Naked Reflections, from the Naked Scientists

Follow Naked Reflections, from the Naked Scientists
Share on
Copy link to clipboard

Reflecting on recent science news stories and current events, authoritative thinkers unpack the implications for society. Naked Reflections is chaired by Ed Kessler, director of the Woolf Institute, Cambridge.

The Woolf Institute


    • May 22, 2023 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 27m AVG DURATION
    • 144 EPISODES


    Search for episodes from Naked Reflections, from the Naked Scientists with a specific topic:

    Latest episodes from Naked Reflections, from the Naked Scientists

    Love the other

    Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2023 27:09


    LOVE THE OTHER can mean many things. For a psychologist it can imply two contrasting personalities coming together in a complementary and constructive relationship. It can also be construed as avoiding excessive self- love. But as Sam Victor and Ruby Naji-Naif see it can be about coming to terms with difference and understanding the other in such a profound way that it can become love and even bring about peace. Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Turning the other cheek

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2023 30:15


    How practical is Jesus's advice to turn the other cheek? Some see it as an example of the excessive passivity of Christianity. Others think it's the only way to get out of an endless spiral of violence. Meryem Kalayci and Tim Stevens discuss the matter without coming to blows... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    The Politics of Music

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2023 24:29


    Music - that most abstract of arts - can of course express religious feeling but it can also be directly or obliquely political, especially when lyrics are involved. Think, National Anthems or protest songs ... With Ed Kessler, Dunya Habash and Jonas Otterbeck reflect... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Good Luck

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2023 27:44


    Can positive thinking create its own momentum, or to put it another way, does negativity reap its own bad harvest? Esther-Miriam Wagner and Robert Tombs read the runes Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Time to stop talking?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2023 27:27


    If you asked the Astronomer Royal, Martin Rees, to discuss cosmology with a "flat-Earther", he would probably politely decline. But when it comes to more nuanced matters than scientific truth, is there ever a case for calling a halt to dialogue? Alfred Moore and Chris Wadibia consider the question... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    8 Billion and Counting

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2022 28:26


    The United Nations recently announced that by their estimate World population passed the 8 billion mark in November 2022. World population is predicted to continue growing, peaking at just over 10 billion in the 2080s. Is this too high a number and if so what should we do about it? Abdallah Rothman and Ed Kessler reflect ... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Refugees and Migrants

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2022 23:16


    The system for those seeking asylum in the UK is not working, with damaging effects across society and for refugees. That's why the Woolf Institute has just launched its Commission on the Integration of Refugees with an aim to improve the refugee and asylum system for everyone, including refugees. Two of the Commissioners, Janice Lopatkin and Jehangir Malik share their thoughts. Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    The National Health Service

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2022 23:35


    Since the COVID pandemic, satisfaction ratings with the National Health Service have plummeted. Should we look to other countries for alternative models? And Social Services, which have never been properly integrated into the NHS system, are on the brink of collapse, despite the claims of politicians to have "sorted" the problem. Sarah Smith and Gurch Randawa tackle a thorny problem... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Faith in Mental Health

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2022 27:42


    What do people of faith think about the psychological and psychiatric approach to dealing with mental health problems? Is there a sense for some that one's faith, one's God should be enough to quell any inner turmoil? Jamilla Hekmoun and Danny Smith reflect on the secular and the religious approaches to mental ill health... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Modern Slavery

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2022 27:17


    Modern slavery is going on all around us. Brothels, nail bars, car wash outlets and some wealthy households all need victims who they can exploit, and people traffickers happily supply them. Kevin Hyland and Lauren Saunders square up to the problem... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Hope and Fear

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2022 26:50


    For Muslims it's coming, but it's shrouded in mystery; for Christians it's straightforwardly the return of Christ; for Hindus there's the get-out card of reincarnation. But the notion of apocalypse - the end of time - runs deep even for secular types. Beth Phillips and Mansur Ali check it out... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Hate

