one count of rape and four charges of sexual assault. It follows a separate trial last year. The verdicts mean Brain has now been convicted of a total of 22 sexual offences against 13 women. Julie Etchingham speaks to Andrew Graystone, theologian and advocate for survivors of abuse in the church
This week marks one hundred years of BBC Choral Evensong, one of the longest-running music broadcasts anywhere in the world. Since 1926, generations of listeners have discovered cathedral and collegiate choirs through the programme, whether from great churches and cathedrals across Britain or from further afield. Leading next week's special centenary broadcast from Westminster Abbey is the Abbey's organist and master of the choristers, Andrew Nethsingha. He tells Julie Etchingham what it means to him personally to be leading this historic broadcast.
Tammy Sandhu, after 20 years in the diplomatic service, has just become the UK's ambassador to the Holy See. Born in Leicester, ambassador Sandhu is the first woman from an ethnic minority background to hold the prestigious role. Tammy tells us what she has made of Vatican City so far.
The Catholic and Anglican Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of all Ireland have been speaking to Sunday about two of the biggest challenges of their time: AI and the continuing standoff in Drumcree.
Presenter: Julie Etchingham
Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Katy Booth
Studio Managers: Jonathan Esp & Ben Houghton
Editor: Catherine Murray