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The idea that our country is Christian - in the historical sense of having been comprehensively formed by the faith - is sometimes taken as a kind of Christian nationalist dog whistle. But it shouldn't be. In reality, this is true for most countries in Europe, in which, in spite of massive secularisation in the later 20th century, Christianity's fingerprints are everywhere. So, what is England? How has the English nation, its laws, politics, culture and literature, been formed by Christianity? And (how) can they survive without it? This week on Reading Our Times, Nick Spencer is joined by British historian and journalist Bijan Omrani to discuss these questions and more, delving into his new book, provocatively titled God is an Englishman: Christianity and the Creation of England. You can purchase a copy of his book here: https://swiftpress.com/book/god-is-an-englishman/

Immigration is a major issue in the contemporary world, a - if not the - driver of nationalist movements the world over. It is impossible to think about nationalism today, religious or otherwise, without thinking first about immigration. But immigration is also a hard subject to think about, not because of a paucity of information but because of a glut. Awash with statistics, anecdotes and personal stories, immigration offers people a well-stocked cupboard of things to feed their existing views and opinions. So, what is the truth behind immigration? What are the actual numbers? What are the benefits? And the harms? And to which people? Immigration policy is notoriously tough - is there are way to think clearly about it and make it any easier? Today Nick Spencer speaks to Alan Manning, Professor of Economics at LSE and former chair of UK government's Migration Advisory Committee, about his latest book, Why Immigration Policy Is Hard: And How to Make It Better. You can purchase his book here: https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=why-immigration-policy-is-hard-and-how-to-make-it-better--9781509563654

"Woke" has become one of the most contested words in contemporary culture, deployed as a badge of honour by some, a term of abuse by others. But what does it actually mean, and does it constitute a serious ideological movement or merely a passing fashion? In today's episode, Nick talks to writer, comedian and broadcaster Andrew Doyle, best known as the creator of satirical persona Titania McGrath, whose latest book The End of Woke examines the origins, methods and possible decline of the movement. They discuss how woke ideology captured institutions, weaponised language, and confused equity with equality - and why the real threat, left or right, is always authoritarianism in disguise. You can buy a copy of his book here: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/andrew-doyle/the-end-of-woke/9781408723968/

Unpalatable truth as it may be, there are some, especially today, who draw on the Bible to exclude and vilify others, as a way of protecting and the "pure" Christian culture of Europe or the West. It's not an altogether new phenomenon - people have deployed the Bible for militaristic ends since the Crusades - but it appears to be growing once again, as the Europe comes under "attack" from immigrants and Islam. How does this happen? What Bibles do the Far Right use? What texts do they quote? What principles underlie that usage? And what can be done about it? In today's episode, Nick talks to theologian Hannah Strømmen, whose latest book The Bibles of the Far Right, examines just these questions. You can buy a copy of her book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-bibles-of-the-far-right-9780197789896?cc=gb&lang=en&

Buddhism is often seen in the West as a religion of peace and serenity - rarely, if ever, associated with violence. But that comforting image has obscured a darker and more complex reality playing out across Southeast Asia.  Journalist and author Sonia Faleiro joins Nick Spencer to explore her latest book The Robe and the Sword, which examines how Buddhist nationalism has fuelled ethnic tension, discrimination, and outright genocide in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand. From the militant monks who emerged out of Sri Lanka's brutal civil war, to the Facebook-driven hatred that preceded the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar, the patterns Faleiro uncovers are uncomfortably familiar to anyone watching the rise of religious nationalism elsewhere in the world. You can buy Sonia's book, The Robe and the Sword: How Buddhism is Shaping Modern Asia, here: https://globalreports.columbia.edu/books/the-robe-and-the-sword

European Christian politics is not new. Indeed, the religion has been an integral politcal factor for 1700 years. But something has changed over the last 20 years. Increasingly, a secularised form of Christian politics is taking centre-stage, in which populist leaders celebrate Christianity, but without the Christ bit. What forms does this secular Christianity take? How does it differ between Europe's major nations? And why may we be seeing not the Americanisation of European politics (as many claim) but the Europeanisation of American politics? Today, Nick Spencer speaks to Tobias Cremer, a Member of the European Parliament and former Junior Research Fellow in Religion and the Frontier Challenges at Pembroke College Oxford, about the history of European Christian nationalism, and about his latest book, The Godless Crusade: Religion, Populism and Right-Wing Identity Politics in the West. Tobias' book is available to purchase at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/godless-crusade/EAA250C071364E6DACE3EC0BE31B3C65

Christian Nationalism seems to be on the rise - particularly in the US, but increasingly in Europe. The phrase, however, is often used vaguely and carelessly. Indeed "Christian nationalism" can be something of a "dustbin" term, into which people throw all the kinds of things they dislike. So, what does it mean? What forms does it take and, with a particular focus on the US, what motivates and shapes it? Join Nick Spencer as he talks to sociologist Andrew Whitehead about what Christian nationalism is - and what it isn't. You can buy a copy of Andrew's latest book, Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States, here: https://academic.oup.com/book/33661