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2022 28:56


    Hatred is something most people feel some of the time but how should it be controlled? Certainly not by giving free rein to social media platforms to stoke up controversy in order to maximize advertising revenues. Kitty O'Lone and Arif Ahmed discuss both the roots of hatred and its latest iterations... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Feeding Body and Soul

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2022 26:23


    It would be an exaggeration to say that there are as many beliefs about what and how we should eat as there are beliefs about religion but sometimes it feels that way. And like religious adherents, advocates of different dietary regimes often tussle to claim the moral high ground. David Clough and Lutfi Radwan consider the issues... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Blasphemy on the Big Screen

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2022 26:52


    There is no orthodoxy that could not have been construed as blasphemous when it started. Christianity was accused by Jews of being blasphemous for proclaiming Jesus as divine, and Muhammad was criticised by his polytheistic Arab contemporaries for preaching monotheism. So how do the movies come into it? Emanuelle Degli Esposti and Mohammed Ahmed explain... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Summer Special: QAnon and Sex

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2022 30:26


    We've combined extracts from two of our favourite episodes into a Summer Special covering QAnon and Sex. QAnon, the claim a pizza joint in Washington is a centre for child abuse, has become close to being a mainstream proposition for conspiracy obsessed US radio jocks. And when it comes to sex, the relatively new phenomenon of gender dysphoria presents another problem for religious traditionalists... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Discipline versus Creativity

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2022 25:54


    When it comes to learning and education, there has always been a tension between discipline and creativity or scepticism. The balance has ebbed and flowed over the centuries and continues to do so. But perhaps you can't have one without the other? Julian Stanley and Austin Tiffany reflect on the current state of play... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Odds on Either Way...

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2022 28:24


    Two and a half billion pounds was wagered on the last soccer World Cup in the U.K. alone. There are reckoned to be 400 thousand problem gamblers in this country and that could well be an under estimate. So should we regard gambling as a potentially serious addiction or just a bit of fun? Mark Griffiths and Ben Ryan check the odds... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Suicide

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2022 28:21


    Suicide is more common than we might think: no one is immune from suicidal thoughts and there are more than 5,000 actual deaths by suicide in the UK each year. Rose Doyle tells the story of her tragic experience... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Fortress Europe

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2022 31:25


    Are we in danger of weaponising Christianity as a bulwark against Islam? Would it be more fruitful to pay more attention to the period in medieval Spain when the three Abrahamic faiths collaborated and prospered? Akbar Ahmed and Seherish Abrar take a long view... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Memories and Memorising

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2022 28:53


    Memory is unreliable and can even be treacherous. Think of all those criminal trials where two witnesses recall an event in totally contradictory ways. So how does memory operate? Amy Milton and Aliya Ali give us some answers... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Sanctuary

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2022 28:02


    The idea of sanctuary for the oppressed individual or for groups of people fleeing persecution or war is an ancient and noble one. In biblical times there were even designated sanctuary cities for those under threat. In these gender conscious times, the Women's Refuge provides another sort of sanctuary. Sara Trewitt and Beth Phillips discuss sanctuary... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    God on

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2022 25:35


    The Archbishop of Canterbury ruffled some feathers in government circles when he said that there were "serious ethical questions about sending asylum seekers overseas". Archbishop Kirill of Moscow's intervention in favour of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, characterizing it as a defence of Orthodox Christian civilization was less nuanced. Should Archbishops get stuck into political debate? Jocelyn Cesari and Chris Cooper Davies discuss. Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    QAnon

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2022 26:56


    There's a pizza joint in Washington DC where a cabal of satanic child abusers meets to brag about their exploits. During his presidency Donald Trump got wind of this and as part of his plan to "drain the swamp" earmarked a day of mass arrests and executions which he nicknamed "the Storm". How are we to make sense of QAnon? Ruth Lawlor and Alfred Moore have a go... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Diaspora

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2022 26:45


    Diasporas are often born of misfortune, the experience of homelands left willingly because of lack of opportunity, or fled because of war. In the age after Empire, many subject communities seemed to be drawn irresistibly by the magnet of the former colonial power, where they formed their own sometimes unwelcome diaspora communities. Esther-Miriam Wagner and Dragos Herescu discuss the experience... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Believing and Belonging

    Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2022 21:31


    Lots of us feel the need to believe in something in order to make sense of the world whether it takes the form of religious faith, the provability of science, or some singular strongly-held theory. But belief does not necessarily satisfy another great human need, the need to belong to a community. Joining Ed Kessler, Danny Smith and Grace Davie explore... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    The F Word

    Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2022 27:35


    "Without forgiveness there is no future." So said the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. But do we have it in us to forgive the most egregious sins? Some think that is in God's realm. Kitty O'Lone and Justin Lane tackle the F word... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    The Great Awoke-ning

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2022 29:07


    Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Getting Ready to Die

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2022 28:51


    Compassion, common sense and expert knowledge are what we would hope a good doctor would bring to the process of managing a death. But with more and more life prolonging technologies available, the danger of litigation and the growing need to consider different religious traditions, things are not straightforward. Philip Lodge and Ruwaida Randeree talk about getting ready to die... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Sex

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 17, 2022 28:26


    To read the KAMA SUTRA or the SONG OF SONGS you might feel religion is obsessed with sex. Yet so often the discussion of sex has been a problem in Churches, Temples, Synagogues and Mosques. The relatively new phenomenon of gender dysphoria presents another problem for religious traditionalists. Sonia Leach and Shanon Shah survey the territory... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Genocide

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2022 30:53


    The twentieth century was littered with genocides. Those in Armenia, Nazi Germany, Rwanda and Bosnia are the most notorious ... Meryem Kalayci and James Smith discuss this most distressing of subjects. The Podcast includes some unique witness from a survivor of the Srebrenica massacre... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Blessed Algorithms

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2022 29:03


    We have Alexa, we have drones in the sky, killer robots on the battlefield and creepy algorithms designed to anticipate our every need. But do we lose sight of the potential benefits of A.I? Beth Singler and Hope McGovern throw some light on a much discussed subject... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Climate Change and Human Behaviour

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2022 27:05


    At one point in the summer of 2021, wild fires were raging all around the Mediterranean from Greece to Spain and from France to Morocco. Even the most stubborn of climate change sceptics must be starting to worry. Madeleine Ary and Shannon Shah offer some much needed policy ideas... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Musical Networks

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2022 28:25


    It's a long way from Victorian synagogues to Twentieth Century recording studios but both provided a catalyst for musical sharing and cultural enrichment bringing, respectively, Jewish and Muslim music into the mainstream. Danielle Padley and Jonas Otterbeck survey the scene... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Speaking of silence

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 20, 2022 26:30


    Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Reflecting on Wisdom and Greatness

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2022 27:01


    How do we measure what wisdom scientists, religious leaders or politicians have? Sometimes we intuit it without quite knowing why. Sometimes we are wrong to do so. Esther- Miriam Wagner and Tim Stevens bring their wisdom to bear on understanding wisdom... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Where do religious beliefs come from?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2022 26:09


    Where do religious beliefs come from? It's a perfectly reasonable question, and it's a question that even the fervent atheist might ask, although Richard Dawkins would come to a very different conclusion from the Archbishop of Canterbury. Kitty O'Lone and Rabbi Danny Smith reflect on an age old question... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Gender and society

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2022 27:49


    In the Abrahamic tradition, God is nearly always referred to with a male pronoun, though presumably God has no gender. One of the dominant scientific institutions, the Linnean Society, proscribed women until 1904. Lea Taragin- Zeller and Shanon Shah consider the charge sheet... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Reflecting on Stephen Hawking

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2022 29:08


    Stephen Hawking, who died in March 2018, was no ordinary scientist. His book A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME was an international best seller and he became a very unusual sort of international celebrity, even starring in an episode of THE SIMPSONS. Marika Taylor and Hélène Mialet discuss his legacy... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Reflecting on a Blinding Light

