Podcast appearances and mentions of William Crawley

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

How does a seemingly ordinary boy prove to be so extraordinary that he's given a halo by the Catholic Church? Saint Carlo Acutis was just 15 years old when he died in 2006. William Crawley travels through Italy to the places most associated with the young Carlo to discover for himself what set this teenager apart from the rest.In Assisi, William meets Carlo's mother Antonia Salzano Acutis who reveals how her son showed an unusual generosity for a teenager. He visits Carlo's tomb, where Domenico Sorrentino, Bishop of Assisi, explains the connection between St. Francis and Carlo, as a bridge from the past to the present. At Carlo's old school in Milan, Istituto Leone XIII, his former professor, Fabrizio Zaggia, recalls his curious mind. And contemporary students talk of how they can relate to the Saint who designed websites.But is it all too convenient for the Catholic Church in this Jubilee Year to find a saint that appeals to this younger generation? William ponders this in Rome with John Allen, editor of Crux, the online Catholic newspaper, before heading off to St Peter's Square and the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints where Monsignor Alberto Royo explains the investigation into Carlo's life to see if it was one of ‘heroic virtue'.Presenter: William Crawley Producer: Jill Collins Editor: Tara McDermott Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman Credit: Carlo Acutis Digital Memorial App: Artist Riccardo Benassi, Curator Milano Arte Pubblica, Commune di Milano (Photo: Antonia Salzano, mother of blessed Carlo Acutis, who spent his life spreading his faith online, poses in front of a portrait of her son, 4 April, 2025. Credit: Tiziana Fabi/AFP)

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

William Crawley examines the place of prayer in the aftermath of the school shooting that left two children dead and many injured. It comes as the Mayor of Minneapolis spoke out about the need for action rather than 'thoughts and prayers'. He hears about the threat to the future of theology courses at undergraduate level and asks if you put a theology degree to good use? Dame Jasvinder Sanghera and Yasmin Javed, whose daughter was murdered by her husband, discuss the importance of the government's new definition of honour-based crime. We hear the long-lost music of Buckland Abbey, discovered in a 500 year old book and brought back to life by a choir in 2025.The Bishop of Oxford has written an open letter to Nigel Farage after the leader of Reform announced his vision to crackdown on small boat crossings. Steven Croft is in discussion with Tim Montgomerie, activist and member of Reform about whether Christian values and migration measures are in tension.Presenter: Williams Crawley Producers: Catherine Murray & Bara'atu Ibrahim Production Coordinator: Paul Holloway Studio Managers: Adam Dolan & Nat Stokes Editor: Tim Pemberton

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

When the first part of the report into the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry was published earlier this month, it revealed the devastating impact of that scandal on the lives of those wrongly accused of fraud. William Crawley hears from a former sub-postmaster, Tom Hedges, who says his personal faith and the support of his church was a source of strength for him when he was wrongly accused of stealing from the Post Office. While the war in Gaza continues, many independent agencies claim that Israeli settlers have used the cover of war to expand their illegal settlements in other occupied Palestinian territories. And now an historic mosque has become, for some, emblematic of the growing power of settlers over local populations.The 12th century German Benedictine nun Hildegard of Bingen was almost entirely forgotten for about 900 years until being rediscovered in the 1970s. Many contemporary musicians have been inspired by Hildegard. We've been learning more about this medieval polymath from Fiona Maddocks, the Observer's music critic and author of Hildegard of Bingen: The Woman of Her Age.Presenter: William Crawley Producers: Katy Davis & James Leesley Studio Managers: Chris Mather & George Willis Editor: Dan Tierney

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

William Crawley and guests discuss how people from elsewhere perceive Northern Ireland.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

The US has bombed three major nuclear sites in Iran, bringing the country directly into the Israel-Iran conflict. Iran's Foreign minister has described the US strikes as "outrageous" and says Iran is reserving "all options to defend its sovereignty". We get an update from our correspondent in Jerusalem and discuss if an argument can be made from religiously-based ethics, for Israel's actions? Israel contends that its attack on Iran is legal under international law because it represented a form of pre-emptive self-defence. William Crawley speaks to Emad Kiyaei, director at the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), and co-author of Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction: A new approach to non-proliferation; and Dr Ezra Tzfadya, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Middle East Studies at Indiana University-Bloomington, where he convenes the US Department of Education sponsored "Shia Islamic and Jewish Legal Reasoning in Dialogue" project.MPs have voted to accept the Assisted Dying Bill which will allow a terminally ill person to legally end their life through medical means. The Catholic Church in England and Wales says it doesn't see how its many care homes and hospices can continue to operate with no exemption from the law. Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool, the Lead Bishop for Life Issues for the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, and Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, who chairs Religious Alliance for Dignity in Dying look forward to what the passage of the bill will mean.Do you mark the summer solstice? This weekend thousands of people are enjoying sunrise events, which signify the end of spring and the moment when the sun reaches its zenith. But for pagans it's more than just a party – the solstices are a spiritual part of their belief in the wheel of the year. We hear from a wicca witch and a druid, about why the summer solstice is so important.Presenter: William Crawley Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Julia Paul Studio Managers: Amy Brennan & Joe Stickler Editor: Tim Pemberton