We live in an increasingly nationalistic age, with globalisation stumbling and international institutions disregarded. But we have been here before. Nations have existed for centuries, but it's only in the last 200 years that nationalism has become such a huge influence. So, where does nationalism come from? How has it changed since its inception? And what can its history tell us about its future? Join Nick Spencer as he speaks to Eric Storm, Senior Lecturer in European History at Leiden University and author of 'Nationalism: a world history', a global perspective on the nature and evolution of nationalism, from the early modern era to the present. You can buy a copy of Eric's book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691233093/nationalism

Human beings need a sense of purpose but differ strongly on whether that purpose is discovered or created, on whether the universe itself has a purpose or whether purpose is just the result of a hyperactive human mind? This disagreement often maps onto the theist/atheist divide - but not always and not necessarily. Perhaps the issue of purpose is wider than belief in God. So does the universe itself show signs of purpose? If so, how would we know? Or is all this simply a delusion of a hominid brain than needs purpose and is happy to create it if it can’t find one out there? Join Nick Spencer as he speaks to Philip Goff, a British author, panpsychist philosopher, and professor at Durham University, to discuss his latest book, Why? The Purpose of the Universe. You can buy a copy of Philip's book here.

What is the ultimate nature of reality? And how best to describe it? Is it fundamentally smooth and continuous, flowing seamlessly from one state to another? Or is it discrete, composed of distinct, separate units that interact across unbridgeable gaps? This ancient philosophical puzzle, which dates back at least as far back as Zeno and his famous paradoxes 2,500 years ago, remains surprisingly urgent and relevant today, shaping debates across physics, evolutionary biology, history, and even our understanding of consciousness itself. In this episode, host Nick Spencer speaks with American philosopher Graham Harman about his provocative new book Waves and Stones: On the Ultimate Nature of Reality. Harman argues that both the continuous and the discrete are irreducible aspects of our world - a position he calls "primal dualism" that challenges the modern impulse to reduce everything to a single, unified explanation. You can buy a copy of his book here.

Consciousness is famously called the “hard problem” and it elicits a very wide range of (sometimes very strongly held) opinions. These range from the idea that it is little more than a trick played on us by our brain, to the idea that it is built into the very fabric of matter at the most fundamental level. How does consciousness differ from mindedness? It is all or nothing, or are there grades of consciousness? And how does it map on our ordinary, everyday lives? This week, Nick Spencer speaks to Baroness Susan Greenfield about her new book: A Day in the Life of the Brain: The Neuroscience of Consciousness from Dawn Till Dusk. You can buy a copy of her book here.

Everyone has heard of quantum physics. Many of us can parrot its key ideas – uncertainty, entanglement, collapsing the wave function, something to do with a cat… But when it comes to really understanding it, well that’s a different matter altogether. “Anyone who is not shocked by quantum mechanics hasn’t understood it”, wrote the eminent physicist Niels Bohr. So, what is quantum physics? How did it come about? What does it say about ultimate reality? And how might it transform our lives? This week on Reading Our Times, Nick Spencer delves into the quantum realm with scientist Paul Davies to discuss his latest book, Quantum 2.0: The Past, Present, and Future of Quantum Physics. You can buy a copy of Paul's book here.

The performance of Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time in a freezing WW2 prison camp is one of the most famous moments of 20th century music. The piece and performance spoke to audiences movingly, both then and now, of peace, God, time, and the power of music. Such questions remain powerful today. How imprisoned by time are we? In what sense does music and art enable us to transcend the constraints of our existence? What does the end of time mean? This week on Reading Our Times, Nick speaks to poet Michael Symmons Roberts about his latest book Quartet for the End of Time: On Music, Grief and Birdsong. You can buy a copy of Michael's book here.

The idea of transcendence is common, perhaps even universal, among human beings. But what it means (if anything) is much more debatable. There are different ways of understanding transcendence, some orthodoxly religious; others more heterodox and surprising. How should we understand transcendence? If you can be spiritual but not religious, can you experience transcendence without religion? What does it mean to live a transcendent life? This week, Nick speaks to Clare Carlisle, Professor of Philosophy at Kings College London, about her latest book 'Transcendence for Beginners'. Purchase a copy of Clare's book here.

Many of the New Atheist arrows fired in the religion wars of 2000s and 2010s hit their target well and hard. The question is, was it the right target? Believers often claim that atheists don't believe in the kind of God that they themselves don't believe in, and that the concept of God in Christian thought is altogether subtle and more sophisticated than critics give credit. What is the evidence for this? Is this more sophisticated understanding of God not simply a late, post-Enlightenment evasion? Or does the idea that "God is nothing" have deep roots? This week, Nick speaks to Gilbert Markus about his book, 'God as nothing'. Purchase a copy of Gilbert's book here.