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2021 28:45


    Light is one of the fundamental mysteries of our world. We still don't fully understand it. As an idea it is central to both philosophy and theology. At the darkest time of the year, Ilaria Bernocchi and Christopher Wadibia explore the theological and aesthetic significance of light in all its forms... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Reflecting on Living in Harmony

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2021 28:57


    LIVING IN HARMONY is a Woolf Institute outreach project which promotes understanding between Jews Muslims and Christians by demonstrating the shared musical heritage of the three faiths in the Middle East. Dunya Habash and Mohammed Ahmed explain how it works and play some examples... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Covid Vaccines and Religious Groups

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2021 27:33


    Was there a reluctance to follow government guidance and a tendency towards vaccine scepticism in strictly observant Jewish and Muslim communities? And does this underpin high rates of disease transmission among these groups? Speaking with Ed Kessler, the Woolf Institute's Julian Hargreaves and Shaima Hassan have each conducted some research... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Reflecting on The Good Friday Agreement

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2021 31:00


    What finally made the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland work? Is it now coming under threat? Should we think of peace as a continuing process rather than as a goal? The historian Niamh Gallagher and leader of the Alliance Party John Alderdice reflect on a complex situation... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Building a sustainable future

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2021 27:31


    Dealing with climate change presents a huge challenge but we focus on one aspect of the problem. Tim Winter, Chair of the board of trustees of Cambridge Mosque and the architect Sam Turner discuss building more sustainably and more imaginatively... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Does Interfaith Work?

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2021 27:24


    It is Interfaith week in the UK and two practitioners, David Hampshire and Kitty O'Lone, talk about the principles of the movement which can range from high profile diplomacy to local get togethers... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Talk the Talk

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2021 32:11


    Rhetoric used to be a subject for study at schools and universities. These days, eloquence seems to be under threat from social media and the public can be suspicious of persuasive scientists and religious leaders. To mark the 100th edition of NAKED REFLECTIONS Rowan Williams and Chris Smith come together to discuss the merits and dangers of eloquence. Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Reflecting on Paganism

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2021 26:58


    Paganism was omnipresent in the worlds of ancient Greece and Rome and their gods and myths have come down to us as part of our cultural inheritance. In northern Europe it took different forms but its traditions underpin many aspects of Christian ritual and symbolism. Kitty O'Lone and Ronald Hutton join Ed Kessler to explain a much misunderstood religion... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    How to Disagree Amicably

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2021 29:09


    A disagreement over a trivial or domestic matter may be easily overcome, but what about a disagreement over something that goes to the core of your religious or ethical beliefs? Julie Siddiqi and Alissa Symon discuss the hard won art of disagreeing... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Antisemitism

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2021 29:32


    Following an increase in anti-Semitic postings on social media, the anti-Semitism Policy Trust looked into it and asked the Woolf Institute to analyse the material they discovered. Julian Hargreaves discusses what he found with Daniel Staetsky... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Reflections on Terrorism

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2021 30:39


    When Samson inveigled his way into the Temple of Dagon, he used his superhuman strength to pull the whole thing down, killing everyone inside and himself too. Remind you of anything? Samson has been characterized as a purveyor of awesome religious terror, a sort of proto suicide bomber. This week, Lord Carlile and Hadiya Masieh get to grips with terrorism... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Wet Markets and Leaky Labs: Covid-19 origins

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2021 26:35


    When the W.H.O. visited Wuhan and reported their findings on the COVID outbreak, they acknowledged access to all the relevant data was limited. So was there a cover up? Freya Jephcott and Alfred Moore reflect on the current state of thinking... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Reflecting on Big Pharma

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2021 25:03


    It was a surprise when President Joe Biden suggested suspending medical patents to speed up the global roll out of COVID vaccines, but was he missing the point? Richard Jennings, Yuan Hu and Gurch Randhawa discuss patents and "big pharma"... Like this podcast? Please help us by writing a review

    Claim Naked Reflections, from the Naked Scientists

    In order to claim this podcast we'll send an email to with a verification link. Simply click the link and you will be able to edit tags, request a refresh, and other features to take control of your podcast page!

    Claim Cancel