William Crawley talks to Cardinal Vincent Nichols ahead of the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV and hears from correspondent Bethany Bell in Rome. He hears what is causing a delay in appointing the new Archbishop of Canterbury. There's news of an historic vote to merge Liberal and Reform Judaism. And as talks get underway for a ceasefire in Gaza, we hear from Fr Gabriel Romanelli from the only Catholic parish in the strip.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

The world was watching as American Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, stepped out onto the balcony of St Peter's Basilica earlier this week. William Crawley, live from Rome, gathers reaction from around the world. He's joined by Austen Ivereigh, biographer of Pope Francis, and Professor Anna Rowlands, Professor of Catholic Social Thought & Practice at Durham University. British Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe gives his first interview after voting in the conclave and tells the programme how he found the experience. We hear the reaction from Catholics in the UK and around world and explore how an American Pope will shape not only the Catholic church, but global politics going forwards.Presenter: William Crawley Producers: Dan Tierney in Rome; Katy Davis & Rosie Dawson in Salford Studio Managers: Jonathan Esp and Amy Brennan Production Coordinator: Liz Poole Editor: Chloe Walker

While Sistine chapels' voting booth remains unpredictable, there are still potential runners and riders. To discuss these front runners as well as the intriguing internal politics of the papal conclave, William Crawley is joined by papal expert Edward Pentin and Vatican reporter Colleen Dulle.Also in the programme, we hear from the Gammarelli family, who have been dressing bishops, cardinals and popes for over 200 years. They were the personal tailors to Pope Francis, as well as his predecessors. William Crawley speaks to the shop owner, Lorenzo Gammarelli near the Pantheon in Rome.And William interviews Sister Nathalie Becquart, who has served as an undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops since 2021. She is the first woman to hold such an important position and the first to have voting rights in the Synod. Presenter: William Crawley Producers: Catherine Murray in Rome; Bara'atu Ibrahim & Ruth Purser in Salford Studio Managers: Phil Booth and Sharon Hughes Production Coordinator: Liz Poole Editor: Tim Pemberton

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

William Crawley is live from St Peter's Square in Rome, reflecting on Pope Francis's funeral. He's joined by Austen Ivereigh, biographer of Pope Francis, and Professor Anna Rowlands, Professor of Catholic Social Thought & Practice at Durham University. The Venerable English College in Rome is the oldest British institution outside the United Kingdom. The college provides education and training for seminarians and priests from all over the world. This year the college doors are open for public tours for the first time in to mark the Catholic Jubilee year and William visits college Rector, Fr Stephen Wang to find out more.As well as speaking to pilgrims paying their final respects to Pope Francis earlier in the week, William hear speaks to the UK's most senior Catholic Cardinal Vincent Nichols on the upcoming Conclave and future of the church.Presenter: William Crawley Producers: Dan Tierney in Rome and Katy Davis and Bara'atu Ibrahim in Salford Studio Managers: Denis O'Hare in Rome and Nat Stokes and Carwyn Griffith in Salford Editor: Tim Pemberton

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

William Crawley and guests debate the tactic of boycotting

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Downing Street's virtual summit of Ukraine allies may have given those countries a greater sense of unity, but the war continues in Ukraine and President Putin is still prevaricating over the 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US and accepted by Ukraine. William Crawley explores how morally justified it would be to say 'no' to a ceasefire, with journalist and author Lucy Ash.Also on the programme, in his Times column for this year's Ash Wednesday, Giles Coren tells the story of his own waning atheism and gradual embrace of Christian faith. Though Giles was raised in a Jewish home he had “no Hebrew classes, no Jewish environment, no bar mitzvah”. He shares how he finds comfort within the traditions of English Anglicanism.The Dalai Lama, the 89-year-old spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, is worried that his successor could be chosen by the Chinese government. In his new memoir, he says he will choose to be reincarnated in a successor outside China, and instructs his followers to reject any successor chosen by China. Tibetan Buddhism now faces a very awkward possible future - with two competing Dalai Lamas. To discuss this on the Sunday programme is Professor Robert Barnett, one of the world's leading experts on Tibetan history.Presenter: William Crawley Producers: Bara'atu Ibrahim & Amanda Hancox Studio Managers: Amy Brennan and Sam Mills Production Coordinator: Kim Agostino Editor: Chloe Walker

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the verdict in France